1991 NASCAR Winston West Series

The 1991 NASCAR Winston West Series was the 38th season of the series. The title was won by Bill Sedgwick, his first in the series.

Notes

The 1991 season included 9 individual races, although Evergreen Speedway and Mesa Marin Raceway hosted two races each. The races at Sears Point International Raceway and Phoenix International Raceway were in combination with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

The Winston 300 was held on May 4 at Evergreen Speedway. Bill Schmitt won the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 23 - Mike Chase
2. 75 - Bill Sedgwick -1
3. 24 - Butch Gilliland -2
4. 99 - John Krebs -3
5. 09 - Terry Fisher -4
6. 60 - Larry Gunselman -6
7. 15 - Rick Scribner -11
8. 93 - Billy Jac Shaw -11
9. 44 - Jack Sellers -32
10. 22 - St. James Davis -45

• Mike Chase started the season with a win, leading 158 of the 300 laps and lapping the field en route to his second career win.

The California 400 was held on May 19 at Mesa Marin Raceway. Butch Gilliland won the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 23 - Mike Chase
2. 88 - Bob Walker -1
3. 04 - Hershel McGriff -1
4. 24 - Butch Gilliland -2
5. 28 - Gary Collins -2
6. 9 - J. C. Danielsen -4
7. 99 - John Krebs -5
8. 73 - Bill Schmitt -9
9. 00 - Scott Gaylord -10
10. 15 - Rick Scribner -13

• For the second race in a row, Mike Chase led the most laps, lapped the field, and won. He extended his points lead over Butch Gilliland to 40 points.

The Banquet Frozen Foods 300 was held on June 9 at Sears Point International Raceway and was the first of two combination races with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Ricky Rudd won the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 28 - Davey Allison
2. 5 - Ricky Rudd
3. 2 - Rusty Wallace
4. 4 - Ernie Irvan
5. 25 - Ken Schrader
6. 94 - Terry Labonte
7. 3 - Dale Earnhardt
8. 97 - Geoff Bodine
9. 6 - Mark Martin
10. 30 - Michael Waltrip

Failed to qualify: 29 - Butch Gilliland, 44 - Jack Sellers, 93 - Troy Beebe, 20 - Kim Campbell, 05 - Ron Esau, 07 - Bobby Woods, 9 - J.C. Danielsen, 15 - Rick Scribner, 22 - St. James Davis, 36 - Billy Jac Shaw, 72 - Mark Reed

• A wild finish ended in controversy. Accomplished Trans-Am champion and NASCAR road course ringer Tommy Kendall (substituting for the injured Kyle Petty) was leading Mark Martin with 4 laps to go, in Felix Sabates' #42 Pontiac. Going into the turn 7 hairpin, Martin slid by on the outside, but the cars made contact, and Martin spun out. Kendall suffered a flat tire, and limped back to the pits. With 2 laps remaining, Davey Allison who had been running third took the lead. Allison led Ricky Rudd into turn 11 as the cars were anticipating seeing the white flag. Rudd's nose got inside, touched Allison's rear bumper, and Allison spun out with the white flag waving. Allison refired, and got back on to the track to hold on to second position. The next time by, Ricky Rudd was displayed the black flag and penalized 5 seconds for "dirty driving." Allison, the second car in line, was given the checkered flag and declared the winner. Rudd officially dropped back to 2nd place, with the black flag being reduced to a 5-second penalty following Allison's time of victory. After the race, Dave Marcis, a lapped car who was right behind the incident and saw it unfold, claimed that Rudd's tap was not dirty, and in his opinion was simply drivers racing hard on the final lap.
• Bill Schmitt was the highest finishing West Series driver in the race, coming home an impressive 13th among the Cup field.
• Mike Chase, who finished 40th overall and 7th of the 8 West drivers who made the field, maintained the points lead over Butch Gilliland, who failed to make the race.

The Winston 200 was held on June 15 at Saugus Speedway. Bill Sedgwick won the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 73 - Bill Schmitt
2. 75 - Bill Sedgwick
3. 24 - Butch Gilliland -1
4. 04 - Hershel McGriff -1
5. 93 - Wayne Jacks -2
6. 88 - Bob Walker -2
7. 91 - Robert Sprague -2
8. 05 - Randy Becker -2
9. 98 - Billy Jac Shaw -5
10. 15 - Rick Scribner -8

• Bill Schmitt scored his first win of the season, leading 101 of 200 laps and beating polesitter Bill Sedgwick by 6.5 seconds. Sedgwick, who was the only other car on the lead laps, moved into the points lead, 4 points ahead of Mike Chase and 14 points ahead of Schmitt.

The Winston 200 was held on June 30 at Portland Speedway. Jim Bown won the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 23 - Mike Chase
2. 73 - Bill Schmitt
3. 75 - Bill Sedgwick -1
4. 91 - Robert Sprague -1
5. 24 - Butch Gilliland -1
6. 50 - John Dillon -1
7. 3 - Don Waterman -2
8. 04 - Hershel McGriff -2
9. 99 - John Krebs -3
10. 09 - Terry Fisher -4

• Mike Chase scored his third and final win of the season, beating Bill Schmitt by 1 second. Polesitter Jim Bown failed to finish the event, falling out with steering problems.
• Chase regained the points lead, but the battle remained close, as he was only 10 points ahead of Schmitt and 11 ahead of Bill Sedgwick after the race.

The Motorcraft 500 was held on July 14 at Evergreen Speedway. Winston Cup driver Sterling Marlin won the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 11 - Geoffrey Bodine
2. 98 - Jim Bown
3. 75 - Bill Sedgwick -1
4. 09 - Jon Paques -5
5. 93 - Billy Jac Shaw -8
6. 5 - Jerry Bowers -9
7. 15 - Rick Scribner -17
8. 72 - Brad Tidrick -19
9. 14 - Mike French -28
10. 04 - Hershel McGriff -46

• In his first and only West Series start, Geoff Bodine would lead lead for 378 of the race's 500 laps and score the win. Polesitter Sterling Marlin failed to finish after crashing out, as did points leader Mike Chase.
• After crashing out on the opening lap and finishing 35th, Chase would drop to third in the standings; Bill Sedgwick moved to the points lead, 49 points ahead of Bill Schmitt.

The Uhlmann Motors 200 was held on August 3 at South Sound Speedway.Bill Schmitt won the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 73 - Bill Schmitt
2. 75 - Bill Sedgwick
3. 24 - Butch Gilliland
4. 04 - Hershel McGriff -2
5. 91 - Robert Sprague -2
6. 09 - Dirk Stephens -4
7. 5 - Jerry Bowers -4
8. 93 - Billy Jac Shaw -4
9. 72 - Brad Tidrick -6
10. 99 - John Krebs -7

• Bill Schmitt led 183 of 200 laps and scored his second and final win of the season. In doing so, he cut the gap in the standings down to 34 points with just two races remaining.

The Winston 400 was held on October 13 at Mesa Marin Raceway. Bill Sedgwick won the pole, nearly setting a lap record.

Top Ten Results

1. 75 - Bill Sedgwick
2. 37 - Rick Carelli
3. 73 - Bill Schmitt -1
4. 24 - Butch Gilliland -2
5. 40 - Joe Ruttman -4
6. 04 - Hershel McGriff -5
7. 15 - Rick Scribner -7
8. 93 - Billy Jac Shaw -9
9. 58 - Wayne Jacks -12
10. 99 - John Krebs -12

• Bill Sedgwick dominated the race, leading 315 of the race's 400 laps en route to his first and only win of the season. He expanded his points lead to 49 points with one race remaining.

The Pyroil 500 was held on November 3 at Phoenix International Raceway and was the second of two combination races with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Geoffrey Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 28 - Davey Allison
2. 17 - Darrell Waltrip
3. 22 - Sterling Marlin
4. 7 - Alan Kulwicki
5. 2 - Rusty Wallace
6. 4 - Ernie Irvan
7. 98 - Jimmy Spencer -1
8. 11 - Geoff Bodine -1
9. 3 - Dale Earnhardt -1
10. 15 - Morgan Shepherd -1

Failed to qualify: 93 -Troy Beebe, 44 - Jack Sellers, 89 - Jim Sauter, 00 - Scott Gaylord, 09 - R. K. Smith, 15 - Rick Scribner, 22 - St. James Davis, 37 - Rick Carelli, 58 - Wayne Jacks, 86 - Ron Hornaday Jr., 91 - Robert Sprague, 97 - Billy Jac Shaw, 99 - John Krebs

• This race the only time that Davey Allison would score back-to-back wins in his career, as he had also won the previous Cup race, the AC Delco 500.
• Bill Sedgwick would be the highest running West driver, finishing the race 21st overall and scoring points equivalent to a win. Bill Schmitt would crash out of the race after 136 laps and finished 37th. Sedgwick was able to secure the title, 74 points ahead of Schmitt.

(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by owner's points. * – Most laps led. † – Ineligible for West Series points

• 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
• 1991 NASCAR Busch Series