WS: Roseville II: Series round 13 preview

NASCAR Camping World Series West News & Notes

Toyota / Copart 150 presented by Golden State Steele & Stair

2009 Season Title To Be Settled At Roseville
Drivers Hope To Finish Season Off Strong
Romero Takes Late Model Title At All American
Bowles vs Holmes

2009 Series Championship To Be Decided In Season Finale

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jason Bowles (No. 6 Sunrise Ford.com Ford) has a 78-point margin over Eric Holmes (No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota) as the NASCAR Camping World Series West heads to All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., to decide the 2009 championship in the final race of the season.

Bowles, who finished second to Holmes in last year's title chase, can clinch this year's championship with a finish of 16th or better in the Toyota/Copart 150 presented by Golden State Steele & Stair on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Both drivers have experienced success on the historic third-mile oval. Bowles won this event a year ago, while Holmes won the other two recent series visits to Roseville. Holmes had the dominant car in both of his victories, leading every lap there at the beginning of last season and all but one lap there earlier this year. Bowles, meanwhile, won the Coors Light Pole Award in both of those races -- setting the track record there in April of this year.

Bowles and Holmes were locked in a championship battle when the series visited Roseville for the season finale a year ago, but the circumstances were reversed -- with Holmes leading Bowles. Holmes, who only needed to finish 13th or better to wrap up the title, worked his way into the lead in the closing laps. But as Bowles closed in, contact between the two on Lap 148 left Holmes spinning in Turn 4. Bowles went on to win, while Holmes recovered for fifth and secured his second series championship in three years.

Bowles is a 26-year-old competitor from Ontario, Calif., who came from a background in open-wheel racing. He won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the NASCAR Camping World Series West in 2007. Holmes, 34, is a second-generation driver from Escalon, Calif., who raced in the former NASCAR Southwest Tour. He won his first NASCAR Camping World Series West championship in 2006, in his first full season of competing in the series.

While these two are focused on settling the championship battle, other drivers in the top 10 are looking for a strong finish at Roseville to move up in the final championship standings for the season.

Third place in the standings is up for grabs, with just 52 points separating three drivers. Greg Pursley (No. 26 Gene Price Motorsports/Star Nursery Chevrolet) -- who moved this year from Newhall, Calif., to Parker, Ariz., where his team is based -- is third in the standings with 1,813 points. He is shadowed by David Mayhew (No. 17 MMI Services/Ron's Rear Ends/KHI Chevrolet) of Atascadero, Calif., with 1,799 points. Fifth in the standings, with 1,761 points, is the leading Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, Paulie Harraka (No. 12 NAPA AutoCare/Adaptive One Brakes Toyota) of Fairlawn, N.J.

The next three drivers in the standings are also locked in a tight battle going down to the wire. Only 50 points separate Brett Thompson (No. 61 Rich Thompson Trucking Chevrolet) of Jerome, Idaho; Moses Smith (No. 20 HASA Pool Products/White Flyer Toyota) of Tempe, Ariz.; and series rookie Blake Koch (No. 21 GodSpeaks.com Chevrolet) of West Palm Beach, Fla.

Ninth and 10th in the standings are Jim Warn (No. 10 MJ2 Racing/GPI Performance.com Chevrolet) of Aurora, Ore., and Jamie Dick (No. 88 Viva Auto Group/Johnnie Walker Performance Center Chevrolet) of Albuquerque, N.M., respectively.

Jim Inglebright (No. 1 American Autobody Specialist), who ran select events this year, will be back in action at Roseville, a track where he won two Late Model titles.

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News & Notes

The race ... The Toyota/Copart 150 is the final event in a 13-race series schedule this year for the NASCAR Camping World Series West. It marks the second series visit this year to All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif..

The procedure ... The starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 20 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (50 miles).

The track ... All American Speedway is a third-mile paved oval with eight degrees banking in Turns 1 and 2. Turns 3 and 4 have progressive banking, beginning at 10 degrees and graduating to 14 degrees. The track hosted five NASCAR Camping World Series West events between 1977 and 1982, when it was a quarter-mile oval, and three since being renovated.

The records ... Qualifying: Jason Bowles, April 4, 2009, 88.218 mph, 13.589 seconds; Race: Eric Holmes, April 4, 2009, 67.576 mph, 44 minutes 21 seconds.

SPEED coverage ... The Toyota/Copart 150 is scheduled to be televised on SPEED. multiple times. The race is scheduled to initially air at noon PT on Thursday, Oct. 8. It is to re-air at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, Oct. 9; at 1 a.m. PT on Monday, Oct. 12; and at midnight PT on Monday, Oct. 19.

Visit by greyhounds ... Volunteers with the Greyhound Adoption Center will be at the Roseville event with some of their greyhounds as guests of series veteran Jack Sellers (No. 15 Greyhound Adoption Center Chevrolet), who has had a long association with the group. The non-profit organization rescues, rehabilitates and places greyhound dogs in homes in California and Las Vegas.

Championship Banquet ... This year's champion in the NASCAR Camping World Series West will be crowned during a special awards ceremony that is part of two special year-end celebrations in the greater Charlotte, N.C., area. NASCAR will host a special week of activities culminating in the 2009 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet on Friday, Nov. 13, and the new NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala on Saturday, Nov. 14.

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Fast Facts

The Race: Toyota / Copart 150 presented by Golden State Steele & Stair
The Place: All American Speedway, Roseville, Calif.

The Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
The Time: 8:30 p.m. PT

TV Schedule: SPEED Oct. 8, Noon PT

Track Layout: .333-mile paved
Race Purse: $106,590

2008 Winner: Jason Bowles
2008 Pole: Paulie Harraka

Schedule: Saturday: Practice 1-1:45 p.m., 2:15-3 p.m. Time Trials 5:10 p.m.

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Last year's event ...

A year-long battle between Eric Holmes and Jason Bowles came down to the season finale in this event a year ago. They closed out the season with another tough tussle, with Bowles coming away with the win and Holmes taking the championship.

Holmes, who came into the event needing only to finish 13th or better to secure the title, was not content to put it on cruise control. He battled his teammate, series newcomer Paulie Harraka, back-and-forth through much of the race. Once out front, Holmes had to contend with Bowles on his back bumper.

Contact between the two on Lap 148 of the 150-lap event left Holmes spinning in Turn 4 and Bowles taking the lead and the win. Holmes recovered for fifth, enough to secure the title.

Following Bowles across the finish line was Mike David. Moses Smith was third, while Todd Souza took fourth. Holmes followed in fifth.

Finishing sixth was Harraka, who won the pole and led 40 laps in only his third series start.

Jason Romero Clinches Late Model Championship At Roseville On Final Night Of Competition

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship in the Late Model division at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., went down to the wire once again this year, with Jason Romero clinching the title on the final night of competition.

Romero, a 25-year-old college student from Cameron Park, Calif., won the championship in just his second season of competition at the third-mile paved oval at the Placer County Fairgrounds in Roseville.

The Romero name is not new to fans at the track, however. His father, Mark, has been around the speedway for more than two decades - as a crew chief in the Late Model division and as a competitor in the Mini Stock division.

With a record of 11 wins, 17 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes in 29 starts this season, Romero finished 11th in the national standings for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and second in the standings for the state of California behind West Coast veteran Nick Joanides.

Finishing behind Romero in the 2009 track standings at All American Speedway were Gary Glenn, John Moore and Juan Pitta.

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Final Notes From Iowa

Iowa victory ... David Mayhew (No. 17 MMI Services/Ron's Rear Ends/KHI Chevrolet) led all but one lap en route to winning the Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades 125 NASCAR Camping World Series West race at Iowa Speedway on Sept. 4. It marked the second career series victory for Mayhew, who was credited with a win as the top finishing West driver in the NASCAR Camping World Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway in May.

Pole for Pursley ... Greg Pursley (No. 26 Gene Price Motorsports/Star Nursery Chevrolet) took the Coors Light Pole Award at Iowa, lapping the .875-mile track at 130.847 mph. It marked his second career pole and his second of the year. Pursley, who had to drop to the back of the pack for the start of the race due to an engine change, charged forward to finish seventh.

Young guns ... A couple of teenagers came away from Iowa with strong finishes. Sixteen-year-old Max Gresham (No. 11 Gresham Motorsports Park Toyota) of Griffin, Ga., drove the Joe Gibbs Racing entry to a third-place finish. Iowa fans, meanwhile, cheered on local favorite 17-year-old Brett Moffitt (No. 4 Karl Chevrolet Chevrolet) of Grimes, Iowa, who finished fourth for car owner Andy Santerre.

Strong series debut ... Ryan Gifford (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) of Winchester, Tenn. - who has run select races in the NASCAR Camping World Series East for Richard Childress Racing this season - made his debut in a West race with a sxith-place finish at Iowa.

The track ... The event marked the inaugural event for the NASCAR Camping World Series West at Iowa Speedway, which has hosted the East-West combination race each year since 2007.

-credit: nascar

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