SANTA ROSA, CA -- 1998 NASCAR Southwest Series Champion Steve Portenga is ready to meet the challenges of California Speedway's fast 2 mile oval in order to taste victory in this weekend's California 200, the fourth of fourteen events in the NASCAR Winston West season. Success has so far eluded the #3 Roto Rooter Team in 1999 and Portenga is determined to find the dynamics that will move him into victory lane before too long.

Though an aggressive short track racer, Portenga is no stranger to the challenges of larger facilities, having raced at many tough speedways throughout the nation during his two years of competition on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. "I'm really looking forward to this weekend," commented Portenga, "Not only do we get the feel for racing a super speedway, we get to compete against some of NASCAR's finest competition from the Truck Series as well as Winston Cup. I look forward to learning a lot from these drivers at this track."

With less than 100 points between Portenga and series points leader Mike Chase, the #3 Roto Rooter team has been focused on preparing a solid car for this weekend's run. "Our goal is to finish in the Top 5 this weekend to tighten up our points position," says Portenga, "This means preparing a strong, fast race car, securing a top qualifying effort and staying focused on the strategies that will best utilize our track positioning and horsepower during the race."

Portenga is currently in seventh position in the series points standings, just 12 points away from cracking the Top 5. Most recently finishing 9th at Phoenix International Raceway in March, team sponsors Roto Rooter, Golden Gate Meat Company, AutoPro of Hawaii and Mission Linen & Uniform Service are excited about the team's progress in the Winston West Series. From his start in NASCAR Racing in 1988, Portenga has earned numerous title and honors including two NASCAR Southwest Series Championships (1994 and 1998), with 6 main event wins in his Southwest Series career. A 2 year veteran of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Portenga earned honors in 1995 as the youngest rookie to finish in the Top 5 in a race as well as the highest placing youth in the series (13th of 103 competitors).

Fans can watch the California 200 on Sunday, May 9th on ESPN2 at 10am EST (7am Pacific) and find out more about Steve's sensational career by visiting his website at www.jps.net/race14.

Source: Steve Portenga Racing
Posted: 4/28/99