TOOELE, Utah – Two rookies stole the show at Miller Motorsports Park with Jason Bowles scoring his first career win as the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series made its inaugural visit to the state-of-the-art road course on Saturday.
Bowles won the 41-lap event by 3.510 seconds over fellow rookie Alex Haase, who registered his best career finish.
Bowles, who started third, raced into the lead on lap 30.
“I don’t know that I expected to win my first race in my rookie year,” Bowles said. “When we unloaded on Friday, the car was really good right out of the trailer. We just all kind of had a feeling that it might be our weekend.”
With his win, Bowles secured a spot in this year’s NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. The prestigious post-season event will be held at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway on Oct. 19-20.
Brian Ickler, who had won the last two West Series races, moved into second with six laps to go and ran 1 1/2 seconds faster on lap 35. Bowles responded with the fastest lap of the race and a lap later Ickler slid off the course and lost several spots. He wound up sixth.
“My crew chief said he was about a second a lap faster, so he said see you if you can pick it up a little bit,” Bowles said. “And I did.”
Series veteran Mike David finished third, his sixth podium finish in 10 races, to extend his lead in the championship standings.
Completing the top five were Johnny Borneman and long-time series veteran Scott Gaylord, who led 10 laps midway through the race in his return to the series after an eight-race absence.
David leads the series standings with 1,548 points, followed by Borneman with 1,434. Mike Duncan, who encountered mechanical trouble and finished 14th, slipped to third in the standings with 1,418 points.
NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, WEST SERIES-BIG O TIRES 150 Results
Saturday
At Miller Motorsports Park
Tooele, Utah
Lap length: 3.06 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (3) Jason Bowles, Ontario, Calif., Ford, 41 laps, 70.384 mph, $14,388.
2. (7) Alex Haase, Las Vegas, Nev., Chevrolet, 41, $10,088.
3. (1) Mike David, Modesto, Calif., Ford, 41, $9,588.
4. (8) Johnny Borneman, Ramona, Calif., Ford, 41, $6,088.
5. (9) Scott Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo., Chevrolet, 41, $3,500.
6. (20) Brian Ickler, San Diego, Calif., Chevrolet, 41, $5,588.
7. (13) Eric Richardson, Bakersfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 41, $4,388.
8. (10) Eric Hardin, Anaheim, Calif., Chevrolet, 41, $3,288.
9. (16) Rick Wall, Irvine, Calif., Ford, 41, $3,188.
10. (2) Jim Inglebright, Fairfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 41, $4,088.
11. (4) Moses Smith, Tempe, Ariz., Chevrolet, 41, $2,658.
12. (19) Garland Self, San Jose, Calif., Ford, 40, $1,800.
13. (17) Brett Thompson, Jerome, Idaho, Chevrolet, 37, $3,338.
14. (11) Mike Duncan, Bakersfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 26, $3,288.
15. (6) Todd Souza, Aromas, Calif., Chevrolet, 22, brakes, $1,650.
16. (18) Daryl Harr, St Albert, Alberta, Chevrolet, 21, overheating, $2,188.
17. (14) Kevin O'Connell, Newport Beach, Calif., Chevrolet, 14, engine, $1,575.
18. (15) Andrew Myers, Newport Beach Calif., Toyota, 6, accident, $2,138.
19. (5) Justin Lofton, Westmorland, Calif., Ford, 3, engine, $2,113.
20. (12) Ryan Foster, Anderson, Calif., Chevrolet, 3, engine, $2,102.
21. (21) Stan Silva, Jr., Castroville, Calif., Chevrolet, 0, overheating, $2,088.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 46 minutes 57 seconds
Margin of Victory: 3.510 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: Mike David. (93.225 mph, 118.166 seconds)
Caution Flags: 4 for 11 laps.
Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: M.David 1-15; J.Bowles 16; S.Gaylord 17-26; E.Hardin 27-29; J.Bowles 30-41.
Standings: 1. M.David, 1548; 2. J.Borneman, 1434; 3. M.Duncan, 1418; 4. J.Bowles, 1406; 5. B.Ickler, 1358; 6. E.Hardin, 1352; 7. B.Thompson, 1319; 8. J.Lofton, 1312; 9. A.Haase, 1270; 10. E.Richardson, 1217.
Unofficial
