ROSEVILLE, California — The San Francisco based Golden Gate Racing Team is locked and loaded to return to competition in grand fashion this Saturday as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West rolls into town for the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Pick N Pull at the All American Speedway in Roseville, California. As the Boys of Bay return to one of California’s most action packed tracks, the sparks are sure to fly in double trouble fashion as the team will field two competitive GGRT/RCR Chevrolet’s for the event.
"Roseville is a tough track, it was tough back when I raced and now it’s even tougher since they made it bigger."— Steve Portenga
Primary driver Michael Self of Park City Utah will be aboard the Golden Gate Meat Company-Bay Bio Diesel-RCR #21 car that is currently sixth in the NASCAR West Series point standings while Pat O’Keefe of Pleasant Hill will be back behind the wheel of the #31 Chevrolet that will carry the support of the Golden Gate Meat Company and Bay Bio Diesel. This will mark O’Keefe’s return to the cockpit of a GGRT/RCR race car for the first time since the summer of 2009 when he competed on the road course in Sonoma.
“It’s always a pleasure to have Pat back behind the wheel of one of our cars,” said Jim Offenbach, owner of the Golden Gate Racing Team that carries the longtime support of the Richard Childress Racing Driver Development Program. “Pat has supported this team for over a decade and his support is greatly appreciated by both Richard and myself. We’re looking forward to bringing some double trouble into Roseville and see if we can get these guys up to the front. It’s always an exciting race there.”
O’Keefe is the Vice President of Golden Gate Petroleum and Bay Bio Diesel, a longtime sponsor to the Golden Gate Racing Team since 2007. Back in 2004 O’Keefe was the Modified Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Driver at Altamont Raceway when he finished as the runner up to the season championship after advancing from a career in shifter kart racing. In addition to racing cars, O’Keefe has been racing jet skis since the age of 14. the Pleasant Hill resident won the International Jet Sports Boating Association State Novice Championship in 1992 and 1993.
Shortly after his partnership with the Golden Gate Racing Team was born, O’ Keefe was encouraged by Offenbach to test drive the #31 GGRT Chevrolet at Altamont . After posting lap times that would have earned him a top spot in the most recent event at the facility he accepted the team’s offer to run the secondary car on a limited schedule.
“Mainly I am just excited to be back in the car and especially back on an oval since I have been road racing for the past few years,” said O’Keefe. “I really want to thank Jimi, Steven and everyone at GGRT for getting the car ready to go. We are just looking to have fun and try to keep the fender on it as Roseville is a bullring.”
The event in which O’Keefe competed in was in the summer of 2009 when he raced the secondary car on the road course at Infineon. In that event O’Keefe drove from 36th to finish 18th among some of the division’s most competitive drivers.
“Pat O’Keefe has been a great part of the Golden Gate Racing Team,” said Richard Childress, CEO of Richard Childress Racing, which supports the Golden Gate Racing Team in a partnership with Offenbach and affiliated sponsors. “We are looking forward to having him back behind the wheel for the Roseville race and I hope both our drivers will have a strong night.”
When it comes to competing at the tight All American Speedway, the Golden Gate Racing Team has always fielded top competing cars for the event. Strong runs in qualifying have positioned the team well in starting line ups, however, the track forces competitors into lapped traffic very early in the running. It has been due to mishaps and incidents out of their control that have kept the Golden Gate Racing Team off the podium for some time. This Saturday, with O’Keefe and Self working together throughout the day they hope to turn their luck around.
“Roseville is a tough track, it was tough back when I raced and now it’s even tougher since they made it bigger,” said Steve Portenga, Crew Chief and Competition Direction for the Golden Gate Racing Team. “Lapped traffic is always a factor here and it’s going to be for everyone. It’s always nice to have two cars in the field because we can share information that is useful to both drivers during practice and even during the race. It’s always a pleasure to have Pat back in one of our cockpits too. I’m sure he will do just fine out there.”
In addition to the Golden Gate Meat Company and Bay Bio Diesel, the Golden Gate Racing Team carries a number of additional sponsors that support them throughout the year. Among the dedicated supporters are RCR Street Performance, the Richard Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma, Doctor Michael Self, Hill Meat Company, Corte Madera Tow, Harraka Racing Equipment Sales, Foodcomm International, Signco, Praxair and JW Web Design.
