Andrew Ranger won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on Saturday and ran out of fuel on his warm-down lap around the Northern California road course.
Jason Bowles ran out of gas 100 feet from the finish line and saw his second-place spot slowly slip away to 22nd.
Paulie Harraka, the runner-up in the West Series race, said he was shutting down his engine during caution laps to conserve fuel.
It ended up being a good day for the West Series regulars on a crash-filled race around the 1.99 road course. There were six caution periods for 14 laps, but a number of cars ended their day with dented fenders and crumpled bumpers.
Harraka had his best finish since winning the season opener at All America Speedway in Roseville in March. Brandon Davis, a driver from Huntington Beach making his second career West Series start, finished third, his best career finish in the West Series.
Eric Holmes, a two-time West Series champion, was fourth. He was followed by Michael Self, a rookie driver from Park City, Utah, in fifth. Holmes took over the lead in the West Series standings and leads David Mayhew by 24 points.
Bowles, who won the pole for the race, was looking to win his third straight West Series race at Sonoma. The reigning West Series champion from Ontario won the previous two West Series races at Infineon Raceway.
Carlsbad’s Boris Said, a road-course ringer and one of three drivers in the West Series race who also qualified for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, started on the front row with Bowles. Said ended up 14th.
David Gilliland, a Sprint Cup Series regular and a driver from Riverside, started the race fifth, but ended up in 28th place. He led the most laps in the race, including a stretch of 14 from laps 29-43. Ranger passed Gilliland on lap 44, but Gilliland regained the lead on lap 45. Ranger took the lead for good on lap 46.
Mattias Ekstrom, a driver from Sweden who will be in the No. 83 Toyota for Red Bull Racing in the Cup race, started 11th, but ran into trouble early, spinning off the course, and finished 36th.
It wasn’t a good day for Mayhew, who entered the race as the leader in the West Series standings. He started on the second row and in the third spot, but had mechanical problems and finished 23rd.
Greg Pursley, who started the day in third place in the West Series standings, was spun out by Jim Inglebright on a restart and crashed with Jonathon Gomez on lap 40. Pursley finished 27th and dropped to seventh place in the West Series standings.
Photo: Eric Holmes took over the lead in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings with a fourth-place finish at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on Saturday.
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