New Tracks, Bright Future

The inside of a Winston West is exactly like a Winston Cup car. Why? Because this was a Winston Cup car.

Five of the former Winston West Champions gathered at Tucson Raceway Park at the beginning of the season in January. They are, from left, Butch Gilliland (1997), Mike Chase (1994), Rick Carelli (1993), Bill Sedgwick (1991, 1992), and Lance Hooper (1996).

Steve Portenga, driver of the No. 3 Golden Gate/Roto Rooter Plumbing Monte Carlo, and Darrel Krentz, driver of the No. 33 Legends Race Cars Thunderbird, have a chat prior to the California 200 at the California Speedway.

To say the NASCAR Winston West Series is starting to get really interesting would be a bad case of understatement. New race tracks, a huge field of drivers, and more money are helping boost this series to new exciting levels. Throughout its 46-year history, the series has been a hot ticket at tracks spanning from Kansas to Canada to California as it cultivates talent, cements careers, and provides the closest thing to Winston Cup racing without actually being Winston Cup. (Arguably, one could say the same for the Busch Grand National Series, but the Winston West Series is still one step closer with its cars.)

Sixty teams compose the roster of drivers for 1999. Three returning champions, 18 rookies, and regular visits from Winston Cup, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series drivers help keep the competition at premium levels. Mike Wallace of the No. 2 ASE Ford Craftsman Truck team frequents the Winston West Series. Many of the teams are located on the West Coast in California or Nevada, but some come from as far away as North Carolina (No. 51 Rick Ware and No. 56 Bobby Dotter), and one even comes from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (No. 95 Lance Wade). Helping push the competition to an all-time high are three past champions of the series: No. 1 Butch Gilliland of Chino Hills, California (1997); No. 18 Mike Chase of Redding, California (1994); and No. 44 Bill Sedgwick of Acton, California (1991 and 1992). These guys bring a wealth of experience to the table for the swarm of 18 rookies entering the series this year. Another tough competitor is No. 16 Sean Woodside of Saugus, California. Finishing as the runner-up in the past two seasons has put this top contender in serious championship territory. The '98 Winston West champion, Kevin Harvick, has since moved to the Craftsman Truck Series full time, leaving Woodside as the "Champion Pro Team."

The current season brings some significant improvements and firsts for the series, along with NASCAR, as a points race on the other side of the world and more money enters the equation. Interesting developments,to say the least. NASCAR will be entering a new dimension when the final race of the year ends up in the Far East at Twin Ring in Motegi City, Japan. Located 60 miles north of Tokyo, Motegi is Japan's first superspeedway, a 1.5-mile oval built at a cost of $400 million. It will be a full-on points battle outside of North America--a first for NASCAR. Being the final race of the year, the championship could be determined there. As far as money goes, the overall series point fund is expected to exceed $500,000 with help from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which is contributing $300,000. The company has sponsored the Winston West Series since 1971.

Other series veterans and top contenders are Scott Gaylord of Lakewood, Colorado; Wayne Jacks of Las Vegas, Nevada; and Joe Bean of San Diego, California. Steve Portenga, a two-time champion in NASCAR's Featherlite Southwest Series, made the move to a full-time Winston West schedule this year, creating a strong presence in the points battle. He also has a year of racing in the Craftsman Truck Series under his belt. After the fourth race of the season driving the No. 3 Golden Gate/Roto Rooter Plumbing Monte Carlo, Portenga was sixth in points.

The lineup of rookies hit a record number this year with 18 drivers registering for this year's Sears Point Raceway Rookie of the Year. Interestingly, there is no race at Sears Point Raceway this year. However, the rookie-of-the-year contest still goes by the Sears Point namesake. Some of this year's rookies include David Gilliland of El Cajon, California; Sammy Potashnick of Sikeston, Missouri; John Metcalf of Aurora, Colorado; and Rick Ware of Greensboro, North Carolina. David Gilliland drives the No. 11 Ralph's/Food 4 Less Ford Thunderbird and he formerly administered crew chief duties for Butch Gilliland, his dad and '97 Winston West champion. Potashnick started the season strong with one top-5 and two top-10s after five races, leading the rookie points contest. Metcalf has shown strength also, running at the top of the rookie pack.

One driver who rose to prominence in this time was Ray Elder from the San Joaquin Valley town of Caruthers. He was Rookie of the Year in 1966 and placed second in overall points that year as well as 1967 and 1968. The next four years he dominated the series and won four consecutive championships. His epic wins continued with two more titles in 1974 and 1975. Back then, the Winston West teams often tried qualifying in the NASCAR Grand National races (now Winston Cup). Elder made history by being the only Winston West driver to win any of the Grand National races. He won the Motor Trend Riverside 500 in 1971 and the Golden State 400 (also at Riverside) in 1972. Comparisons of Ray Elder's accomplishments to Richard Petty's were quite common at that time. The heir to Elder's legacy is Christian Elder, who drives the No. 30 Great Clips Pontiac. Another top contender throughout the late '60s and '70s was Jack McCoy, who won championships in 1966 and 1973. In terms of overall victories between 1954 and 1997, McCoy leads with 54, followed by Elder with 47, and then Hershel McGriff with 36. McGriff still drives. Look for him in the No. 72 Park Corporation Monte Carlo. Ron Hornaday (Craftsman Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday Jr.'s father) won championships in 1963 and 1964. Other well-known competitors in the series were Danny Letner, who won the title in 1955, and Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones.

More recent history contains talented drivers who've left their mark in the West Series, including Winston Cup drivers Derrike Cope and Chad Little, Busch Grand National driver Lance Hooper, Craftsman Truck drivers Rick Carelli, Ron Hornaday Jr., Kevin Harvick ('98 Winston West champion), and Mike Wallace. Other well-known competitors include Ken Schrader, Ricky Craven, and Jerry Nadeau. Drivers from NASCAR touring divisions such as the Featherlite Southwest Series and Raybestos Brakes Northwest series are common icons in Winston West.

Over the years, the Winston West Series has gone through some name changes. In 1954, it was called the Pacific Coast Late Model circuit. It's also been called the Grand National West Division, and the Winston West Grand National division. Drivers such as Dick Rathmann, Marvin Panch, Bill Amick, Danny Letner, John Soares, and Hershel McGriff raced at historic tracks like Oakland Speedway, Balboa Speedway in San Diego, Bay Meadows Speedway in San Mateo, California, and Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California.

The vast majority of Winston West cars once saw action on the Winston Cup circuit. Approved models include the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix, Ford Thunderbird, and the Ford Taurus. The cars are powered by 358 cubic inch V-8 engines and roll on 110-inch wheelbase chassis, maintaining a minimum weight of 3,400 pounds--exactly like Winston Cup. The main difference is the engines: Whereas Winston Cup cars run an 11:1 compression ratio, the Winston West Series uses 9.5:1 compression; so, the cars are less powerful. Other differences include the tire rules that vary depending on the size of the track and the length of each race. A Busch Grand National car, for comparison's sake, also uses a 9.5:1 compression 358 cubic inch V-8, but has a shorter wheelbase.

The 14-race schedule includes major western U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Denver. The tracks range in size from the 3/8-mile paved oval at Tucson Raceway Park to the two-mile superspeedway of California Speedway in Fontana. Although no road courses are on the schedule this year, Sears Point in California and Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas, have been on the schedule many times in the past. New to the circuit this year is the Irwindale Speedway near Los Angeles and the Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The breakdown between superspeedways and tracks totals eight short-track events and six superspeedway events. Visits to new facilities and the Motegi race provide teams a tremendous opportunity to showcase their talent to the world. The mix of new and old talent, combined with bigger purses and an international venue make the Winston West Series interesting, to say the least.