CAIN COMPLETES PORTLAND READIES FOR IRWINDALE

Jerry Cain, #71, and his team stood up to the test they were given at the Grainger 200 at the Portland Speedway on August 14th. A number of drivers and teams found that the race was not going to be easy, and was not going to be handed to anyone. Competition in the Winston West Series is too tough for that.

Jerry and his team initially earned the pole position and held it for quite a while during qualifying. To their further credit, they held the pole based on only the results of the second lap of qualifying, as the first lap ended in a spin-out and was not counted. As in past races, Jerry's crew had prepared a fine car for him again, and when qualifying was done, the team was ready to start the race in the 6th position. The team's consistent performance this summer has kept Jerry within the top 10 starters each time. On June 19th at Irwindale, the team qualified in 7th place. On July 18th at Evergreen Speedway, they qualified in 8th place, and now at Portland - 6th. Jerry is making good on his statement made recently "to keep qualifying up front even more."

As the race began, Jerry stayed in the lead pack, keeping himself in the top 5. To stay up front, Jerry pushed hard. He knew that the team had once again given him a fast and solid car, and he was using it. When asked about holding back a bit to save tires, Jerry shared that he "wasn't exactly in a tire-saving mood that day."

About half-way through the race, another driver in sixth place decided he really wanted to move up a spot. Seeing this, Jerry waved him by, then moved down into the dirt to give room. Unfortunately, the other driver needed a bit more room, and Jerry ended up getting turned around. The incident knocked the mufflers loose on Jerry's car, which became a key factor in this race. As Portland Speedway operates with a noise restriction, Jerry's car had to be brought into the pits to work on the mufflers to quiet the car. Upon returning to the track, the car was running well, but was still noisy, and had to be brought in again. Another incident occurring later in the race found Jerry and the car turned around again. Like we said, this was a tough race.

Keeping a hold of everything was hard, but Jerry and the team finished a respectable 15th. As we enter the second half of the 1999 racing season, it should be noted that Jerry Cain and his team are in 14th place overall in the NASCAR Winston West Series standings, out of a total of about 60 drivers and 25 "regulars." Not bad, considering this is still Jerry's Rookie Year in Winston West! And speaking of rookies, Jerry is 4th in the Sears Point Raceway Rookie-of-the-Year Contenders.

Bill Sedgwick, who hails from the same area as does Jerry, won the Grainger 200 at Portland that day. After winning, even Bill admitted "This was a lot of fun, but it's not as easy as it used to be. My hat's off to NASCAR and Winston West for making this series so awesome. It's not easy."

Next, in fact this very Saturday, August 21st, Jerry Cain and his team return to Irwindale Speedway. A full night of racing begins at 7:00 p.m., with Speed Trucks running first, then Winston West starting at 8:30 p.m. This will be a great opportunity for Jerry to enjoy Irwindale Speedway. Knowing how strong the car has been all summer keeps everyone "extremely pumped," as one crew member commented recently.

Ahh, a nice new track and a fast car - should be a winning combination!