Bobby Dotter's first look at Rocky Mountain Raceways was as a crew chief. He was turning the wrenches for the team that finished third when the NASCAR Winston West Series made its inaugural visit a year ago to the 3/8-mile paved oval near Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dotter will be behind the wheel, however, when the series returns to Rocky Mountain Raceways on Monday,Sept. 4, for the Bank One 250 presented by PPG AutomotiveFinishes and NAPA. The $126,891 event will be televised to a national audience on the Speedvision cable network. It is slated to air on a tape-delay basis at 12 p.m. on Sept. 29 and is to be rebroadcast at 2 p.m. on act. 2.
Although only in his first full season of competing on the circuit, Dotter has already notched 2 wins this year. He heads to this event, fourth in the NASCAR Winston West Series championship standings -just three points behind third and five behind second. Dotter says his role with Sammy Potashnick and SP Racing last season has benefited him. "Being a crew chief an the Winston West Series last year really has helped me a lot this year," he said. "Because even though I have not driven at hardly any of the tracks we are running, I was there and able to experience everything in terms of the handling of the cars. I think that's been a big help for me."
Dotter began his racing career in the Chicago area, where he grew up. "I was pretty lucky that just as I turned 16 years old, my dad had a Saturday-night Late Model (stock car),"Dotter recalled. "Dad got the opportunity to go drive far someone in the (Automobile Racing Club of America)." He left our Late Model sitting home. So, he started letting me drive it.
"I was real fortunate that there was a track in our area that I liked as a kid, called Raceway Park," Dotter continued. "So, I convinced him to let me go out there. One thing led to another and when the season was over I had won 22 late model featurees. That opened a few doors for me to atart driving for other people and move up the ladder."
Dotter raced in the Chicago area for about four years before heading to a travelling
circuit in the Midwest. After one season he attempted to get into the NASCAR Busch
Series, Grand National Division. When that did not work out, he opted to move to Florida
to compete in another series. Some success that season led hi5 car owner to move the
team to the Charlotte, N.C., area and begin a Busch Grand National team, Dotter said.
He raced in the series from 1990 to I996 - accumulating more than 200 starts,
including a victory. His team lost its sponsor in 1996, however, and the car owner sold
him the team. After struggling without a sponsor, Dotter turned to workina as a crew chief
in the Charlotte area.
Last season Dotter demonstrated he still had the knack for driving, meanwhile,
finishing in the top 10 in three of six races he drove in the NASCAR Winston West Series
while also working on the cars. He was able to turn his attention to driving the full
schedule this year after he hooked up with car owner Gene Christensen.
"I'm enjoying the driving immensely," said Dotter, who continues to live in the
Charlotte area. "It's something that I've been wanting to do for a while. I had a really good
deal with the Potashnick's and taking care of Sammy. It was something that was hard to
walk away from without having something in place. Gene Christensen has given me the
chance to show that I can still drive a race car and win races and I'm really enjoying it."
Dotter's victories this season came on the road course at Laguna Seta Raceway
in May and at Irwindale [Calif.) Speedway in June. "We're running fairly well," Dotter said.
"If not for a few problems this year, I think we'd really be a contender for the
championship. But,we're doing the best we can. We're running without sponsorship
again and it's getting a little hard to do that."
The NASCAR Winston West Series is one of nine NASCAR Touring Series' that
blanket the United States. Corporate sponsors make significant contributions to
NASCAR Touring Series point funds. T h e s e sponsors include Anheuser-Busch,
Featherlite, Goody's Headache Powders, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Raybestos Brakes,
RE/" International, Inc., Slim Jim, and RJ Reynolds brand, Winston.
