Camping World Series West news and notes
Published 10:58 am Thursday, July 31, 2008
The 3.06-mile road course at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, is the longest track on the NASCAR Camping World Series West schedule. It features a combination of challenging corners that vary in size, and a long frontstretch that allows drivers to unleash the full horsepower of their stock cars.
The spacious layout is one that many drivers find very accommodating to the big stock cars of the NASCAR Camping World Series West, according to Moses Smith (No. 16 HASA Pools/White Flyer Toyota).
“Miller has a really good flow for how big our cars are and how much horsepower they have,” said the 32-year-old driver from Tempe, Ariz. “There’s a lot of racing room and a lot of passing opportunities. It’s a really neat track.”
The circuit returns to Miller Motorsports Park this week for the NASCAR Camping World Series 125 on Saturday, Aug. 2.
The layout of the Utah track has some specific features, including a very long front straightaway and a series of three corners on the back of the course, referred to as the “attitudes.” Both elements are challenging to a driver, Smith explained.
“The cool thing about the long straight away is that at the end of the straightaway it’s kind of a sweeping turn,” he said. “It’s not like a ‘real hard on the brakes’ kind of turn. It makes the straight away even that much longer. It makes turn 1 that much faster and more challenging.”
The corners on the back portion of the course, meanwhile, can offer a chance to make up ground on the competition, Smith said. “We were definitely quick there last year,” he said. “There’s not a lot of room to pass back there, but there’s enough corners to get guys set up or make up ground if you’re closing on somebody.”
Smith speaks from experience when he talks about getting around a road course. He grew up competing in go-karts and then graduated into the open-wheel ranks of racing, where he eventually won a championship in 2002.
“I’ve driven tracks all over the country and all I ever drove was road courses,” he said. “I hope to take that experience and apply it when we go back to Miller.”
As a rookie, Smith competed in the inaugural NASCAR race at Miller Motorsports Park a year ago. Adapting to the heavier stock cars on the road course was a major adjustment, according to Smith. “The biggest challenge overall is getting used to how much those cars weigh,” he said. “The cars I’ve driven in the past weigh 1,500 pounds and these weigh 3,300 pounds. Managing the equipment through the race is definitely on my mind the whole time.”
Smith started fourth and finished 11th at MMP last year, in a freshman season in which he encountered more than his share of bad luck. He has turned things around this year. Smith opened the season with his first career top-five finish. He is seventh in the championship standings, credited with seven top-10 finishes.
“I think I’m definitely learning more about the car and gelling with the team,” he said of his effort this season.” It’s been a good year. I’m a lot more confident in my driving. It’s really come together.”
18-Year-Old Plans To Compete On Saturday In 2 Races In 2 States — Utah and California
Like most 18-year-olds, Paulie Harraka has big plans for his weekend. His plans are a bit more ambitious than most teenagers, however. He is slated to compete in two stock-car races in two states on the same day.
As if that was not enough of a challenge, Harraka will be making his series debut in the first of those events — competing in the NASCAR Camping World Series West race at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, on Saturday.
He will then catch a flight from Salt Lake City to Sacramento, Calif., and make the quick drive to nearby Roseville — where he competes on a weekly basis in the NASCAR Whelen All-American late model class at All American Speedway.
Travel is nothing new to Harraka, who originally hailed from Wayne, N.J., but now lives in North Carolina and will attend Duke University in the fall. This is his second straight season of making the cross-country jaunt each week to race for Bill McAnally Racing at All American Speedway as a participant in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.
This week, however, he will need to adapt as he switches from racing the heavier NASCAR Camping World Series car on the Utah road course to driving his lighter-weight late model on the tight third-mile oval in Roseville. He is third in the standings there, with five wins so far this season.
Harraka began his racing career at 7 years of age in go-karts, where he won 13 national championships and six world titles.
Time/date: 1:45 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 2.
The Place: Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah, 3.06-mile road course
Schedule: Friday—Practice 11 a.m.–noon, final practice 1:45-2:45 p.m.; Saturday —Time Trials 10 a.m., race 1:45 p.m.
Race overview: This event is the 10th race for the NASCAR Camping World Series West in 2008. It is the second of two road-course events this season and marks the only visit to the state of Utah this year.
Race Purse: $179,692.
The procedure: The starting field is 32 cars, including provisionals. The first 28 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 41 laps (125.46 miles).
The track: Miller Motorsports Park is a multi-purpose road course with four possible configurations. The track is located adjacent to Tooele County’s Deseret Peak Recreation Complex, approximately 35 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City.
Records Qualifying: Mike David, July 14, 2007, 93.225 mph, 118.166 seconds; Race: Jason Bowles, July 14, 2007, 70.384 mph, 1 hour 46 minutes 57 seconds.
1. Eric Holmes 1,506; 2. Jason Bowles 1,425; 3. Jeff Barkshire(*) 1,372; 4. Mike David 1,341; 5. Jim Inglebright 1,324; 6. Austin Cameron 1,254; 7. Moses Smith 1,230; 8. J. Borneman 1,178; 9. Mike Gallegos 1,177; 10. Jim Warn(*) 1,124.
(*) Denotes rookie
First career win: Rookie Jeff Barkshire (No. 46 Centennial Batteries/Rock Church/SPE Dodge) captured his first career win in the NASCAR Camping World Series West with a victory in the Toyota/Concept Race Cars &Parts 150 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash., on Saturday, July 26. Barkshire, the leading Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, is now third in the overall championship standings.
Another pole: Eric Holmes (No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota) set a track record at Evergreen Speedway, while gathering his fifth Coors Light Pole Award of the season. It was his 10th career pole. He went on to finish the race in second, marking his third runner-up finish of the year.
Another top 10: Jim Inglebright (No. 1 Jelly Belly Chevrolet) finished fifth at Monroe, to extend his string of top-10 finishes to seven.
Two-for-two: Newcomer Jonathan Gomez (No. 36 RTD Motorsports/Heritage Cattle Company Chevrolet) is two-for-two, with top-10 finishes in his first two series starts. After coming home ninth in his debut at Roseburg, he finished eighth at Monroe.
