Paulie Harraka climbs back in contention for NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship

Paulie Harraka took advantage of a puttering car driven by Jason Bowles and finished second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.
Harraka passed Bowles who ran out of fuel 100 feet from the finish line. Bowles was running in second place when he ran out of gas.
Harraka recorded his best West Series finish since winning the opening night race at All American Speedway in Roseville. Harraka moved into third place in the West Series standings, behind leader Eric Holmes and David Mayhew.

Paulie Harraka No. 1 in Hunter Index

The drivers in my top 15 for the Hunter Index moved around quite a bit since the first time they were ranked. For one, Paulie Harraka jumped from fifth to first in my poll. His win in the season opener for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at All American Speedway in Roseville was not only impressive, it was his third in the past four West Series races.
Cole Whitt jumped into my top 15 at No. 4 after a pair of runner-up finishes in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Whitt has the lead in the East Series standings with those two second-place finishes.
Sergio Pena, who surprised everyone with his performance in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in January, was knocked down to fifth in my poll after a disastrous season opener in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
Here’s a look at my top 15:

NASCAR Hunter Index top 15 for April

1. Paulie Harraka: He’s off to a great start, winning the season opener in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Maybe some of the Duke basketball magic will rub off on the Harraka, a Blue Devil undergraduate. Previous rank: 5

2. Nick Joanides: He won the NASCAR Super Late Model season opener at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale and is still the only driver to win the Super Late Model and Late Model championship at the track in the same year. Previous rank: 4

3. Philip Morris: He won the season opener at the Motor Mile on April 3, but ran into some bad luck at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. He is third in points in the Late Model division at the track after a third-place finish on opening night, followed by an eighth-place finish in the second race of the season. Previous rank: 2

4. Cole Whitt: He has a pair of runner-up finishes in the first two races of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and the lead in the East Series standings. Previous rank: Unranked

5. Sergio Pena: He has not lived up to the hype in the first two races of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He finished 27th in the East Series season opener at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina and 14th in the race at South Boston Speedway. After nearly winning the NASCAR All-Star Showdown, Pena is 20th in the East Series standings. Previous rank: 1

6. Ryan Truex: He has to be the hard-luck driver of the year so far. He led the most laps in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener at Greenville Pickens Raceway only to end up in 14th place after a crash during the green-white-checker flag finish. Somehow the reigning East Series champion has managed to stay in the top five in the 2010 East Series standings. Previous rank: 3

7. Keith Rocco: He has won the first two races of the SK Modifieds season at Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut and leads the standings at the track. Previous rank: 14

8. Rafael Martinez: He won the NASCAR Mexico Series season opening Pennzoil 240 at Nuevo Autodrome de Aguacalientes. Previous rank: Unranked

9. Darrell Wallace Jr.: He became the youngest driver to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race. He won the East Series season opener at Greenville Pickens Raceway in South Carolina and followed that up with a 20th place finish at South Boston Speedway. Previous rank: Unranked

10. Josh Combs: He inherited a second-place finish in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at All American Speedway in Roseville. He was third on a green-white-checker finish, but Jonathan Gomez’s car did not pass post-race inspection and was knocked from second to last place as a result. Previous rank: Unranked

11. James Civali: He won the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at South Boston and has three top 10s in the first three races of the season. He leads the Whelen Southern Modified Tour standings. Previous rank: Unranked

12. Greg Pursley: He was looking at a third-place finish in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at All American Speedway in Roseville when he was spun out on the white-flag lap. Josh Combs jumped up to third place in the race and ended up in second with Joanathan Gomez was disqualified. Previous rank: 7

13. Jody Lavender: He was second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener at Greenville Pickens Raceway and 11th in the East Series race at South Boston Speedway. That puts him third in the East Series standings after two races. Previous rank: Unranked

14. David Mayhew: He survived a wild finish to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at All American Speedway in Roseville and came away with a fourth-place finish. Previous rank: 8

15. Max Gresham: He won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at South Boston Speedway and is seventh in the East Series standings. Previous rank: Unranked

Photo: Paulie Harraka displays the winning trophy for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series season opener at All American Speedway. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Paulie Harraka wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver Paulie Harraka won the season-opening race at All American Speedway in Roseville on Saturday night.
He beat Jonathan Gomez on a green-white-checker finish. Harraka led 125 laps, including the final 10 that went over the scheduled 150 of the race.
Harraka and Gomez banged and battled for the lead after the first caution of the race. Harraka led the first 16 laps of the race, but Gomez took the lead on lap 17 and held it for the next 32 laps.
Harraka won for the second time in a row at All American Speedway. He also won the 2009 West Series season finale at the Roseville track.

Paulie Harraka starts where he left off in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West

ROSEVILLE – Paulie Harraka won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at All American Speedway on Saturday night on a green-white-checker flag finish.
Harraka won the pole, but Jonathan Gomez took the early lead in the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge. The two drivers battled for the lead throughout the race. Harraka was able to pull away at the end. But a caution with two laps to go in the race turned the 150-lapper into a three-lap shootout.
“The car was really good,” said Harraka, the 2009 Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the West Series. “We banged wheels a lot, but we had fun.”
Harraka, from Wayne, N.J. and driver of the No. 12 Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing, won the 2009 West Series season finale race at All American Speedway and has won three of the past four West Series races.
Gomez, a driver from Twin Falls, Idaho, finished second. He was followed by rookie Josh Combs from Sacramento, Gary Lewis and David Mayhew.
The race went 10 laps over its scheduled 150. Gomez said, running in second with a green-white-checker flag finish looming, he thought he still had a chance to beat Harraka and win the race.
“I did. I really did,” Gomez said. “I thought I could pinch him down. I really thought I had a chance.”
Newhall’s Greg Pursley looked like he was on his way to a top-three finish, but was spun out on the last lap. He went from third place to seventh.
Eric Holmes, Harraka’s teammate at Bill McAnally Racing and the winner of the spring race at Roseville last year, collided with Jack Sellers midway through the race. Holmes’ car suffered severe damage on the right side and went into the pits for repairs. He finished 10 laps downs and in 21st.
Derek Thorn, a driver from Bakersfield, won the Spears Stockcar Racing League Southwest Tour Series season opener at All American Speedway.
Thorn won the pole and the Mo’s Gold 125. Frazier Park’s M.K. Kanke, the reigning Spears SRL champion and the second-fastest qualifier, blew his motor on the first lap of the race and had to withdraw.
Thomas Martin, a driver from nearby Auburn, was second. He was followed by Josh Combs from Sacramento in third, Ryan Foster from Redding in fourth and rookie Carlos Vieira from Livingston in fifth.

Photo: Paulie Harraka takes a victory lap with the checkered flag in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener at All American Speedway in Roseville. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Harraka prepares for NASCAR West Series madness in Roseville

In addition to racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, Paulie Harraka is a student at Duke University in North Carolina.

The West Series opens at All American Speedway in Roseville on Saturday night. While the Duke basketball team is experiencing its annual March Madness, Harraka will be experiencing NASCAR madness this weekend.

Harraka won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year in 2009 and is returning to the site of his season-finale dominant performance, winning at Roseville to close out the 2009 season.

Go to NASCAR Home Tracks to read more about Harraka as he prepares for the 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season opener.


Photo: While the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown didn't pan out the way Paulie Harraka hoped, he enters the 2010 season on a roll. (Getty Images)

Harraka wins West Series race, Bowles wins West Series championship

Jason Bowles, a driver from Ontario, won the NASCAR Camping World West Series championship on Saturday night at All American Speedway in Roseville.
Bowles nearly missed getting collected in a crash on lap five and finished fourth in the season-finale West Series race.
“There were a few wrecks right there that I didn’t want to see happen, because they were all right in front of me it seemed,” said the 26-year-old Bowles driving for Bob Bruncati’s Sunrise Ford Racing team. “I was really watching in front of me tonight, trying to keep my nose clean and be real, real careful.”
Eric Holmes, the 2008 West Series champion and only driver with a chance at catching Bowles in the West Series standings, was collected in the lap 5 crash. He completed 108 laps of the 150-lap race and finished 16th.
Paulie Harraka won the West Series race at Roseville, leading 149 laps. It was his second win of the season and his second win in three races to close out the season.
“The NAPA AutoCare/Adaptive One Brakes Toyota was great,” said, Harraka, who won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award in the West Series. “Duane (Knorr, crew chief) and the team did an awesome job. I never had to use 100 percent of the race car at all. That was the key to pulling away at the end.”
Harraka, a driver from Fairlawn, N.J., won a NASCAR Super Late Model championship at Roseville in 2008.
Greg Pursley, a driver from Canyon Country finished third in the race and was third in the West Series standings.

Photo: Paulie Harraka jumps from his car in Victory Lane in celebration of his win. (Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Bowles takes a hit in NASCAR West Series standings

Jason Bowles, a driver from Ontario, took a bit of a hit in the NASCAR Camping World Series West standings after Saturday’s race at Colorado National Speedway.
Holmes had to make a pit stop to repair a flat tire. It cost him four laps and he finished in 13th place.
Luckily, Eric Holmes, the reigning West Series champion from Escalon, also had problems during the race. He finished in ninth place after having to replace a broken alternator and going two laps down in the race. Holmes is in second in the West Series standings and trails Bowles by 37 points after the Colorado race.
Rookie Paulie Harraka won the race, his first of the season. He also became the first NASCAR Drive for Diversity program driver to win a West Series race.
Harraka, a 19-year-old from Fairlawn, N.J., will be a sophomore at Duke University in the fall. With the win, Harraka moved into first place in the West Series rookie standings, one point ahead of Blake Koch.
“To move up through the ranks with Bill McAnally and the Drive for Diversity program and to bring NAPA a win in front of a hometown crowd is awesome,” Harraka said of his victory in Colorado in front of a large contingent of representatives from the Western Division Headquarters for NAPA, which sponsors his team and sponsored the race. “The car was good. We weren’t the best car at any one point, but we were the best car for the 150 laps.”
With the win, Harraka earned a spot in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in January.
Greg Pursley, a Canyon High graduate, was fourth in the race. He is third in the West Series standings with two races remaining in the West Series schedule.

Photo: Paulie Harraka (12) battles Jason Bowles (6) for the lead in the NASCAR Camping World Series West race at Colorado National Speedway on Saturday. (Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images for NASCAR)