Eric Holmes started on the pole in the running of the Altamont “150”, in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series, in Tracy, CA on Sunday July 2. Eric took the lead from lap one to lap 62 and it began to look like no one could catch him. After a restart on lap 63 Jim Pettit II, passed Eric to take the lead, but not for long. Eric passed Pettit on lap 86 and kept the lead to lap 114. Eric led a total of 91 laps until Rip Michels, who was running second, turned into Eric in turn three and sent him into the wall. The wreck caused heavy damage to Eric’s Sunoco Race Fuels/Taco Bell Chevrolet Monte Carlo and ending Eric’s night. Eric told the Modesto Bee “He’s (Michels) a great guy and he’ll probably say he didn’t mean to do it. But me and (Jim) Pettit raced hard side-by-side just fine. (Michels) just turned right into me.”

Kanke let Michels know he wasn’t pleased about Holmes being done for the night, bumping him from behind under caution while Eric’s car was towed from the track.

Michels admitted that he might not have given Holmes enough room. But Kanke felt like he saw everything clearly from his third-place spot. “He didn’t appear to do it, he did,” Kanke said of Michels causing Holmes wreck.

Kanke, who went on to win, stated he would have liked to race Holmes for the win. Michels finished second, giving up the lead to Kanke in lap 124.

Eric officially finished 13th which dropped him from first to third in the standings with 629 points, only 17 points out of first behind Michels, who took the lead from Eric and 6 points out of second behind Eddy McKean.

The next NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series race of the season is to be held at Stockton “99” on July 15.