NCATS champ DJ Kennington to drive for BMR in NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 22, 2010) – Fresh off a championship season, Bill McAnally Racing has announced a special lineup of 2010 NASCAR champions who will compete under the BMR banner in next month’s NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.

The three recently crowned NASCAR Touring Series champions will be competing for BMR in the eighth running of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 28-29 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.). The event, which brings together the top racers from across North America, will be highlighted by the 225-lap NASCAR K&N Pro Series all-star race.

BMR’s Eric Holmes – who scored his third championship this season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – will be joined for the event by DJ Kennington, the 2010 champion in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1, and German Quiroga, the 2010 champion in the NASCAR Mexico Series. As 2010 NASCAR developmental series champions, all three have secured starting spots for the all-star event.

“We are very excited about this opportunity for BMR to field entries for three NASCAR champions in the biggest event of the year,” said BMR President Bill McAnally. “These drivers represent NASCAR racing in three countries and the Showdown provides them a chance to showcase their talent on a major stage together.”

Holmes of Escalon, Calif., is no stranger to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. The 36-year-old driver won the Elite portion of the event as a competitor in the former NASCAR Southwest Tour in 2004. In NASCAR K&N Pro Series action, he has two top-10 finishes in four starts at the all-star event.

“It’s pretty cool having three champions on our team,” Holmes said. “I’m really looking forward to it. We ran really, really well the last three years at the showdown. We’ve just had some bad luck. Hopefully, we can overcome that. I know we’re taking a new car there this year. I think we have a shot at winning.”

Kennington, meanwhile, will be making his first appearance in the prestigious postseason event.

“I’ve watched it on TV for a lot of years,” said the 33-year-old driver from St. Thomas, Ontario. “I always thought it would be pretty cool to be there and to actually get the opportunity to go is another part of this whole ‘dream come true’ season for me.”

Although it will be his first start in a BMR entry, not all the crew members on the team are strangers to him. Kennington previously worked with Matt Goslant, who is now the crew chief for Holmes.

“Matt was my crew chief in the (NASCAR) Nationwide Series,” Kennington said. “So, its’ going to be kind of cool to be there to hang out with my friends again and most importantly, try to go there and see if we can have a decent run.”
Quiroga, who won back-to-back championships in the NASCAR Mexico Series in 2009 and 2010, will also be appearing for the first time at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.

“For me it is a great opportunity,” Quiroga said. “We’ve been trying to do this for many years. I think it’s a first step and we’re looking to do well in the race and to see what we can achieve in 2011.”

Quiroga said he looks forward to representing his series in the all-star event.

“For me, it’s an honor,” said the 30-year-old driver from Mexico City. “I’ve been champion for two years in a row. For me, to represent all the drivers that compete in the NASCAR series in Mexico, it’s great to have this opportunity and I’m going to do my best.”

In addition to the three champions, also mounting the charge for BMR at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown will be the team’s two other full-time drivers, Paulie Harraka and Moses Smith.

“We were already excited at BMR to be bringing three of this year’s top four drivers in the series to the showdown,” McAnally said. “We want to build on BMR’s success this season with a strong performance in the all-star race. We are confident in the talent and fortunate that we have just added some great cars to the inventory, which were obtained from Rusty Wallace Incorporate and Michael Waltrip Racing.”

In addition to the secured starting spots for the 2010 champions of NASCAR’s developmental series, the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown also provides secured spots for race winners of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series from the 2010 season. The 225-lap main event is broken up into three sections – two 100-lap segments preceding a 25-lap dash to the finish.

The schedule also includes a 75-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model race and a 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model race. The top five NASCAR state champions in attendance will have secured starting spots in the Late Model race. New to this year, the 25-car fields for each of those races will be set by a pair of heat races – 25 laps for the Super Late Models and 20 laps for the Late Models.

Both nights of racing will air live on SPEED.

From Kevin W. Green, NASCAR Public Relations