Holmes, Michels get recognized

As Californians Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick posed for photos in New York last week as the Nextel Cup and Busch series champions, they were joined by two other Californians who’d won titles in two of NASCAR’s minor league series this year: Eric Holmes and Tom “Rip” Michels.

Holmes, 32, of Escalon, near Stockton, won the NASCAR Grand National division’s AutoZone West Series crown. Michels, 41, of San Fernando, won the Southwest series title in NASCAR’s Late-Model Elite division.

That earned them invitations to New York, where they joined Johnson, of El Cajon; Harvick, of Bakersfield, the winners of other regional titles and the rest of stock car racing’s top figures at a week-long champions’ celebration.

The program included a group photo at Rockefeller Plaza, dinners at posh Manhattan restaurants and an awards celebration at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel on Park Avenue.

For Holmes and Michels, the championships provided their first visits to New York.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Michels said after returning home. “We got to see some people you hadn’t seen in a while, like Harvick. We used to race with him about 10 years ago.”

Holmes, a second-generation driver who grew up watching his father race at Stockton 99 Speedway, also will be feted Saturday at a Grand National awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

He and Michels both drive Chevrolet Monte Carlos and are frequent visitors to the half-mile oval at Irwindale Speedway. Michels, in fact, holds the record for Irwindale victories with 44.

The Grand National and Elite series have some widely known alumni who are now Cup drivers, including Harvick, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray.

But Holmes and Michels are likely to keep competing in NASCAR’s lower ranks, at least next year.

“I’ve been racing for a living for about six years now,” Holmes said. “I’ve had a good time and I can’t complain if I didn’t get to go farther. But every racer would like to be sitting where Jimmie Johnson is right now.”

Michels, meanwhile, said he probably would drive late-model cars at Irwindale and other short tracks in 2007, because NASCAR is folding the Elite Division after this season.

james.peltz@latimes.com

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Standings

NASCAR Late-Model Elite Division, Southwest Series

*--* Pl. Driver Points Wins 1. Tom Michels 1,325 1 2. Eric Holmes 1,324 3 3. Eddy McKean 1,228 0 4. M.K. Kanke 1,198 2 5. David Mayhew 1,113 0

*--*

NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series

*--* Pl. Driver Points Wins 1. Eric Holmes 1,889 1 2. Mike David 1,806 2 3. Mike Duncan 1,762 1 4. Steve Portenga 1,720 0 5. Peyton Sellers 1,675 1

*--*

Source: racingwest.com