3 WINS IN A ROW FOR CAMERON IN NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, WEST SERIES

Source: NASCAR Public Relations
Date: 08/01/2004

IRWINDALE, California -- Austin Cameron keeps finding ways to win. He notched his third consecutive victory in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series with a win in the NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway on July 31.

Cameron's first victory this year had come on the tight quarter-mile oval in Stockton, Calif., where he used lapped traffic to gain the lead late in the event. His second win came in Monroe, Wash., when he made an early pit stop and then held off a tough challenge in the final laps. His Irwindale victory, meanwhile, was a matter of being in the right place at the right time - as several other top contenders encountered trouble.

Series rookie David Gilliland flexed his muscle early - setting the pace through the first 40 laps. His hopes for a win vanished just after a restart, however, due to a flat tire. Mike Duncan, who had won the Bud Pole Award with a lap of 98.034 mph in his Lucas Oil/Ron's Rear Ends Chevrolet, paced the field for the next 60 laps, swapping the top spot with defending series champion Scott Lynch.

Meanwhile, Cameron and Johnny Borneman were charging through the field to the front of the pack. Both were relegated to the back of the 26-car field after missing the drivers' introductions. Borneman put his Borneman's Plastering/Red Line Oil Ford out front on lap 101 and quickly built up a sizeable lead. Duncan reeled him back in during the closing stages, however. As Duncan made a move to the inside of Borneman coming through turn four on lap 148, the pair touched and both spun down the front stretch.

Cameron, who was third at the time, inherited the lead. He held on in the final two green-flag laps, as the race was extended to 157 laps for a green-white-checkered finish. He crossed the finish line with a margin of victory of 1.033 seconds, at an average speed of 74.861 mph, to win $6,750 in prize money and posted awards. "It was a tough one, Cameron said afterward. "I shouldn't have won, but we did. The sun shined on us today."

The 26-year-old El Cajon, Calif., competitor admitted that the charge from the back took its toll. "I guess I used my stuff up," he said. "We had a good run for a while. The last 15 laps I just didn't have much left in the tires. I kept dialing brakes into it, so I could use the brakes to help me turn."

Tim Woods III of Chino Hills, Calif., scored a career-best second-place finish in the Chino Hills Ford Ford - followed by series veteran Scott Gaylord of Lakewood, Colo., in the Oliver Gravity Separators/Denver Seminary Chevrolet. Duncan of Bakersfield, Calif., and Borneman of Ramona, Calif., recovered for fourth and fifth - respectively. Rounding out the top 10 were Brandon Miller, Kerry Earnhardt, Nick DeFazio, Mike David and Tony Bruncati.

The race featured eight lead changes among five drivers - Duncan, Borneman, Gilliland, Lynch and Cameron. The pace of the event was slowed by five cautions for 27 laps.

With his win, the 11th of his career, Cameron narrowed Duncan's lead in the championship standings to just 15 points - 986 to 971. Gaylord edged into third with 889 points, just ahead of Gilliland with 888. David moved to fifth with 841 points. Completing the top 10 are Lynch at 806, Tim Woods at 762, Daryl Harr at 762, Carl Harr at 752 and Jose Luis Ramirez at 720.

Despite his 20th-place finish, Gilliland maintained his lead in the chase for the Auto Meter Rookie of the Year Award. He tops the list with 55 points. The competition behind him is closely bunched, with Carl Harr at 44; Daryl Harr and DeFazio at 43 each; Ramirez at 41; Tavo C.T. Hellmund with 27; 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 Stockton 99 Speedway/Dodge Country, Havoline NAPA Auto Parts 200 on Aug. 14.

See Also .:

• Austin Cameron Driver Card
• Toyota Speedway at Irwindale Track Page

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