NASCAR WEST NEWS NOTES & SCHEDULE

The race … The California Highway Patrol 200 is the seventh event on the NASCAR Camping World Series West 2008 schedule. It is one of two races scheduled at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale this season, with the series set to return Aug. 16. This marks the second straight year for the track to host this race as a special Fourth of July event.

The procedure … The starting field is 30 cars, including provisionals. The first 26 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 200 laps (100 miles).

The track … Toyota Speedway at Irwindale is a half-mile paved oval with blended banking of six, nine and 12 degrees in the corners and banking of six degrees in the straights. The track has hosted 16 NASCAR Camping World Series events, dating back to June of 1999.

The records … Qualifying: Butch Gilliland, June 19, 1999, 100.722 mph, 17.871 seconds; Race: Austin Cameron, July 27, 2002, 76.062 mph, 1 hour 18 minutes 53 seconds.

Midway point … This event marks the midway point in the 2008 season, with six races complete and six remaining.

Irwindale winners … Austin Cameron (No. 18 NAPA Auto Care Toyota) leads winners at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, with five victories. Coincidently, Cameron will be making his 100th series start at Irwindale.

Other Irwindale winners … NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver and two-time NASCAR Camping World Series West champion Brendan Gaughan follows Austin Cameron on the list of winners at Irwindale, with the three races he swept in 2001. Bobby Dotter and Steve Portenga are also multiple race winners, with two victories each.

11 pole winners at Irwindale … The 16 visits to Irwindale resulted in 11 different drivers winning a pole. Cameron, Mike Duncan, Eric Holmes (No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota), Scott Lynch and Sean Woodside are multiple winners, with two each.

Team dominance … The Bill McAnally Racing team has dominated competition at Toyota Speedway, winning eight of 11 races since 2001. Gaughan swept all three visits for BMR in 2001. Three of Cameron’s five Irwindale wins were with BMR, one in 2002 and two in 2004. Portenga added a BMR win in 2005 and Brian Ickler won there for BMR last year.

Front runner … Gaughan has the most top-five finishes at Irwindale, with six. The Las Vegas native also won the most money at the state-of-the-art facility, with $71,690, and led the most laps, running out front for 674 laps.

Most top 10s … Scott Gaylord has scored the most top-10s at the Irwindale track – finishing in the top 10 in 11 of 13 races he has competed in there.

Widespread competition … In the 16 races at the Southern California track, 143 different drivers have taken the green flag. Austin Cameron and Jack Sellers (No. 15 Aramark Chevrolet) top that list, each starting 14 of those races. Other drivers to compete in NASCAR Camping World Series West events at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale include NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch, who finished 22nd in the inaugural series race there in June of 1999; three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., who finished fourth in that event; NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Mike Wallace, who finished fifth behind Hornaday; and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Matt Crafton, who finished a close second to Bobby Dotter in 2000.

Comparing the finishes … Among drivers who have raced in four or more races at Irwindale, Bobby Dotter has the best average finish of 4.0 in four races. Gaughan is close behind, with an average of 4.63 in eight races.

Manufacturers’ battle … Chevrolet has been in Victory Lane for 14 of the 16 races at Irwindale. Joe Bean scored Ford’s only win there in 2000 and Scott Lynch nabbed the only win for Dodge at Irwindale in 2003.

Going the distance … The 16 events have varied in distance. Seven were 250-lap races (two in 1999, two in 2000 and three in 2001); five were 200 laps (one each in 2002 and 2003, two in 2006 and one in 2007); three were 150 laps (both in 2004 and one in 2005) and one was 300 laps (the season finale in 2000).

Stat of the race … Three of the 16 races at Irwindale were won from the pole position.

Birthdays … Drivers celebrating a birthday during July include Gary Smith, who turns 40 on the 6th; Brendan Gaughan, who turns 33 on the 10th; Rick Ruzbarsky, who turns 43 on the 11th; Brandon Ash, who turns 31 on the 17th; Kris Terris, who turns 30 on the 17th; and Jack Sellers, who turns 64 on the 27th. The Race: California Highway Patrol 200

The Place: Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.)

The Date: Friday, July 4

The Time: 8:10 p.m. PT

TV Schedule: HDNet (Live)

SPEED (enhanced replay) July 18, 1:30 p.m. (ET)

Track Layout: .5-mile paved

Race Purse: $115,232

2007 Winner: Brian Ickler

2007 Pole: Eric Holmes

2008 STANDINGS

Rk Driver Points

1 Eric Holmes 971

2 Mike David 969

3 Jason Bowles 905

4 Austin Cameron 874

5 Jeff Barkshire 867

6 Jim Inglebright 864

7 Moses Smith 795

8 Mike Gallegos 777

9 Jeff Jefferson 738

10 Jamie Dick 736

Schedule:

Friday: Practice 11 a.m.-12 p.m., 12:30-1:00 p.m., Time Trials 4:00 p.m.

Track Contact:

Kevin O’Brien

(626) 358-1100 Last year’s event ... Brian Ickler took the victory in this event a year ago, capturing his second win in four days. The event followed just after he had scored his first career win in Roseburg, Ore.

Ickler’s biggest challenge through most of the race came from the 2006 Champion Eric Holmes, who had won the pole. The pair waged a fierce battle throughout the 200-lap race, trading the lead nine times.

Two-time series champion Mike Duncan, who fell to the back of the pack after spinning just before the midway point of the race, steadily moved through the field to make it a three-wide battle for the lead in the closing laps.

Ickler held on to win, with Duncan second and Holmes third.

10th Season For Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, which is in its 10th season, has been a part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series since it opened in 1999.

The state-of-the-art Southern California facility is the NASCAR Home Track for many drivers who have competed in the NASCAR Camping World Series West.

The track features a wide variety of competition. Regular classes competing there include the ACDelco Super Late Models, the Auto Club Late Models, the D&D Construction Bandoleros, the Justice Brothers Mini Stocks, the King Taco Super Trucks, Legend Cars, the Pick Your Part Outlaw Figure 8s, Pure Stocks, the Vista Paint Super Stocks and the West Coast Pro Trucks.

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