Dye Leads Trio Of BMR Drivers At Portland

Daniel Dye led the way among a trio of Bill McAnally Racing drivers racing on a wet Portland International Raceway road course on Saturday, finishing fourth in an ARCA Menards Series West event that officials halted early because of weather conditions on the 1.967-mile track.

Dye – a 19-year-old from DeLand, Florida – was making his first road course start and was racing with BMR as part of an alliance with GMS Racing, driving the No. 43 DeLand Motorsports & Outdoors Chevrolet SS.

He teamed with BMR regulars Austin Herzog in the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS and Cole Moore in the No. 99 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet SS, who finished ninth and 11th, respectively.

Dye started from the pole, after setting the fast mark in qualifying. His lead was short-lived, however, as he slid off course, along with the other front-row starter, just after the green flag. He returned to action in seventh, but was not able to regain command. He moved up to third by Lap 14 and ran in that position through much of the event, before slipping back to fourth in the later laps.

Herzog started 10th, with Moore lining up 12th. They battled for a top-10 spot throughout the race, but were challenged by the elements, as well as the competition on the track.

Officials opted to throw the checkered flag with 42 laps complete, of the event that was slated for 57 laps.

Race fans were not deterred by the wet weather, as they turned out Saturday to see the ARCA West race that ran as a companion event to the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

A large group of guests from NAPA Portland were treated to a VIP Experience on Saturday – with access to view the race from two VIP suites and participate in special garage tours. Steve Grimes, who owns seven NAPA AutoCare shops in Portland called Honest 1, was honored as the NAPA/NGK Team Member of the Day. In addition, Tony Wilson, with Wilson’s NAPA AUTO PARTS, celebrated his birthday at the track.

BMR PR