Story By: BILL MCANALLY RACING – ROSEVILLE, CA – Bill McAnally Racing announced that Cole Rouse will join BMR to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in 2018.
The 20-year-old driver from Fort Smith, Arkansas, will contend for the championship in the West division of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and race in select events in the East division, driving BMR’s No. 99 NAPA Filters Toyota Camry.
This marks the return of Rouse to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, where he registered four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes while finishing eighth in the championship standings as a rookie in 2016.
This past season, he raced for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the CARS Super Late Model Tour, where he captured a championship. He also made starts in the ARCA Midwest Tour, the ARCA CRA Super Series, the ARCA Racing Series, the Southern Super Series, and the JEGS/CRA All-Star Tour in 2017.
“It’s great to have Cole join the BMR team,” said BMR President Bill McAnally. “We’ve watched his development and with the potential he’s displayed, we anticipate great results for BMR’s partners and fans. We look forward to chasing a championship together.
“Cole comes to us with a lot of racing experience,” McAnally said. “That should be beneficial in getting a quick start to the 2018 season.
“We will work hard to continue the success we’ve had in recent years with the NAPA Filters Toyota and I know Cole will do a great job on and off the track in representing BMR and our partners,” McAnally said.
Rouse said he is eager to join the BMR team and return to the series.
“I’m excited to be with BMR next year in the NAPA Filters Toyota,” Rouse said. “Bill does a great job of getting the right people to make the program thrive. BMR was the most dominant team in the West this past year and I think we will be in the coming year, too.
“My goal for the year is to win the championship in the West,” he said. “I think we have a really good shot at it.”
Rouse began his racing career at the age of 14, competing in mini-cup cars before advancing to late model competition in 2013. He captured attention in 2015 when he led a race-high 145 laps of the All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, before mechanical trouble left him to finish fifth.
BMR captured its third straight title in 2017 and eighth K&N West championship overall – a record for the series and the NASCAR Regional Touring level.