Sedgwick Returns to Saugus Speedway Seeking 3rd Winston 200 Win in a Row

For Bill Sedgwick of Granada Hills, a third time would be charming.

Sedgwick, winner of the past two Winston 200 races at Saugus Speedway, will try for a hat trick tonight when the NASCAR Winston West Tour makes its annual stop at the one-third-mile paved oval. Racing is set to begin at 7.

Tonight’s $35,901 main event--which covers 66.67 miles--marks the fourth race in the Winston West’s nine-race series. Points leader Mike Chase of Bakersfield (516 points) has won two of the tour’s three races, but Saugus Speedway represents a golden chance for third-place Sedgwick (469 points) to carve into that lead.

After all, Sedgwick raced at Saugus Speedway every Saturday night from 1979 to 1983 and won a Street Stock championship there. Chase, 39, has not won at Saugus since 1984.

“There are four or five cars that can win this thing,” Sedgwick said. “I’m hoping to repeat.”

Last year, Sedgwick, 36, won the pole position en route to a wire-to-wire victory.

Chase, with Saugus veteran Leon Ruther as his new crew chief, figures to be in contention. In addition, four-time Winston West points champion and 1990 Winston 200-runner-up Bill Schmitt, 55, of Redding, could make things tough, along with Hershel McGriff, 63, of Portland, Ore., who has registered more fast times than any racer in the post-1970 Winston West Series era.

Other racers to watch include Butch Gilliland of Anaheim, a former Saugus racer currently fourth in the points standings, and John Krebs of Roseville, the third-place finisher in last year’s Winston 200 at Saugus and currently second in the points standings.