MONROE, Washington -- Austin Cameron made it two wins in a row in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series - with a victory in the Coors Light 200 at Evergreen Speedway on July 17. Cameron had previously won at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway on May 29. The seven-week break between races did not appear to slow his momentum, as he scored his second consecutive series victory and the 10th of his career.
The last time a West Series driver had back-to-back wins was when Cameron accomplished the feat in the fall of 2002.
Cameron's latest win included another hard-fought battle with Mike Duncan. Unlike the previous race, however, pit strategy appeared to play a key role in the outcome of this one. And ultimately, Cameron found himself battling his teammate for the win.
Series rookie David Gilliland captured the Bud Pole Award in the RaceCarCeilingFans.com Chevrolet, with a lap of 98.588 mph around the .646-mile paved oval. Although he paced the 24-car field to the green flag, his lead was a short one as Duncan quickly charged out front from outside the front row.
Cameron was also headed to the front, moving past Gilliland and then taking over the lead on lap 25. Although he set sail, Duncan was able to keep him within sight.
Pit strategy among the leaders became apparent during the third caution of the race, when Cameron relinquished the lead to pit for fresh tires and fuel. Duncan, however, remained on track and inherited the lead. While Duncan demonstrated his dominance through the mid stages of the event by building a sizable lead, Cameron was showing his muscle by charging through the field to the front.
Duncan got a big break 57 laps later when the yellow flag flew - allowing him to pit for fresh tires and fuel under the caution. He restarted 10th, but was quickly advancing to the front in a fashion similar to Cameron's previous charge. He was up to fourth by lap 140, third by lap 160 and second by lap 180. Duncan's effort came up short, however, as he began to fade in the final stages.
Jeff Jefferson, competing in this event as a teammate to Cameron, also mounted a late-race charge, meanwhile. After passing Duncan on lap 185, Jefferson set his sights on Cameron. He closed in on the leader and dogged him through the final 10 laps - looking high and low for a way around.
Cameron piloted the NAPA/NAPA Belts & Hose Chevrolet to a margin of victory of .362 of a second - winning $7,566 in prize money and posted awards. Jefferson of Naches, Wash., was second in the LeMay Museum Chevrolet - followed by Duncan of Bakersfield, Calif., in the Lucas Oil Chevrolet. Making his debut in the West Series with a fourth-place finish in the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet was Kerry Earnhardt of Kannapolis, N.C. Series veteran Scott Gaylord of Lakewood, Colo., was fifth in the Oliver Gravity Separators/Denver Seminary Chevrolet.
Rounding out the top 10 were Gilliland, Scott Lynch, Ed Watson, Trevor Montgomery and Jason Jefferson. The race featured four lead changes among three drivers - Cameron, Duncan and Gilliland. The pace was slowed by six cautions for 38 laps.
Duncan, the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all of the first five races this season, continues to lead the championship standings for the series with 816 points. With his win, Cameron moved to second in the point standings with 791, followed by Gilliland with 780. Gaylord is fourth with 724, followed by defending series champion Lynch with 707. Completing the top 10 are Mike David at 703, Daryl Harr at 631, Carl Harr at 606, Jose Luis Ramirez at 605 and Tim Woods III at 592.
Gilliland continued his string as the top finishing rookie in every race so far this season. He leads the chase for the Auto Meter Rookie of the Year Award with 50 points. Carl Harr is second with 37; followed by Ramirez and Daryl Harr, with 35 each; Nick DeFazio with 33; Tavo C.T. Hellmund with 18; Brian Richardson with 15; Alfredo Tame with 3 and Takuma Koga with 2.
The next event on the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series schedule will be the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Southern California Pipe Trades at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway on July 31.
