Bollman Leads Early, Finishes 12th at Kern County

Jake Bollman was a threat to capture his second-straight victory on Saturday evening at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet SS finished 12th after suffering a rear axle issue during the halfway caution.

Bollman put the field on notice that his NAPA Auto Care Chevy was stout as he posted the second-fastest lap in qualifying. At the drop of the green, Bollman utilized the outside lane to pin the pole sitter on the bottom and took full advantage of the high side momentum to grab the lead on lap two. He drove away while controlling his pace to lead the majority of the event’s first half.

After the evening’s first caution on lap 44, Bollman restarted on the bottom and suffered the same fate as the pole sitter on the initial start. He settled into second as the outside lane prevailed on the restart. Once the halfway caution waved on lap 76, the NAPA Auto Care team was forced to troubleshoot a problem with the rear axle. After the team replaced the right rear axle, Bollman returned to the track several laps down and took the checkered flag in 12th position.

“Our NAPA 100th anniversary Chevy was really fast tonight,” Bollman said. “We were able to make the outside lane work right off the start and got to the lead early. I was trying to pace myself and take care of the tires. After that restart, the top lane went, and I was just getting us to the halfway break. Unfortunate to break an axle, but the guys did a good job to get it fixed. Disappointing to end the night that way, but it’s great to be driving fast racecars each week.”

Start / Finish: 2 / 12
Points Standing / Total: 8th / 145 pts. (-114)

Next Race: Friday, July 11, Sonoma Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 6:30 p.m. ET on Floracing.com

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Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: @BMR_NASCAR