NASCAR CAMP WORLD WEST SERIES

Jason Bowles won a spirited three-way battle around the twisting 1.99-mile road course of Infineon Raceway to take the victory in the Bennett Lane Winery 200 presented by Supercuts on Saturday.

Bowles held off fierce challenges from Eric Holmes and Jim Inglebright in the closing laps to score his first win of the year in NASCAR Camping World Series West competition.

Bowles opted to pit early for fuel and not change tires. That strategy helped him get out front by lap 31 and avoid much of the rough and tumble action that eliminated some of his competition, who were trying to work their way to the front of the record 41-car field after making pits stops. Holmes and Inglebright used a similar plan of taking on fuel, but not stopping for tires.

Their early pit stops became a concern later, when the race distance was extended for a green-white-checkered finish due to a late-race caution. Bowles, who had shut off his engine and coasted around portions of the track during cautions to conserve fuel, was able to make it to the finish despite his fuel pressure gauge dropping to zero in the final lap.

Tom Hubert followed the trio across the finish line in third, followed by Ken Schrader.

The win gave Bowles a victory on the only road course where he did not win in 2007, having encountered mechanical problems in last year’s race at Infineon Raceway. The win also secured him a spot in the prestigious post-season NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.)

Holmes’ second-place finish, meanwhile, gave him a slight lead in the championship standings over Mike David, who battled back to ninth after being spun by another car. Holmes, who won the 2006 championship, leads defending champion David – 971 to 969. Bowles moved to third in the standings, with 905.

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