KALLISPELL, Montana — Reeling off a top five finish in Montana two weeks ago, Utah's Michael Self and the Richard Childress Racing Development supported Golden Gate Racing Team are ready to roll full steam ahead this weekend as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West returns to Spokane County Raceway in Spokane, Washington. The event is the 12th segment of the 14 race NASCAR West schedule so Self and the entire GGRT/RCR team are geared to push forward in the point standings before the season comes to a close.
"We definitely are ready to give it a strong push these last three races so we'll be giving it all we've got"— Michael Self
"We definitely are ready to give it a strong push these last three races so we'll be giving it all we've got," said Self, who is ready to drive the Bay Bio Diesel-Golden Gate Meat Company #21 Chevrolet to the front of the Spokane 200 on the half mile track. "We've got some big things working at GGRT/RCR so we're ready to move on from our top five at Montana and see if we can improve on it."
Saturday's race marks just the second time in history that the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will compete at Spokane County Raceway. The last time the tour took to the historical half mile track was all the way back in 1979. In that event, Roy Smith earned the pole position with a top speed of 93.244 miles per hour, a figure that clearly indicates how far technology has come in NASCAR racing. Surely, that record will be broken this Saturday and Self is excited to be among the drivers looking to do it.
"Going to a new track has always been exciting for me, especially when it's the first time for everyone else too. It levels the playing field a little bit, " said Self. "I got the chance to walk the track a few weeks ago and it looks like a blast. I think it's going to be good racing and I'm definitely excited to get back on a bigger track. We've done well on the half mile and bigger tracks this year."
For Self, the 2011 NASCAR West season has certainly had its share of ups and downs. When it comes to the races where the results didn't display the effort it was rarely the fault of Self or his talented race team owned by San Francisco businessman Jim Offenbach with the support of NASCAR icon and longtime friend Richard Childress. In most cases when the team finished out of the top five it was a case where Self simply became the victim of circumstances such as unavoidable collisions in lapped traffic or being the victim of, as crew chief Steve Portenga best puts it, another competitor simply "running out of talent" in moments of adversity.
"Michael and this whole team have really impressed both Richard and I this year," said Offenbach. "He has had some great opportunities this year when he was possibly on his way to that first win and simply had something take it away that was rarely his fault. This is a very competitive series mixed with new drivers and veterans. It gets pretty fierce out there and mistakes happen. This whole team really knows how learn from any mistakes and to keep their game face on and push forward. I am confident we will push our way into the top five in the points this coming weekend."
