By: Mitchell Breuer

This season has been a transition year for Bill McAnally Racing’s ARCA West Series lineup, as the organization brought five new drivers for 2020.

It has also been a transition for BMR’s new drivers, including Holley Hollan, who pilots the No. 50.This year marked her debut in any of the ARCA racing series, and the beginning of her move from racing midgets for Keith Kunz to stock car racing.

She started off the year with a 15^th-place finish at New Smyrna Speedway in the East, but has seen improvement in the West with four top-10’s six starts. However, Hollanadmitted during a Wednesday Zoom media session that it is tough to judge where she is at this point in the season.

“I think that’s probably the hardest part for me, not knowing exactly where I stand with the pavement stuff just not racing that much,” Hollan said. “I get in the car and, Bill and the team are like we feel like you are doing this better or that better. It’s hard for me to see that within myself sometimes, especially not being in the car that much. It’s just hard to see that progress but, we are making progress from where we started in New Smyrna to where we are now without a doubt.”

The 18-year-old did note she believes that her communication and comfort level have improved, along with her ability to adjust from shorter races on dirt, to longer races on pavement.

The consistent schedule has been one the factors in speeding up the learning process and has been something that Hollan thinks she has benefited from. This was especially evident during two-day stretch between Evergreen and Douglas County, where she was able to score her best finishes to date with a sixth and seventh.

Ultimately for her though, the results are not the full tally of where she stacks up against her competition, instead focusing on who she is running with throughout the races.

“When you look at the people who were in front of me, that’s kind of the thing I look at too. How much experience do they have over me?” Hollan said. “To be able to stick with those guys and be competitive is honestly my main goal right now.”

Heading into this weekend’s race at Colorado National Speedway, Hollan will hope to continue to gain ground on her fellow competitors, as she looks to climb from her seventh position in the standings and decrease the 54-point between her and current leader, Jesse Love.