Jason Small had more than a good NASCAR Winston West season, he had an awesome season! Jumping straight from running late models at the Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, CA to the heavier cars of the NASCAR Winston West Series, Small handled the change with a surprising amount of ease. And while there may have been other drivers getting the press, it was Small that was on his way to set a new record in the NASCAR Winston West Series.
After opening the season with a Bud Pole Award for setting quick-time at the first race of the season, Small finished the season sixth in the standings with 8 top-tens, 2 top-fives and the 1999 Sears Point Rookie of the Year award, making him the youngest driver to win the award in the history of the Series. Small at 20 years and 5 months breaks the record that was set my Jim Bown 18 years earlier who was 21 years and 3 months when he won the title.
Small commented, "What an honor to run for the Rookie title with Sammy. We have become good friends this season, and I would have been happy for him if he would have won the title. I don't know how many times that you would be happy to see your competitor beat you, but with Sammy it would have been OK."
At the start of the season Small Motorsports had two goals in place, to win the Rookie of the Year and to finish in the top-ten in points. They handily accomplished both. Small said "I wasn't the only rookie, nearly my whole team was. Except for my crew chief Donnie Hubble and Rick Metz my tire specialists, the rest of the team was experiencing the first taste of racing in an upper division. We hope we have gained the respect of the veterans and that they trust me to race hard with them.
What is next for this talented young gun? We can only guess, but another strong run and maybe a dark horse contender for the championship would not be too far off base. Small overcame a lot of obstacles in his rookie season to get to where he is. He had never seen most of the tracks he competed on, he was plagued by mechanical problems and he started the season with very little time to prepare.
As the team goes into the new millenium, they have experience, a good motor program, and a driver with experience Said team spokesman, Chris Dalton "We have a whole lot of winter testing planned to gear up for next year. We are looking for our first win and a top three in points. We're coming back with the same group of guys and we should definitely be contenders. All the guys did a fabulous job of working together they kept pulling together and we never gave up. The team has a lot to be proud of."
Of the team's success Small commented on how proud he was of all the team and went on to say, "I would especially like to thank our sponsors this year like Sun Valley Oil who helped us out a bunch, Spears, Rons Rear Ends, Fast Time Signs, Racingwest,and the back bone of the team my dad and mom Ken and Susie Small."
"We're really excited about next year," car owner Ken Small said. "We've got some areas to work on, but we have time over the winter to prepare. We met our goals this season, and we have every intention of meeting them in the new season."
