NASCAR's Winston West Series raced at the short-lived but ahead-of-its-time Ontario Motor Speedway May 15, 1977. The second annual West Coast 250 was the first stand-alone Winston West race at OMS that wasn't combined with a Winston Cup Series race.
From Motor Racing Programme Covers
NASCAR's fragmented Late Model Sportsman series raced with the Winston West drivers in the inaugural West Coast 250 at Ontario in 1976. L.D. Ottinger traveled from tiny Newport, TN to the west coast to show 'em how it's done. He was quickest in practice, won the pole, and was nipped by about two feet by winner Jimmy Insolo.
With the 1977 race scheduled as part of the Cup-Light Winston West schedule, L.D. stayed with the LMS series and didn't return for another shot at a trophy. And as race day drew near, Insolo's ride was sold out from under him. He had to be doubly-disappointed after having just won the USAC stock car portion of the Datsun Twin 200s at Ontario two months earlier ( link to my RHM ).
From Long Beach Independent
Chuck Bown won the pole by topping Ottinger's record lap from a year earlier. Jim Thirkettle qualified on the front row with him. Gary Johnson and Chuck Wahl made up the second row. From Pomona Progress Bulletin
Arlene Hiss wrecked in practice was unable to repair the car in time for qualifying. Hiss started a couple of races in USAC's open wheel and stock car races in 1976 before Janet Guthrie got going. Guthrie's name has obviously stood the test of time as a groundbreaker for her era whereas Hiss has been largely forgotten. But practice wrecks and run-ins with drivers such as Bobby Unser certainly didn't help her cause to stay relevant. From Van Nuys Valley News
Before the race could even going well, 7-8 cars piled into one another on lap 1. Drivers involved in the wreck that couldn't continue included John Borneman, John Dineen, Glenn Francis, Summer McKnight, Rocky Moran, and Bob Switzer. Vince Giamformaggio in #39 of photo below slipped by and likely exhaled. But his good fortune didn't last. He overheated, cooked his engine, and went home with a P29 DNF - only slightly better than the batch of wrecked cars.
After the restart, Bown launched from his top starting spot to lead the first 35 laps of the 100-lap race. Thirkettle, Third-place starter Johnson and west coast racing vet Bill Schmitt combined to lead the middle third of the race. Johnson then re-took the lead from Schmitt, and he led the remaining 35 laps for the win.
As noted at the beginning of the post, the race was first of stand-alone Winston West race at Ontario. As it turns out, the track hosted only one more stand-alone event for the series. Roy Roy Smith won it in April 1980. From Pomona Progress Bulletin
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Gary Johnson | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Bill Schmitt | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Gary Matthews | Plymouth |
| 4 | Hershel McGriff | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Chuck Wahl | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Bryce Mann | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Don Noel | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Glen Steurer | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Richard White | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Pat Mintey | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Terry Wood | Chevrolet |
| 12 | Ernie Stierly | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Don Puskarich | Chevrolet |
| 14 | George Spink | Pontiac |
| 15 | Chuck Bown | Chevrolet |
| 16 | Jim Haney, Jr. | Chevrolet |
| 17 | John Hamson | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Bill Osborne | Ford |
| 19 | Rick McCray | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Ron Esau | Chevrolet |
| 21 | Pete Torres | Ford |
| 22 | Steve Pfeifer | Chevrolet |
| 23 | Jim Thirkettle | Chevrolet |
| 24 | Harry Goularte | Chevrolet |
| 25 | Marc Vogel | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Bob Forester | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Bill Baker | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Don Reynolds | Chevrolet |
| 29 | Vince Giamformaggio | Chevrolet |
| 30 | Don Graham | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Tom Blair | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Bob Switzer | Chevrolet |
| 33 | Rocky Moran | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Sumner McKnight | Chevrolet |
| 35 | Glenn Francis | Chevrolet |
| 36 | John Dineen | Ford |
| 37 | John Borneman | Chevrolet |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
