Four BMR Drivers Among Large Field Of Entries At Iowa Speedway

• First Of Two NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West Combination Races In 2014

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (May 13, 2014) – The entry list for this week’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway includes four talented young drivers from Bill McAnally Racing who have already exhibited success this year.

Cole Custer, Brandon McReynolds, Nick Drake and Patrick Staropoli are part of a large field of drivers headed to Newton, Iowa for the Casey’s General Store 150 on Saturday – as drivers and teams from the East and West divisions of the K&N Pro Series battle it out in the first of two combo races there this year.

The event, which will be televised on FOX Sports 1 on May 24 at 8:30 a.m. ET, is part of a big NASCAR weekend at the 7/8-mile track that will also feature a NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Nine previous East-West combination races at Iowa produced nine different event winners.

The four BMR drivers who are entered in this year’s event have each competed in both K&N East and K&N West races in 2014. They account for three wins and three poles in both divisions overall this season.

Custer, who wheels the No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS/HAAS Automation entry, is coming off a win in K&N East action at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway last month. He also has a victory this year in the K&N West, where he won the season opener at Phoenix International Raceway.

The 16-year-old from Ladera Ranch, Calif., dominated the competition at Iowa last year in winning the most recent combo race in August. He led wire-to-wire as he captured his first of two wins in his rookie season in the K&N East. In the other combo race at Iowa last season, he finished sixth overall in June.

He is one of 12 drivers recently named to the NASCAR Next program, which spotlights NASCAR’s rising stars. He has a career record of three wins, two poles, six top fives and seven top 10s in 16 starts in the K&N East – along with one win and two poles in three K&N West starts.

Custer is competing in select events in the East and West divisions of the K&N Pro Series this year, while running a limited schedule in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – where he made his debut with a 12th-place finish at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in March.

McReynolds, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday next week, drives the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota this season as he contends for the championship in the K&N West. In two previous appearances at Iowa, the Mooresville, N.C., driver finished 10th and 22nd overall in the two combo races last year.

McReynolds – who was also named to the NASCAR Next program – is coming off a fourth-place finish at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway earlier this month, matching his career-best series mark. He has one pole, two top fives and three top 10s in three K&N West races this year. He is second in the championship standings, nine points out of first.

Drake, meanwhile, is challenging for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the K&N East, driving the No. 15 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota. In his most recent race, the 18-year-old from Mooresville, N.C., notched his best career series mark with a third-place finish at Richmond – where he also won his first career pole award. He also had a third-place finish at Phoenix, in his only K&N West start.

Drake, who will be attempting his first Iowa start as he transitions from open-wheel sprint cars to stock cars, is second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings and ninth in the overall championship standings in the K&N East – with two top fives in five career series starts.

Staropoli is coming off his first career win, taking the victory in the No. 99 PEAK Toyota in K&N West competition at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway in March. The 24-year-old is a Harvard University graduate who balances a limited racing schedule with being a medical student at the University of Miami. This will mark his first combo race at Iowa Speedway.

Staropoli of Plantation, Fla., has one win, two top fives and three top 10s in three K&N West starts. He also has two top 10s in three K&N East starts.

This will be a busy week for the BMR drivers in Iowa, with several appearances scheduled. They will meet fans and sign autographs at a NAPA event in Des Moines on Thursday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Another NAPA event is planned for them at a go-kart track in Grimes on Friday evening from 6-9 p.m.

In addition, two NASCAR Next events are also scheduled in Iowa. The first will be at Aurora Heights Elementary School in Newton on Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. A contingent of NASCAR Next drivers will also meet fans and sign autographs at Casey’s General Store in Altoona on Friday from Noon to 2 p.m.