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NOTEBOOK: Matt Goslant making a difference at Bill McAnally Racing

DACONO, Colo. -- Eric Holmes has the lead in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings, but he’s had to work to get it. He opened the season with a 20th place finish at All American Speedway in Roseville and didn’t take the lead in the West Series standings until after the fifth race of the season.
It’s a little different this year for Holmes, driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing. In previous years, he has started out hot, notching a couple wins early in the season and establishing a spot atop the West Series standings.
Part of the reason Holmes had a bit of a rough start is because he has a new crew chief. Matt Goslant is in his first year with Holmes and Bill McAnally Racing. Even though the season opener didn’t produce the kind of result Holmes is used to, Holmes said there have been some races that Goslant made a huge difference.
“It’s been a little tough on him,” Holmes said. “I feel as the tracks we go to for the second time, Phoenix and Roseville, I think we’ll be a whole bunch better. But it’s been a little struggle. He’s from the East Coast and he’s never even seen any of these tracks. He’s helped the team raise the bar a little bit. He’s brought a lot of stuff from back East and technology that we’ve been lacking.”
Phoenix International Raceway is one track where Goslant was able to push Holmes over the top. Holmes won the race at Phoenix in April. Iowa Speedway is another track Holmes credits Goslant for improving the team’s performance.
“To win at Phoenix was big for us because I’ve been close to winning there, but we didn’t really have the bigger track set-up and he brought that,” Holmes said. “We didn’t run great at Iowa, but we ran better than we normally have just because of some of the stuff he brought. As long as we can keep getting our short track car better at some of these – I’m really looking forward to the end of the year here, all good tracks for me.”
Holmes has a 79-point lead over David Mayhew in the K&N Pro Series West standings with four races remaining. Holmes has been in the lead since the race at Infineon Raceway in June. He reached the top of the West Series standings in a way he’s not accustomed to. But Holmes said he doesn’t really care how he ended up in the lead, just as long as he has it.
“When it’s all said and done, I don’t care how I win the championship,” Holmes said. “But right now, yeah, I wish we had more wins and led more laps and maybe a few poles.”