INGLEBRIGHT LOOKS TO CONCLUDE YEAR WITH 2 MORE STRONG FINISHES

Source: nascar
Date: 09/09/2008

The competition remains tight as the NASCAR Camping World Series West prepares for the final two events of the year. Both events are near home for Jim Inglebright (No. 1 Jelly Belly Chevrolet) and his Fairfield, Calif.-based Roadrunner Motorsports team and both tracks are where he has tasted success.

Inglebright, who is fifth in the championship standings, is aiming to wrap up his best season on the circuit with a strong showing in both races. Only 44 points out of fourth place, he knows it’s possible to move up in the standings before the curtain comes down on the 2008 season for the NASCAR Camping World Series West.

The veteran West Coast competitor won back-to-back championships in 1991 and 1992 in Late Models at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., where the series will hold its season finale on Oct. 25. He also experienced success at Altamont Raceway Park near Tracy, Calif. – winning a race in the former NASCAR Southwest Tour, as well as capturing victory in a 100-lap Late Model event at the half-mile track.

Inglebright is hoping for a similar outcome when the NASCAR Camping World Series West heads to Altamont Raceway Park this week for the Golden State Steel & Stair 200 on Saturday, Sept. 13.

“It’s just one of those tracks that is close to home and I adapted to it early,” Inglebright said of Altamont. “I seem to do better on the semi-banked tracks. It suits my driving style – where you can use a lot of brake, get the car turned and then get back after it.”

It takes more “brute force” and less “finesse,” according to Inglebright. “It’s kind of one of those tracks where you can kind of muscle the car around a bit and get away with it,” he said. “It’s a track where you drag race down the straightaway to the corner. You can root around a little bit and not get yourself in too much trouble. It’s a good track to race. It’s a racer’s track and I seem to do better at those types of tracks.”

Inglebright, known to many race fans as the “Candy Man” for his association with long-time sponsor Jelly Belly, is in his fourth full season in the series and has registered one win, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 11 races this year. He was credited with a victory as the top finishing driver from the NASCAR Camping World Series West in the combination race with the NASCAR Camping World Series East at Iowa Speedway in May.

In addition, he nearly captured the win last month at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, running out of gas on the last lap after a late-race caution led to the race distance being extended.

“We’re happy with our season, but I wouldn’t say we’re content with it,” Inglebright said. “I wish we were a little further up in the points.”

He had to make up ground early in the season, after failing to crack the top 10 in the first two events. “It started off a little rough; the first couple of races we had some issues,” Inglebright said. “They were not really in our control, but you’ve got to factor that in. When you’re racing, you’re going to have those races.”

He bounced back to put together a run of seven straight top-10 finishes. That string of consecutive finishes propelled Inglebright to fifth in points.

Their performance this season demonstrates how much his team has progressed in the past couple of years, according to Inglebright. The biggest challenge was switching equipment, going from the lighter cars in the former NASCAR Southwest Tour to the heavier cars in the NASCAR Camping World Series. “We finally have got four brand new race cars in our stable now,” he said. “That feels pretty good.”

In addition, he and veteran crew chief Rodney Haygood have found a chassis setup that works for them.

“It’s taken us a while to get a hold of this,” Inglebright said. “I didn’t think it would be as challenging as it has been for me, going from the lighter cars to the heavier cars full time.”

At 46 years of age, meanwhile, Inglebright works hard to stay in shape as he competes against drivers less than half his age. “I’ve also been doing a lot of go-kart racing,” he said. “So, I think that’s helped my program out, also.”

With the progress their Roadrunner Motorsports team continues to make – Inglebright and his wife, Val, who serves as his spotter as well as the car owner, see more good times ahead. “We’re looking forward to next year,” Inglebright said.

See Also .:

News Index | E-mail to a Friend