Bill McAnally Racing Press Release
ROSEVILLE, Calif. — McAnally-Hilgemann Racing announced today that the team will align with Chevrolet and field Chevrolet Silverados full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series beginning in 2022.
In addition to MHR competing in Chevrolets in the Camping World Truck Series, Bill McAnally Racing will also field Chevrolets in the ARCA Menards Series beginning next season.
It was also revealed that beginning next year, MHR will operate from a GMS Racing building in Statesville, North Carolina, as part of an alliance being formed between the two teams.
“Chevrolet is looking forward to working with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing as one of our truck series teams for 2022,” said Dayne Pierantoni, GM Racing Program Manager for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. “Bill McAnally has demonstrated his commitment to fielding championship-caliber teams over the years and his record speaks for itself. With Bill’s commitment to working in conjunction with our existing partners under the Chevrolet banner, we are expecting great results from his organization.”
This will mark a return to Chevrolet for McAnally. BMR campaigned Chevrolets from its beginning — which started at the grassroots level of NASCAR, racing at a Northern California track.
“We are excited about this opportunity to be part of Chevrolet’s racing program in the Camping World Truck Series,” McAnally said. “We look forward to competing in Chevrolet Silverados as we contend for wins and championships in the series.”
In its alliance with GMS Racing, MHR will operate out of one of the GMS buildings, beginning next season.
“We are thrilled to form a new alliance with Bill McAnally and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing starting next season,” said Mike Beam, President of GMS Racing. “Our team is always looking for new ways to grow and thrive, so forming an alliance with a high caliber team such as Bill’s makes great sense to us. I’m looking forward to seeing what we are able to accomplish next season and beyond.”
Since its inception in 2014, GMS Racing has won two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships (2016, 2020), one ARCA Menards Series championship (2015), two ARCA East championships (2019, 2020) and the 2020 Sioux Chief Showdown title.
Working with a championship Chevrolet team such as GMS Racing will benefit MHR, McAnally said.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with a team the caliber of GMS Racing as we prepare to partner with Chevrolet next season,” he said. “We’re anxious to move ahead and we’re confident that our alliance with GMS will be beneficial to both teams.”
MHR announced last month that Colby Howard will be coming on board for 2022, as the team is working to expand to a two-truck operation. MHR is still working on details of a new agreement with current driver Derek Kraus. An update on that and other plans for next year will be announced at a later date.
McAnally’s history with Chevrolet can be traced back to the start of Bill McAnally Racing, when McAnally raced in local divisions at All American Speedway in Roseville, California. He captured his first NASCAR championship in a Chevrolet — winning the late model division title in NASCAR’s Weekly Racing Series at Roseville in 1990.
McAnally joined the ranks of what was then known as the NASCAR Winston West Series in 1992 — making two starts as a driver/owner in what has since evolved into NASCAR’s ARCA Menards Series West. He built on his program and was able to run the full schedule of regular-season events by 1995. He continued in the role as driver and owner until early 1998 when he opted to turn over the steering wheel so he could focus 100 percent on building his team into a top contender.
McAnally was successful in that effort, as he developed BMR into a powerhouse team in the series. BMR won three consecutive series championships with the bowtie brand — with Sean Woodside capturing the team’s first title in 1999 and Brendan Gaughan following that up with back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001. The team won 32 series races with Chevrolet through 2007. Those victories include a prestigious win in NASCAR’s inaugural All-Star event for regional touring in 2003.
BMR’s program in the West has varied over the years, beginning with a one-car operation and later expanding to a multi-car program. McAnally also partnered with Richard Childress Racing in establishing a driver development program in the West.
Overall, BMR has won 10 NASCAR K&N West/ARCA West championships — a record for the series and for NASCAR Regional Touring overall — and scored 106 overall wins in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series/ARCA Menards Series.
In addition to success at the NASCAR regional level, BMR also returned to its roots in NASCAR’s weekly track program with a successful effort as part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. A win in a Chevrolet by BMR’s Allison Duncan in 2005 marked the first victory by a female in that series at Stockton (California) 99 Speedway and delivered D4D with its first win.
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing was formed at the beginning of 2020, when McAnally partnered with Bill and Mona Hilgemann to field an entry in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on a full-time basis, with Kraus as the driver.
Kraus finished 11th in the championship standings as a rookie in 2020 — recording three top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 23 starts, including a runner-up finish at Darlington Raceway and a fourth-place finish at Daytona International Speedway. He missed the playoffs this year by just 18 points and is 13th in the championship standings, with two races remaining this season.
Photo: Meg Oliphant/ARCA Racing