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BORNEMAN
SCORES SENTIMENTAL WIN AT
MONROE
IN NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, AUTOZONE WEST
SERIES
MONROE
,
Wash.
(July 29, 2006)
–
Twenty-eight years after his father registered a
NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series
win at Evergreen Speedway, Johnny Borneman made the
same journey to victory lane at the Monroe, Wash.,
track.
The
emotion was evident as Borneman and his father, John
Borneman, celebrated victory in the
NAPA
250 presented by AAA on Saturday, July 29.
“I’ve
always wanted to win here,” said the 29-year-old
second generation driver from
Ramona
,
Calif.
“I’m glad this could be the one.” His father,
meanwhile, admitted that he found it difficult to
remain calm as the laps wound down. “I’ll be
honest with you, I was sitting down the last lap,”
John Borneman said later. “I was pretty beat.”
After
starting 11th and running mid-pack through
the first half of the race, Borneman charged to the
high side of turn two to seize the lead on lap 164 and
end what had been a dominant run by Eric Holmes.
Borneman streaked away from the field to quickly
establish a sizeable lead. While that margin was
erased by the fifth and final caution of the event on
lap 183, Borneman had no trouble in pulling away after
the restart to win by more than 14 seconds.
Borneman
knew before the race that he had a car that could win,
despite not qualifying well. “We tested and knew we
really had a good car,” he said of his Borneman
Plastering/Red Line Oil Ford. “We knew we weren’t
going to be very good in qualifying.”
After
experiencing frustration and bad luck through the
first half of the season, it appears Borneman has
turned his year around with such a convincing win
coming on the heels of a third-place finish a week
earlier at
Irwindale
,
Calif.
.
With the win, he netted $9,816 in prize money and
posted awards – including the POWERade Power Move of
the Race Award for advancing the most positions.
Two-time
and defending champion Mike Duncan of
Bakersfield
,
Calif.
,
finished second in the Lucas Oil/Ron’s Rear Ends
Chevrolet – followed by Steve Portenga of
Sparks
,
Nev.
,
in the King Taco/Signco Ford. Jeff Jefferson of
Naches
,
Wash.
,
was fourth in the Creekside Retirement/Rich Thompson
Trucking Chevrolet – with series rookie Peyton
Sellers of Danville, Va., fifth in the NAPA Auto
Parts/NAPA Belts & Hose Chevrolet. Scott Gaylord,
Austin Cameron and Mike David were sixth, seventh and
eighth, respectively. Holmes – who won his second
Budweiser Pole Award of the year with a qualifying lap
of 98.239 mph – led 145 laps, but faded late in the
race to finish one lap down in ninth. Series rookie
Justin Lofton completed the top 10 in the rundown.
The race
featured six lead changes among six drivers –
Borneman, Holmes, Jefferson, David, Duncan and Tim
Woods III. The pace of the event was slowed by five
cautions for 36 laps.
Holmes has
pulled even with David, meanwhile, in this year’s
championship battle – as they each have 1,189
points. Sellers is third with 1,177, followed by
Portenga with 1,148 and Duncan with 1,143. Sixth
through 10th in the standings feature Jim
Inglebright with 1,086, Gaylord with 1,056, Lofton
with 1,047, Borneman with 1,041 and Brian Ickler with
1,006.
Sellers
continues to lead the chase for this year’s Sunoco
Rookie of the Year Award. He tops the list with 68
points, followed by Lofton at 63, Ickler with 59 and
Eric Hardin with 50. Others include Daniel DiGiacomo
at 23, James Bruncati at 20, Eric Humphries at 16,
Brian Pannone at 16, Nick Lynch at 15, Spencer Clark
at 14, Justin Fisher at eight, Travis Powell at six
and Ed Watson at two.
The
next event on the NASCAR Grand National Division,
AutoZone West Series schedule is the Dodge Country 200
by NAPA Belts & Hose and Havoline at Stockton 99
Speedway in
Stockton
,
Calif.
,
on Saturday, Aug. 5.
For
Further Information Contact:
Kevin W.
Green, NASCAR Public Relations, 661/392-8543, kgreen@nascar.com
Jeremy
Davidson, NASCAR Public Relations, 386/253-0611,
jdavidson@nascar.com
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