SCOTTS VALLEY, CA -- In his first appearance in the NASCAR Winston West Series two years ago, Mike Wallace had to settle for a runner-up finish. In his second race in the West’s oldest stock car racing circuit, he improved on his record by winning the Napa Auto Parts 100 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 27.

The race is the first of four NASCAR Winston West Series events the St. Louis, Mo., native plans to race this season in Jimmie Smith’s Ultra Wheels/Team ASE Ford.

Wallace set a track record in qualifying, winning the Bud Pole Award with a speed of 129.296 mph around the one-mile paved oval. He went on to establish the series mark for a 100-lap event at PIR, with an average speed of 80.717 mph. He paced the field to the finish line under caution, winning $16,450 in prize money and posted awards.

Finishing second was the 1994 series champion Mike Chase of Redding, Calif., in the Gene Christensen-owned Chevrolet. Austin Cameron of El Cajon, Calif., was third in the Mar-Con/Creative Touch Chevrolet, followed by Ron Hornaday of Palmdale, Calif., in the Napa Pontiac and Brandon Ash of Umpqua, Ore., in the Big Daddy’s BBQ Sauce Ford. Bobby Dotter, Sean Woodside, Butch Gilliland, Steve Portenga and Scott Gaylord completed the top 10. A record 15 drivers finished on the lead lap. The race featured four lead changes among four drivers — Wallace, Portenga, Ross Thompson and Joe Bean. The pace of the event was slowed for 37 laps by seven cautions.

With his runner-up finish, Chase took over the lead in the NASCAR Winston West Series championship standings. He has 470 points and is followed in the standings by Ash with 463, Cameron with 446, and Woodside with 444. Sammy Potashnick of Sikeston, Mo., is fifth with 385 points. Rounding out the top 10 are Dotter with 375, Portenga with 373, Bean with 367, Jason Small with 354 and John Metcalf with 348.

Despite a 24th place finish, Potashnick retained his lead in the chase for the Sears Point Raceway Rookie-of-the-Year Award. With 24 points, he leads the record 20 freshman drivers who have registered for the program this season. Metcalf and Small trail with 21 each. Rick Ware is third with 17, followed by Brendan Gaughan 14, Mike Duncan 13, Jerry Cain 11, Billy Turner and Ross Thompson each with eight, Mike Dillard with six, Dean Kuhn and Scott Busby each with five, Bobby Pangonis and Davy Lee Liniger each with two and Rick Bogart with one.

Ford continues to lead the standings in the battle for the Manufacturers’ Championship. Ford has 24 points and two victories, while Chevrolet has 19 points and one win, followed by Pontiac with 14 points.

The next event on the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule is the Bakersfield 200 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif, on April 11.

Source: NASCAR Public Relations
Posted: 3/29/99