ROSEVILLE, California — Although he resides in Park City Utah, Michael Self still considers the All American Speedway in Roseville his home away from home when it comes to oval venues. The primary driver for the successful Richard Childress Racing Development supported Golden Gate Racing Team of San Francisco; Self is ready for redemption this weekend at the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West returns to Northern California in grand fashion with the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Pick N Pull.
"Michael is a very talented driver and this crew is the best in the business."— Jim Offenbach
“Roseville is always exciting for me, I’ve just had awful luck there in the West Series,” said Self. “I’ve had some awesome qualifying runs there but something always seems to happen during the race. I’m really looking to turn that around with GGRT this year and finish this year out strong. We’ve got a lot in the works and some big things coming together so we are working race by race to improve our program. I have a couple Late Model wins at Roseville and its where my circle track career began, so it’s like a home track to me.”
The 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West consists of 14 events overall. Saturday’s 150 lap event will be the second to last segment of the championship campaign for the series that features the future stars of NASCAR. For Self and the Golden Gate Racing Team, the current campaign has been a wild rollercoaster ride from the first green flag of the season. In his first full year with the team and as an official Richard Childress Racing Development Driver, Self has had one of the fastest cars in nearly every NASCAR K&N Pro Series West events. However, due to circumstances that have been no fault of his own or that of the team he has watched a number of potential first victories be taken away.
“Michael is a very talented driver and this crew is the best in the business,” said Jim Offenbach, owner of the Golden Gate Racing Team who signed Self in late 2010. “We have just been struck with so many things that weren’t our fault that took away some strong finishes. Steve Portenga and the crew have put together a great package for Roseville. It’s always exciting to come back to this race and I think we have a good shot of a top finish if we can stay out of trouble. That place is very tight so there’s a lot of rubbing and lapped traffic to contend with.”
Back in the spring race at Roseville, Self was clearly on his way to a top run and possibly his first career victory in the NASCAR ranks. After many Late Model wins at Roseville in his past the former kart racer qualified second in the field and challenged for the lead early in the race until his efforts were taken away by an assisted spin, putting him deep in the field where he repeatedly charged his way back to the front in a spark flying, paint rubbing door to battle that always seems to be the theme at the sold out Roseville events. In the end, Self finished 14th in the field in a car that clearly showed the battlefield he had endured.
As he sits sixth in the championship point standings, Self is looking for redemption at Roseville this Saturday in the Golden Gate Meat Company-Bay Bio Diesel-RCR #21 Chevrolet Impala. He is just seven points out of the top five in the point standings with three top five finishes and seven top ten finishes to his name. Roseville will be the final short track in the 2011 tour that concludes at Phoenix in November. This weekend Self is looking for a strong finish and a good points day at the track that hasn’t been to kind to him in recent attempts.
Self will be aboard one of two cars in competition for the Golden Gate Racing Team on Saturday. Longtime team supporter and secondary driver Pat O’Keefe of Bay Bio Diesel will strap into the Golden Gate Meat Company-Bay Bio Diesel #31 Chevrolet for his first event since the summer of 2009 when he competed on the road course at Infineon Raceway.
“Pat O’Keefe has been a great part of the Golden Gate Racing Team,” said Richard Childress, CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “We are looking forward to having him back behind the wheel for the Roseville race and hope both our drivers will have a strong night.”
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.
