Sacramento, CA (July 20, 2016) - Holly and her Keith Kunz Motorsports Toyota-powered #67k were back in action this week with the Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget Series.
Night one would find teams heading south to the St. Louis metro area for the 25th Annual Arnie Knepper Memorial at Belle-Clair Speedway. Little Belleville never disappoints with 32 cars signing in for action.
Holly would find herself starting last in Heat #3, but quickly worked her forward, battling her way from 8th, running the cushion on both ends of the speedway. She would quickly work past several cars and set her sights on chasing down Kyle Schuett, securing a 4th place finish.
Holly rolled off for the 30-Lap Feature from the 9th starting position. Zach Daum would bring out the first caution of the event with a spin in Turn 4, which unfortunately collected Holly as a victim of circumstance along with Jake Neuman and Tyler Robbins. Holly would restart the event from the tail- however the hard contact in the melee resulted in bent front suspension and steering components. Holly began to work her way through traffic, but progress was halted as Daniel Robinson slowed on Lap 20. The final yellow of the evening was brought out for Brad Loyet stopping on Lap 25. Holly was able to progress forward to a 14th place finish at the checkers, despite a wounded ride.
Night two found teams heading north up Interstate 55 as POWRi made its “official” maiden voyage to the Fairbury American Legion Speedway. Rain had plagued attempts for POWRi’s debut at FALS in both 2014 and 2015. 22 cars made the trip to Fairbury, a night that would see Holly’s ride don the DC Solar livery.
Holly started outside Row 2 in Heat #2 on a lightning fast Fairbury surface. The early laps would find Holly in a 3-wide battle with Zach Daum and Brayton Lynch, before slipping back slightly. However, Holly moved to the bottom, methodically working her way past Aaron Schuck for 4th in the later stages.
Holly would find herself sitting 11th in passing points for the night, setting her up to start inside Row 6 for the 30-Lap Feature. Holly settled in, working the bottom to chase down Kyle Schuett early. The first red of the night was displayed on Lap 7 for a hard tumble down the fronstretch by Ryan Robinson. The event would encounter a long green flag stint after the restart, in which Holly began to utilize the middle groove in a spirited battle inside the Top-10, racing with Jake Neuman and Tucker Klaasmeyer throughout the middle stages of the event. The red would once again come out on Lap 19, as race leader Tanner Thorson banged the cushion in Turn 1 sending him up and over, collecting Justin Peck and Carson Macedo in the process. Once the race went back green, Holly utilized her methodical approach to chase down the front runners, making up valuable ground before the final caution for Klaasmeyer, who pounded the Turn 2 wall on Lap 28. Holly would jump to the bottom on the ensuing restart, making a charge at the Top-5, but momentarily lost forward momentum, allowing Brayton Lynch to slip by at the checkers, seeing Holly come away with a 7th place finish.
As always, Holly would like to thank the following partners for their support – Toyota, Toyota Racing Development, Advanced Racing Suspensions, CSX, IWX Motor Freight, Curb, Mobil 1, Abreu Vineyards, KSE Racing Products, Yamaha, Bosch, Wilwood, BlackBeard and ShellShock!
- administrator on Jul 20, 2016
- Article Date: 7/20/2016