BMR Goes For Another West Series Win At Irwindale
• Rookies Rely On Experience As Circuit Visits LA-Area Track
ROSEVILLE, Calif. (June 30, 2020) – NASCAR’s ARCA Menards Series West travels to Southern California this week for the ENEOS 125 presented by NAPA AUTO PARTS at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday.
Bill McAnally Racing has a winning record at the state-of-the-art facility – capturing victories in 13 of the 27 ARCA West regular-season races the track has hosted.
BMR’s driver lineup this year features five talented young series rookies –Giovanni Scelzi, Lawless Alan, Jesse Love, Gracie Trotter and Holley Hollan. Each of them are looking to add another Irwindale win to the team’s record. Four of the BMR drivers have raced at the speedway in another division and are looking to put that experience to good use as they return to the half-mile track for the ARCA West race.
Alan, a 20-year-old Los Angeles native with a varied racing background, won a championship in NASCAR’s weekly series in the late model division at Irwindale Speedway in 2018. He returns to the track this week, driving BMR’s No. 12 AUTOParkit / NGK Toyota Camry.
Scelzi – a rising star in recent years, competing on dirt tracks in sprint cars and midget car racing – won a spec late model race last season at Irwindale Speedway in his first-ever start on pavement. The 18-year-old from Fresno, Calif., drives BMR’s iconic blue and gold No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Records Toyota Camry. He is coming off two top-five finishes in a doubleheader at Utah Motorsports Campus on Saturday.
Love – a 15-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif. – picked up a top-10 at Irwindale Speedway in a Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series race last season. He split his time between dirt and asphalt arenas of racing in 2019 – competing in the Southwest Tour and the POWRi National Midget League. This year, he wheels the No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry for BMR. Love scored a win and a runner-up finish in the twin races at Utah.
Hollan – an 18-year-old fourth-generation racer from Broken Arrow, Okla. – competed in a late model event at Irwindale a couple of weeks ago, along with Alan and Love. Hollan made the transition to asphalt this year, after competing in midget car racing and junior sprints on dirt tracks. Driving the No. 50 JBL / NAPA Filters/ NAPA Belts & Hoses Toyota Camry for BMR, she notched a pair of top-10 finishes at Utah.
Although Trotter has not raced at Irwindale Speedway, she tested there with BMR in an ARCA West car prior to the start of the season. The 18-year-old is a third-generation racer from Denver, N.C. She has a racing background in super late models and Legends cars. Trotter, who drives BMR’s No. 99 ENEOS Toyota Camry, finished seventh in both races at Utah.
Saturday’s event at Irwindale will be run per state and local guidelines.
ARCA Menards Series West Event:
Race: ENEOS 125 presented by NAPA AUTO PARTS (Race 4) July 4, 2020
Location: Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, Calif. (Half-mile oval)
Television: TRACKPass on NBCSports Gold (Live) July 4 at 6 p.m. PT / NBCSN July 11 at 9 p.m. PT (check local listing)
BMR Drivers:
Jesse Love
No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry
Age: 15
Hometown: Menlo Park, Calif.
Career series starts: 3
Best career series finish: 1st – Utah (June 27, 2020)
2020 season series stats:
Laps led: 35
Series standings: 1st
Rookie standings: 1st
Giovanni Scelzi
No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Records Toyota Camry
Age: 18
Hometown: Fresno, Calif.
Career series starts: 3
Best career series finish: 3rd – Utah (June 27, 2020)
2020 season series stats:
Series standings: 3rd
Rookie standings: 2nd
Gracie Trotter
No. 99 ENEOS Toyota Camry
Age: 18
Hometown: Denver, N.C.
Career series starts: 3
Best career series finish: 4th – Las Vegas (Feb. 20, 2020)
2020 season series stats:
Series standings: 4th
Rookie standings: 3rd
Lawless Alan
No. 12 AUTOParkit / NGK Toyota Camry
Age: 20
Hometown: Los Angeles
Career series starts: 4
Best career series finish: 6th – Las Vegas (Feb. 20, 2020)
2020 season series stats:
Series standings: 7th
Rookie standings: 4th
Holley Hollan
No. 50 JBL / NAPA Filters / NAPA Belts & Hoses Toyota Camry
Age: 18
Hometown: Broken Arrow, Okla.
Career series starts: 3
Best career series finish: 9th – Utah (June 27, 2020)
2020 season series stats:
Series standings:8th
Rookie standings: 5th
BMR Series Record at Irwindale Speedway:
BMR has won 13 of 27 regular series races at Irwindale. The team won eight of 11 West events there between 2001 and 2007. In addition, BMR won five consecutive series races there between 2014 and 2017. BMR also won the inaugural NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway in 2003.