Gracie Trotter grabbed a career-best runner-up finish in the ARCA Menards Series West on Saturday, leading three Bill McAnally Racing rookies who finished in the top five in the ENEOS / NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 at Douglas County Speedway.
The 18-year-old from Denver, N.C. – making just her sixth series start in the No. 99 ENEOS Toyota Camry – had a previous best finish of third last month at Irwindale.
Trotter, who started fourth on the grid, charged to second early in the race and held onto the spot – despite numerous challenges on multiple restarts following cautions. She was followed across the finish line by Jesse Love, who was third in BMR’s No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry; and Giovanni Scelzi, who won his first career pole in qualifying, led 15 laps and finished fourth in the BMR No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS/ Curb Records Toyota Camry. Their teammate, Holley Hollan, came home seventh in the No. 50 JBL / NAPA Filters/ NAPA Belts & Hoses Toyota Camry.
“We had a really good Toyota today,” Trotter said. “It was a bit too much on the tight side for me. I wish we could have loosened it up a bit more in practice, but the crew gave me a really good car and we made it work.”
The tight 3/8-mile oval at the Roseburg, Ore., fairgrounds is the kind of track where she does well, Trotter said.
“I’m not really sure, but I do love the shorter bullring type tracks,” she said. “I always seem to figure out these places. I’m not sure why.”
Love, meanwhile, had more of an adventurous day – coming home with some body damage to the front of his Camry.
“We broke a shock mount in qualifying,” he said. “We had to come from seventh to third. The restarts were tricky, because if you got hung up on the top you had to make something happen. It was pretty tough doing that.
“You’ve got to be real aggressive at this place,” he said. “You can gain and lose a lot of momentum in the span of two laps. So, you have to take whatever you can get.
“I want to thank my team, all the guys at Bill McAnally Racing and NAPA Power Premium Plus and Toyota,” he said.
Love was able to retain his lead in the championship standings by a point. Trotter is third in points, with Scelzi fifth and Hollan seventh.
BMR treated a group of guests from the NAPA Distribution Center in Portland to a VIP experience that included garage access and dinner with the team. An NGK VIP crew member was also honored at the race. In addition, ENEOS, BBB Industries, NAPA Filters and Gates Corp., – who were instrumental in their support of the races at Roseburg and Monroe, Wash. – had guests in attendance.
In keeping with state and county regulations, a limited number of fans were allowed to attend Saturday’s race in Roseburg.
Saturday’s race in Roseburg was the second of two consecutive nights of ARCA West racing, following an event at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash., on Friday evening.
BMR PR
- IROC Returns July 19-20 at Lime Rock Park - April 19, 2024
- RCR Race Preview: Talladega Superspeedway - April 19, 2024
- The perfect sweep: Julien Rehberg makes an incredible debut in the Rookie Trophy - April 19, 2024