ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Eric Holmes wasted no time in delivering Toyota its first victory in the NASCAR Camping World Series, winning his first race for the manufacturer.
Holmes led wire-to-wire to capture the win before a sell-out crowd in the NASCAR Camping World Series West season opener Toyota NAPA Auto Care 150 at All American Speedway.
It gave Holmes, who closed out 2007 with a victory in the season finale, back-to-back wins, despite being with a different team, different sponsor and different manufacturer.
He dashed into the lead from his starting spot on the outside of the front row and never looked back.
“I knew I had to get the lead early,” Holmes said. “The cars are real difficult to drive for four or five laps, especially on cold tires and low air pressure. So, I knew I had to feel it out at first. It felt good and I got by him. All the restarts were difficult. I just wanted to get racing. I knew I could drive away, if we could get racing.”
The 2006 champion from Escalon, Calif., held off the competition in a two-lap dash to the finish, as a late-race caution extended the race distance for a green-white-checkered finish. He crossed the finish line in his No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota with a .478 second margin over runner-up David Mayhew. The win netted him $7,550 in prize money and posted awards.
Defending champion Mike David finished third, ahead of Johnny Borneman and Moses Smith.
Local favorite Eric Schmidt nearly pulled an upset in his debut in the NASCAR Camping World Series. Schmidt, who won the 2007 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late- model championship at All American Speedway, battled back from an early spin to move up to second late in the race. A spin in the closing laps relegated him to a 16th-place finish, however.
The finish:
Showing driver, car, laps completed and money won: 1. Eric Holmes, Toyota, 153, $7,550; 2. David Mayhew, Chevrolet, 153, $4,500; 3. Mike David, Ford, 153, $3,600; 4. Johnny Borneman, Ford, 153, $4,109; 5. Moses Smith, Toyota, 153, $2,560; 6. Eric Richardson, Chevrolet, 153, $2,350; 7. Eric Hardin, Chevrolet, 153, $2,300; 8. Jim Warn, Chevrolet, 153, $2,065; 9. Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 153, $2,200; 10. Jason Patison, Ford, 153, $2,175; 11. Jeff Jefferson, Chevrolet, 153, $1,650; 12. Wes Banks, Ford, 153, $1,600; 13. Jason Bowles, Ford, 153, $3,575; 14. Jim Inglebright, Chevrolet, 153, $2,050; 15. Jeff Barkshire, Dodge, 152, $2,025; 16. Eric Schmidt, Chevrolet, 152, $1,500; 17. Austin Cameron, Toyota, 148, $1,975; 18. Jonathan Hale, Chevrolet, 148, $1,450; 19. Brett Thompson, Chevrolet, 143, $1,925; 20. Daryl Harr, Chevrolet, 123, $1,900; 21. Lloyd Mack, Ford, 112, $1,375; 22. Mike Gallegos, Chevrolet, 100, $1,350; 23. Ryan Philpott, Ford, 72, $1,325; 24. Tim Woods III, Ford, 66, $1,300; 25. Jack Sellers, Chevrolet, 54, $1,800.