The 2001 season is unfolding as one of the most exciting and intense in the history of the NASCAR Winston West Series.
The first four races have produced four different winners in the West's oldest stock car racing circuit and kept the early season chase for the championship a wide-open affair.
While a pair of series rookies hold two of the top-five positions in the championship standings, a slate of veteran drivers are maintaining a strong challenge in the run for the series crown. Four series champions, meanwhile, have struggled early and are looking to make up ground.
Series rookie Mark Reed of Bakersfield, Calif., holds a slim 17-point margin over Austin Cameron of El Cajon, Calif Reed -- who won at Las Vegas in the second race of the season - has accumulated 643 points, with three top-five and four top-10 finishes. Cameron, who came close to a title with a runner-up finish in the 1999 season, has 626 points with three top-five finishes to go along with a 14'"-place finish.
Eric Norris of Dallas is third in the standings with 567 points. He has two top-five finishes, including a runner-up finish in the season-opener at Phoenix. A series rookie from Ramona, Calif. -Johnny Borneman -- holds the fourth spot in the standings with 565 points. The second-generation series driver won at Tucson in the third race of the season.
Fifth in the standings is well-known West Coast racing competitor Steve Portenga of Sparks, Nev. Portenga -- a two-time NASCAR Touring champion in the Featherlite Southwest Series and NASCAR Weekly Racing Series champion - has accumulated 550 points while taking the win at Bakersfield, Calif., in the most recent event on the schedule.
Series veteran Scott Gaylord of Lakewood, Colo., is sixth in the standings with 548 points and top-10 finishes in all four races. He is followed closely by Joe Bean of San Diego, with 535 points. A third-place finish in the most recent race on the circuit, moved defending series champion Brendan Gaughan of Las Vegas to eighth in the standings with 532 points. Brandon Ash of Umpqua, Ore., trails close behind with 520 points - followed by Mike Duncan of Lamont, Calif., with 511 points.
Spokane, Wash., driver Kevin Richards - Who has finished in the top five in the standings the past three years - is currently 11th with 502 points. The legendary Hershel McGriff of Portland, Ore., is close behind With 500 - followed by series rookie Ross Thompson of Phoenix with 495; Troy Cline of Hawthome, Calif., with 493; and two-time series champion Bill Sedgwick of Acton, Calif., with 483,
Completing the top 20 in the standings are Sammy Potashnick of Sikeston, Mo., with 481; the 1999 series champion Sean Woodside of Saugus, Calif, with 467; series rookie Tim Woods III of Chino Hills, Calif., with 455; fellow freshman driver Tony Schmidt of Newburg, Ore., with 444; and series veteran Jack Sellers of Sacramento, Calif., with 370.
The next event on the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule is the Pontiac WideTrack Grand Prix 200 at California Speedway near Los Angeles on April 28. The $220,691 event is a prelude to the NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division race at California Speedway later that day and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series race there on April 29.
Nine NASCAR Touring Series blanket the United States, bringing special events to many NASCAR Weekly Racing Series tracks and some NASCAR superspeedways and road courses. NASCAR Touring Series are extremely popular with fans and competitors. NASCAR Touring Series can provide a competitor with an entire career, or they can provide valuable experience to competitors moving through the NASCAR ranks.
Corporate sponsors make significant contributions to NASCAR Touring Series point funds. These sponsors include Anheuser-Busch, Featherlite, Gatorade, Goody's Headache Powders, Raybestos Brakes, RE/MAX International, Inc., and RJ Reynolds' brand Winston.
