PORTLAND, Oregon — The return of the NASCAR Camping World Series West to Portland International Raceway featured a thrilling dash to the finish on the final lap, with Jim Inglebright taking the victory in the BI-MART Salute to the Troops 125 on Sunday.
Inglebright was third as the field thundered down the front stretch for a restart with two laps to go for a green-white-checkered finish. He charged to the outside of Brian Wong heading into the first turn. Then a lap later, he slipped to the inside of Greg Pursley heading to the checkered flag.
Pursley, who had slid wide in Turn 12 on the final lap, held on to edge out Wong for second place. Brett Thompson was fourth, followed by Jason Bowles in fifth.
It was a wild finish to a 66-lap event that featured 10 lead changes among nine drivers.
David Mayhew won the Coors Light Pole Award and dominated the early going, but encountered trouble in the later stages of the race. Bowles and Eric Holmes - who were one-two in the championship standings coming into the event - were running one-two within 10 laps of the finish, but ended up losing positions after coming in contact with each other just after a restart. Bowles’ fifth place finish was enough for him to retain the points lead over Holmes, who finished seventh.
The event marked the return of the series to the 1.98-mile road course, which it last visited in 1986. Hershel McGriff, who won that race 23 years ago, was back at the age of 81 to defend his race title and finished 13th.
| Bi-Mart Salute to the Troops 125 |
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| 1. (5) Jim Inglebright, Fairfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 66 laps, 58.332 mph, $7,300. 2. (6) Greg Pursley, Newhall, Calif., Ford, 66, $3,500. 3. (7) Brian Wong, Newport Beach, Calif., Dodge, 66, $3,800. 4. (14) Brett Thompson, Jerome, Idaho, Chevrolet, 66, $3,000. 5. (3) Jason Bowles, Ontario, Calif., Ford, 66, $2,750. 6. (13) Jamie Dick, Albuquerque, N.M., Chevrolet, 66, $2,700. 7. (2) Eric Holmes, Escalon, Calif., Toyota, 66, $3,250. 8. (10) Todd Souza, Aromas, Calif., Chevrolet, 66, $2,600. 9. (12) Jim Warn, Aurora, Ore, Chevrolet, 66, $2,550. 10. (24) Stan Silva, Jr., Castroville, Calif., Chevrolet, 66, $3,500. 11. (4) Kyle Kelley, Huntington Beach, Calif., Chevrolet, 66, $1,950. 12. (11) Blake Koch, West Palm Beach, Fla., Chevrolet, 66, $2,725. 13. (21) Hershel McGriff, Bridal Veil, Ore., Chevrolet, 66, $1,850. 14. (8) Moses Smith, Tempe, Ariz., Toyota, 65, $2,325. 15. (1) David Mayhew, Atascadero, Calif., Chevrolet, 65, $3,800. 16. (9) Paulie Harraka, Fairlawn, N.J., Toyota, 65, $2,275. 17. (20) Phil Dugan, Meridian, Idaho, Chevrolet, 65, $2,250. 18. (19) Garland Self, San Jose, Calif., Ford, 65, $1,725. 19. (18) Travis Milburn, Eagle, Idaho, Ford, 62, $2,200. 20. (25) Greg Rayl, Roseville, Calif., Ford, 57, transmission, $1,675. 21. (16) Terry Fisher, Sandy, Ore., Chevrolet, 18, accident, $1,659. 22. (17) Wes Banks, Oakdale, Calif., Dodge, 10, rear end, $2,150. 23. (15) Mike Self, Park City, Utah, Chevrolet, 8, transmission, $1,600. 24. (23) Jim Marchino, Modesto, Calif., Ford, 3, engine, $1,550. 25. (22) Brian Jackson, Colton, Calif., Chevrolet, 0, transmission, $1,500. 26. (26) Scott Ivie, San Ramon, Calif., Ford, 0, engine, $1,450. Race Statistics Time of Race: 2 hours 14 minutes 25 seconds Margin of Victory: .775 seconds Fastest Qualifier: D.Mayhew (93.386 mph, 76.328 seconds) Caution Flags: 5 for 23 laps. Lead Changes: 10 among 9 drivers. Lap Leaders: D. Mayhew 1-6; E. Holmes 7-9; D. Mayhew 10-18; T. Souza 19; T. Milburn 20; P. Dugan 21; B. Wong 22-41; J. Bowles 42-56; D. Mayhew 57; G. Pursley 58-65; J. Inglebright 66. Standings: 1. J. Bowles, 1524; 2. E. Holmes, 1491; 3. D. Mayhew, 1400; 4. G. Pursley, 1347; 5. P. Harraka, 1279; 6. B. Thompson, 1272; 7. B. Koch, 1238; 8. M. Smith, 1206; 9. J. Warn, 1065; 10. M. David, 1060. |
