Cole Moore has picked up back-to-back victories in the first two races of the Bill McAnally Racing Drivers Academy this weekend at All American Speedway, once again dominating the series’ 50-lap feature event.
The 23-year-old took the lead of the race from polesitter Jolynn Wilkinson in the opening laps of the event and never looked back, pulling a sizeable gap on the remainder of the pack and cruising to victory.
“My first three races of the year weren’t good in my Super Late Model,” Moore said in a post-race interview. “So this was a big confidence booster, hopefully this rolls over into the rest of the race that I’ve got.”
Jolynn Wilkinson finished in the second position on Saturday Night, after starting on the pole and leading the first couple laps of the event. The 17-year-old was able to keep pace with Moore, who gave her high praise following the event, advocating for a sponsor to jump on-board to partner with her for more BMR Academy Races.
“It feels really good, this is my dream, and I can’t thank Bill McAnally enough for giving me this opportunity,” said Wilkinson. “We battled with Cole [Moore] at times, we were right together, but he was just better off of turn four, that’s where he got me the most. I learned a lot and I’m going to take that back to short track racing with me.”
Brandon Varney, Gabe Sommers and Amber Balcaen rounded out the five-car field in Saturday Night’s event. The event featured a pair of caution flags, one of which was a scheduled break at lap 15, the other being a caution for debris with under 15 to go.
Cole Moore Takes Dominating Victory in Inaugural BMR Driver Academy Event at All American Speedway
Varney was fairly pleased with his pair of third-place finishes this weekend at All American Speedway in the BMR Drivers Academy, but was fighting some handling issues throughout the race that kept him from contending with Moore for the win.
“It’s good, we picked up a pair of third-place finishes this weekend, both Friday and Saturday,” said Varney. “Unfortunately, my car was a little bit too tight tonight, couldn’t get the thing to rotate center off. However, I can’t thank BMR and Bill McAnally himself for bringing me along and I’ve learned so much.”
Compared to Friday Night’s event, Saturday was uneventful for Amber Balcaen, who although she finished in a worse position, was able to have an incident-free race.
“I just need laps and that’s what we’re getting here at the BMR Drivers Academy,” said Balcaen. “I’m just grateful to continue to develop my skills and learn, that’s really what we’re here to do.”
“I’m super grateful to have ICON Direct onboard for all 40 races, as well as Glen McLeod and Son, it’s their fifth year sponsoring me, and I wouldn’t be here without my sponsors. Huge thanks to them and to Bill [McAnally] for giving us an opportunity to get so many laps. I have a lot of learning to do and a lot of progression to [make] but I’m excited for it.”
The BMR Drivers Academy will resume on April 9 – 10 at All American Speedway for the series’ third and fourth events of the 2021 season.
BMR Drivers Academy Point Standings (After 2 / 40 Races):
- Cole Moore – 100pts
- Gabe Sommers – 92pts (-8)
- Brandon Varney – 92pts (-8)
- Jolynn Wilkinson – 90pts (-10)
- Amber Balcaen – 86pts (-14)
