Tricky Saugus Oval Poses Challenge for Chase in Bid to Join Winston Cup Series

In Lap 19 of his first Winston Cup Series race Sunday in Sonoma, Mike Chase found himself in a strange place: first.

He could look in his rear-view mirror and see a grid of Winston Cup greats: eventual winner Rusty Wallace, Geoff Bodine, Darrell Waltrip and 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope.

In front of him at Sears Point Raceway, site of the Banquet Frozen Foods 300, was nothing but beautiful pavement.

A national television audience was left to admire Chase’s Freymiller Trucking Inc. Buick for four laps.

This was no ordinary feat: a Winston West driver had not led a Winston Cup Series event since Jim Brown paced the Budweiser 400 at Riverside International Raceway on June 3, 1984.

To be sure, Chase’s lead melted away; Chase soon was passed by Wallace and finished 25th after experiencing engine-belt trouble on Lap 54.

But the point was clear: Bakersfield’s Mike Chase, at 38 just a rookie on the Winston West tour, is out to burn some serious rubber this summer.

His goal? To join the prestigious Winston Cup tour by the end of the year.

Now, if he could just lick little old Saugus Speedway.

Chase and a bevy of other top Winston West drivers will take to Saugus’ one-third-mile paved oval Saturday night for the NASCAR Winston West 200, a once-a-year stop for the West tour drivers at Saugus.

Joining Chase will be Van Nuys’ Bill Sedgwick, winner of the Winston West 200 last year at Saugus and runner-up to Oregon’s Terry Fisher in the points standings. Fisher; Hershel McGriff, who was second in last year’s event; former Winston West champion Bill Schmitt; and current NASCAR Southwest tour points leader Ron Hornaday of Palmdale also will race.

Chase, eighth in the points standings, leads all rookies on the West tour with 268 points. Bakersfield rival Gary Collins is second with 175.

The demanding Saugus oval will test these drivers’ skills. Just ask Chase, who knows the devilish track well from his many years on the Southwest tour.

“You know the old saying about Saugus,” Chase said. “To get your car ready for it, go to the Safeway parking lot, test it--and then you’re ready.”

Chase, the 1987 Southwest tour champion, last won at Saugus in 1984. Since then, bad memories of the “Super Track”--as locals call it--haunt Chase from a Southwest tour race in 1988.

Chase says that when racing on an oval track he uses one foot for the throttle and one for the brake. But in first place and heading into a turn at Saugus that night, Chase became confused because of the proximity of the pedals. When he thought he was hitting the brake, it turned out he was hitting the throttle. He spun out and went from the lead to the back of the pack.

“It was kind of a bummer,” Chase remembered, allowing himself a small laugh.

Now, after a strong effort at Sears Point, he is hungry for a win.

“We just bought a good short-track car (a 1990 Buick Regal),” Chase said. “We’re installing a new engine right now. And with the experience we have there . . .”

Chase’s voice exudes confidence--that most precious commodity heading into a tricky little thing like Saugus Speedway. Now, the only spinout he anticipates on Saturday is a spin of the points standings, as the rookie continues his climb.

For Chase and his team, Saugus figures to be a steppingstone to the big time--the Winston Cup Series tour. Like other West Coast drivers, he draws inspiration from Cope’s win in the Daytona 500. Cope, after all, is a former Winston West driver.

“He’s doing an awful great job for us West Coast guys,” Chase said. “Now everyone can see that there are some good racers outside of the Southeast.”

The fact that a national television audience was able to see Chase lead some of those noted racers didn’t hurt matters, either. In fact, Chase insists, if it wasn’t for the engine trouble, he could have pulled off a top 10 finish.

“(The television exposure) was great,” Chase said. “Customers (of Freymiller Trucking) from all over the country were calling in. All my relatives saw it, too. Usually, you’re not on TV unless you’re in front or in an accident.”

Accomplishing the former in his first Winston Cup event merits attention. “It really was a thrill,” Chase said.

The thrill was made possible by some last-minute changes. Chase and his team changed the frames on the intermediate-track car they brought into Sears Point to make it into a road-race car. After experiencing trouble with oil blowing out of the engine in qualifying races, the team worked hard on adjustments to make the car ready for the big day. Considering the obstacles that had to be overcome, Chase says, it was quite a splashy debut.

“Our total goal was to qualify and just finish, since it was our first Cup event,” Chase said. “We were really pleased.”

Saturday night will bring no national television exposure. But if Chase turns in an effort similar to the one at Sears Point, such exposure--in the form of the Winston Cup Series--will be that much closer.

“If things go proper, and with enough sponsorship and help, we’re looking to move on,” Chase said. “My ambition is the Winston Cup.”