Tracy Press

 
Philpott logs first finish in Camping World series

Tracy’s Ryan Philpott, shown above in the Bennett Valley Winery 200 race Saturday, finished in 23rd place, making it his first finish in the NASCAR Camping World West Series. Courtesy of Wayne Thallander

Ryan Philpott finished Saturday’s Bennett Valley Winery 200 in 23rd place, which the Tracy driver figures isn’t bad considering it was his first time on the Infineon Raceway road course near Sonoma and his first finish in the NASCAR Camping World West Series.

“That was our goal, to finish in the final lap,” he said.

He added that he knows he could have done better, and repair of some minor mechanical issues will probably help in his next race, most likely at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore., on July 11.

Saturday’s race was the sixth in the Camping World West Series and Philpott’s third start in the series, a step up from the Whelen Western Late Model Races he dominated last year at Altamont Motorsports Park.

His first race this year in Roseville in March ended in a crash, and his second in Phoenix, two weeks later, ended when he had engine trouble.

On Saturday, Philpott started in 35th position out of 41 cars and finished 23rd out of 31 cars still running at the end of the race. Twenty-four cars, including Philpott, completed all 68 laps on the 1.99-mile road course.

Jason Bowles of Ontario was Saturday’s winner. Others in the top five were Eric Holmes of Escalon, Jim Inglebright of Fairfield, Tom Hulbert of Cottonwood and Ken Schrader of Fenton, Mo.
Philpott said that the road course, which is a longer track with more turns, was a new challenge for him after winning races on half-mile ovals, like the track at Altamont.

“I haven’t raced road courses at all, so it was a lot different,” he said, adding that a driver’s attention to speed, turns and braking require more concentration on an irregular road track.

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