SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. -- Michael Waltrip came to Colorado with two objectives. The Owensboro, Ky., native wanted to visit the top of Pikes Peak and he wanted to win the NASCAR 500K NASCAR Winston West Series event at Pikes Peak International Raceway on July 27.
He did not make it to the top of the 14,110-foot mountain, but he did make it to victory lane - winning the inaugural NASCAR event on the beautiful new $50-million one-mile Superspeedway near Colorado Springs.
Waltrip, who finished third last year in his only previous NASCAR Winston West Series race, won $22,250 from a record purse of $256,759. His average speed was 104.962 mph.
Waltrip's Sealy Furniture-sponsored Ford Thunderbird crossed the finish line .17 of a second ahead of fellow NASCAR Winston Cup Series star Ken Schrader.
The pair started the race side-by-side on the front row with Schrader on the pole after collecting his fourth Busch Pole Award in the series during qualifying. He turned in a speed of 133.958 mph in the BMR Motorsports Chevrolet, sponsored by Xtreme-J.
Finishing third in the event was Butch Gilliland of Anaheim, Calif., in the Stroppe Motorsports/Pro Insulation Ford Thunderbird. Sean Woodside of Saugus, Calif., was fourth in the Cinema Vehicle Services/Unocal Pontiac, followed by Kevin Richards of Spokane, Wash., in the Monaco Enterprises Chevrolet. Rounding Out the top 10 were Scott Gaylord Jerry Glanville, Billy Kann, Sammy Potashnick and Pappy Pryor.
The race featured 24 lead changes among seven drivers -- Gary Smith, Schrader, Waltrip, Gaylord, Woodside, Gilliland and Larry Gunselman. The event was slowed by seven cautions for 46 laps.
With his third-place finish, Gilliland extended his lead in the NASCAR Winston West Series championship standings. He has 1,570 points over 1,507 for Smith, who encountered mechanical trouble and finished 12th. Woodside is third with 1,491 followed by Gaylord at 1,309 and Gunselman at 1,287. Completing the top 10 are Kevin Culver 1,267, Bill McAnally 1208 Dan Obrist 1,115, John Kinder 1,058 and St James Davis 1,014.
Smith retained his lead in the standings for the Sears Point Raceway Rookie-of-the-Year Award. He has 84 points, followed by Woodside with 79 and Culver with 73. Others in that category include Kenny Smith with 33, Billy Kann with 31 and Chuck Pruett with 27.
The battle for the Manufacturers' Championship is knotted up with Ford and Chevrolet each at 62 points and four wins. Pontiac trails with 47 points and one win, followed by Buick with 18 points.
The next event on the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule is at Altamont Raceway Park near Tracy Calif., on Aug. 24.
