April 26, 2003 California Speedway NWWS News Recap For Immediate Release PORTENGA MAKES LATE CHARGE TO CALIFORNIA VICTORY IN NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, WINSTON WEST SERIES FONTANA, Calif. (April 26, 2003) – Steve Portenga notched one of the biggest wins of his career, taking the victory over Ken Schrader in the Pontiac Wide Track Grand Prix 200 at California Speedway on Saturday. Portenga – who started 13th and failed to crack the top five until the closing laps – made a late-race charge and passed Schrader eight laps from the finish to claim his fourth career win in the NASCAR Grand National Division, Winston West Series. The 32-year-old driver from Sparks, Nev., credited his experience last year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with giving him the patience needed to remain in contention – despite having to drive a very loose racecar early in the event. The early leader of the race was Johnny Borneman, who had won his first career Bud Pole Award in qualifying. He lapped the 2-mile superspeedway at a speed of 173.544 mph in the Wood-Ease/Red Line Oil Ford. Borneman led the first 23 laps of the race before giving way to Schrader. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series regular retained the top spot through the first round of pit stops during the first caution on lap 36. When Schrader made a second stop during a subsequent caution several laps later, however, he was relegated to near the tail of the field as nearly all the other leaders remained out. While series rookie Scott Lynch and newcomer Brandon Whitt each led, Schrader began to move his way to the front with Portenga trailing after him by a car or two. After not being in the top 10 in the first half of the race – Portenga was up to eighth by lap 60, seventh by lap 70 and fifth by lap 80. Series veteran Kevin Richards had moved into the lead on lap 63 and opened up a sizable lead that appeared might give him the win. However, Schrader chased after him and was able to take command during the final round of yellow-flag pit stops on lap 84. A quick stop by the Performance Motorsports team, meanwhile, put Portenga in contention, also. He chased after Schrader and took the lead on lap 92. Portenga cruised to the win in the First Magnus Charter Funding/King Taco Ford with a margin of 2.429 seconds and an average speed of 140.078 mph. The victory netted him $19,350 in prize money and posted awards, including the POWERade Power Move of the Race Award for advancing the most positions. Schrader was second in the Federated Auto Parts Pontiac – followed by Richards of Spokane, Wash., in the Monaco Enterprises/Jerry Springer Chevrolet. Borneman of El Cajon, Calif., was fourth – with open-wheel driver Bryan Herta of Valencia, Calif., fifth in the Sims Trucking/Berco Redwood Chevrolet. Rounding out the top 10 were Mark Reed, Eric Norris, Mike Duncan, Frank Deiny Jr., and Brett Thompson. The win moved Portenga into the lead in the series championship standings. He has 495 points over previous point leader Jim Inglebright with 468. Lynch of Burley, Idaho, is third with 442; followed by Richards with 438 and Borneman with 419. Series veteran Scott Gaylord is sixth at 411; with Duncan and Thompson at 400 each. Schrader is ninth at 365, followed by Woods at 364. Lynch has moved out front in the chase for the Raybestos Brakes Rookie of the Year Award. He leads with 28 points over Woods with 20, C.T. Hellmund with 19, David Eshleman with 19, Daryl Harr with 18, Carl Harr with 15, Scott Schmidt with 14, Clint Vahsholtz with eight and Takuma Koga with five. The next event on the series schedule will be at Madera (Calif.) Speedway on May 31. For Further Information Contact: Kevin W. Green, NASCAR Winston West Series Jeremy Davidson, NASCAR Public Relations