Two years ago, Coloradoan Chris Eggleston was having a midcareer crisis when he cold-called a prominent NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race owner and earned a ride at his hometown track, Colorado National Speedway — where he first competed in 2005 at age 16. He won that race to earn a full-time ride with Bill McAnally Racing for the 2015 season, and returns to CNS for this year’s K&N race as the series defending champion.
Eggleston, 27, has revitalized his career and still dreams of the big-time heading into Saturday’s Toyota/Napa Auto Parts 150 at the three-eights-mile oval in Dacono.
“Before that race in ’14, I kind of thought my racing career was spiraling downhill,” Eggleston said Thursday. “I didn’t have a lot of sponsors and we weren’t racing that much. Getting that Bill McAnally opportunity and putting that car in the winner’s circle turned everything around. Life is all about second chances, and my second chance turned into a NASCAR championship.”
Eggleston was raised in the north Denver corridor and graduated from Erie High School before attending Colorado State University, where he graduated in 2011. He cut his racing teeth in various divisions at CNS since 2005, but other than winning legends track titles in 2006, 2013 and 2014, he missed too many weekends to vie for other championships. He won the 2009 American Speed Association late models north championship and made a combined seven NASCAR Truck Series starts in 2010 and 2011.
Eggleston, who finished third in last year’s series race at CNS, won the previous K&N West race May 21 at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernadino, Calif. It was his first series win of the year and the fourth of his career. He is third in the championship standings behind rookie Todd Gilliland and Ryan Partridge as the series heads to Colorado for the fifth event on a 14-race schedule. Eggleston has finished in the top five in each of the first four races.
“Very cool, very humbling to be a champion and bring that championship back to Colorado,” Eggleston said. “Not content though, because this is a very young and talented series.”
Eggleston was teammates with Brandon McReynolds last season. McReynolds is the son of Dale Earnhardt’s longtime crew chief Larry McReynolds, who is now a race analyst for NBC. Eggleston still dreams of racing in NASCAR’s top series but no longer is willing to uproot himself. He is active in the family business.
“My family and passion is all here. I’ve had a lots of friends move to North Carolina and pursue racing and not one of them have had the success they sought,” Eggleston said. “If you’re racing anywhere in the country you’re still giving yourself a shot.”
Saturday’s race is the K&N West’s 14th visit at CNS and will be televised by NBC Sports Network on June 16.
