BMR Brings New Look Along With Traditional Appearance To Richmond
• Staropoli Joins With Drake In K&N Pro Series East Event
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 6, 2015) – Bill McAnally Racing brought a new look along with a traditional appearance with its two entries for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond (Virginia) International Raceway on Thursday.
Although they came up short in getting the kind of finish they were looking for in the UNOH 100, there was no missing the bright pink No. 99 AutoNation Cure Bowl Toyota of Patrick Staropoli or the familiar blue and gold No. 15 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota of Nick Drake.
Staropoli’s first series start of the season ended early at Richmond, due to an accident. The 25-year-old driver from Plantation, Florida was representing the AutoNation Cure Bowl, a new NCAA College Football Bowl Game held in Orlando, Florida on Dec. 19, 2015 that will benefit Breast Cancer awareness and research.
Drake also encountered problems Thursday and finished a lap down to the leaders in 28th. It was a disappointing outcome for the 19-year-old driver who won the pole and finished third as a rookie last year at Richmond.
Despite the subpar finish, Drake remained eighth in the championship standings. He has one top-five and six top-10 finishes in 13 starts this season.
Staropoli was the winner of the PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge in 2013, which led to him making two starts in the K&N Pro Series West for BMR that fall. He made two other starts last year, giving him a record of one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes in the K&N Pro Series West. He also made three starts in the K&N Pro Series East in 2014, coming away with two top-10 finishes.
Staropoli is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University and currently attends medical school at the University of Miami.
His sponsor, AutoNation – which is ranked as America’s largest car dealer – is committing $1 million to breast cancer research generated from the proceeds of the AutoNation Cure Bowl game in December. More information about the game can be found at CureBowl.com.
The UNOH 100, won by Austin Hill, will be televised on NBCSN on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. ET.
Drake and Staropoli both look to rebound with strong performances when the K&N Pro Series East wraps up its 2015 season with the Drive Sober 150 at Dover (Delaware) International Speedway on Oct. 2.