Mike Chase Explained

Mike Chase
Birth Date:	17 April 1952
Birth Place:	Redding, California
Achievements:	1994 NASCAR Winston West Series Champion 1987 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Champion
Awards:	1990 Winston West Series Rookie of the Year West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2010)
Total Cup Races:	13
Years In Cup:	5
Best Cup Pos:	47th (1991)
First Cup Race:	1990 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (Sonoma)
Last Cup Race:	1994 Slick 50 500 (Phoenix)
Cup Wins:	0
Cup Top Tens:	0
Cup Poles:	0
Total Busch Races:	4
Years In Busch:	2
Best Busch Pos:	89th (2001)
First Busch Race:	1986 Gatorade 200 (Darlington)
Last Busch Race:	2001 NAPA Autocare 250 (Pikes Peak)
Busch Wins:	0
Busch Top Tens:	0
Busch Poles:	0
Total Truck Races:	15
Years In Truck:	2
Best Truck Pos:	30th (1995)
First Truck Race:	1995 Pizza Plus 150 (Bristol)
Last Truck Race:	1996 Carquest 420K (Las Vegas)
Truck Wins:	0
Truck Top Tens:	0
Truck Poles:	0

Mike Chase (born April 17, 1952) is an American former stock car racing driver. Winner of the 1994 series championship in the NASCAR Winston West Series, he has also competed in the Winston Cup Series, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series and currently works for Penske Racing as a crewman.

Personal life

Born in Redding, California, Chase moved to the Charlotte, North Carolina area in 1993 to further his racing career.^[1]

Early career

Growing up competing at Shasta Speedway in his native California, Chase began competing in NASCAR touring series in the mid-1980s, winning the 1987 championship in the Featherlite Southwest Tour;^[2] Chase also made his debut in the Busch Series in 1986 at Darlington Raceway, finishing 32nd.

Chase moved up to the Winston West Series in 1990 where he won Rookie of the Year.^[3] In 1991 he made his debut in the Winston Cup Series, competing in a combination race at Sears Point Raceway; he finished 25th in the event. Chase would run selected races in Winston Cup over the next few years, in addition to selected Winston West events; his best finish in Cup came at Michigan International Speedway in 1990 where he finished 24th.^[4]

In addition to his racing career, in the early 1990s Chase worked as the head of stock car racing for A. J. Foyt Enterprises; he planned to attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on two occasions with the team, but was not approved by USAC for competition.^{[1] [5]}

Brickyard and Trucks

In 1994, Chase qualified for the 1994 Brickyard 400, the inaugural stock car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event, although on the Winston Cup Series schedule, was a combination race between Cup and the Winston West Series;^[1] despite running too slow to make the field for the race on time, Chase started 43rd in the event due to being eligible for a provisional starting spot as the then-current Winston West Series points leader.^[6] He came into the event with car #50 but another #50 car made the race in A. J. Foyt and Chase switched to #58 for the race. He finished 42nd in the race, being involved in an accident after completing 91 of the race's 160 laps.^[1]

Chase would go on to win the 1994 Winston West series championship,^[7] winning five times over the course of the season.^[8] Chase moved to the Winston Cup Series in 1995, intending to run full-time for Rookie of the Year in the No. 32 Active Racing Chevrolet; however, after failing to qualify for the first race of the season, the Daytona 500,^[9] Chase was released by team owner Dean Myers and replaced by Jimmy Hensley.^[7]

Chase returned part-time to the West Series for the remainder of 1995, winning twice, as well as running eight races in the SuperTruck Series, making his first race in the series at Bristol Motor Speedway for Chesrown Racing, where he finished 27th;^[10] later that year he replaced P. J. Jones in the No. 1 DieHard Chevrolet for team owner Scoop Vessels,^[11] posting a best finish of 16th in seven races.^[10]

In 1996, Chase returned to the renamed Craftsman Truck Series, driving for Steve Sellers Racing; driving in seven events for the team, he posted a best finish of 13th at Portland Speedway.^[12] Chase would run selected races in the Winston West Series in 1998, before returning to the series for a full season in 1999 with Green Light Racing; he failed to win a race but finished seventh in points.^[13]

Chase would run three races in the Nationwide Series for ST Motorsports in 2001,^[14] with a best finish of 27th; these would be his final races in NASCAR competition.^[15]

After racing

After retiring from competition, Chase worked for several race teams, including Wood Brothers Racing; he currently works for Penske Racing as a fabricator.^[1] Chase has also worked as a crew chief in the Nationwide Series.^[16]

Chase was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2010.^[17]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (

Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31		Pts	Ref
1990	Freymiller Racing	23	Buick	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON 25	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN										PHO 39	ATL			57th	230	^[18]
	Tri-Star Motorsports	68	Pontiac																			MCH 24	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR
1991	Freymiller Racing	23	Ford	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON 40	POC	MCH																		47th	356	^[19]
	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	14	Olds															DAY 33	POC	TAL 25	GLN	MCH 29	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR
			Chevy																												PHO 26	ATL
1992	Kaylan Young Racing	60	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON 35	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL			84th	58	^[20]
1993	JTC Racing	50	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO 39	ATL		87th	46	^[21]
1994				DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON 31	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL												PHO 31	ATL	56th	177	^[22]
		58																				IND 42	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR
1995	Active Racing	32	Chevy	DAY DNQ	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL	NA	-	^[23]

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34		Pts	Ref
1986	Clark Racing	06	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	HCY	MAR	BRI	DAR	SBO	LGY	JFC	DOV	CLT	SBO	HCY	OCS	IRP	SBO	RAL	OXF	SBO	HCY	LGY	OCS	BRI	DAR 32	RCH	DOV	MAR	OCS	CLT	CAR	MAR				124th	67	^[24]
2001	ST Motorsports	91	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL 43	RCH	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	KEN	MLW	GLN	CHI																89th	161	^[25]
		59																					GTY 27	PPR 28	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CHA	MEM	PHO	CAR	HOM
2002				DAY	CAR	LVS	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH QL^†	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	ATL	CAR	PHO	HOM	N/A	N/A	^[26]
^† - Qualified for Stacy Compton

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24		Pts	Ref
1995	Chesrown Racing	62	Chevy	PHO	TUS	SGS	MMR	POR	EVG	I70	LVL	BRI 27	MLW	CNS	HPT	IRP												30th	767	^[27]
	Vestar Motorsports	1	Chevy														FLM 24	RCH 28	MAR 18	NWS 19	SON 19	MMR 28	PHO 16
1996	Steve Sellers Racing	78	Ford	HOM DNQ	PHO 29	POR 13	EVG 19	TUS	CNS 13	HPT 33	BRI 30	NZH	MLW	LVL	I70	IRP	FLM	GLN	NSV	RCH	NHA	MAR	NWS	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS 26	35th	692	^[28]

References

Notes

Citations

Notes and References

1. Web site: Where Are They Now? Mike Chase. Shaffer. Jan. July 24, 2010. Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 2012-08-28. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020154252/http://blog.ims.com/2010/07/24/where-are-they-now-mike-chase/. October 20, 2012.
2. Web site: Phoenix Takes Riverside Date for Stock Cars. Glick. Shav. November 3, 1988. Los Angeles Times. 2012-08-28. Los Angeles, CA.
3. News: Mike Chase places first in Winston. July 1, 1991. The Dispatch. 2A. 2012-08-28. Lexington, NC.
4. Web site: Mike Chase - NASCAR Sprint Cup Results. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. 2012-08-28.
5. Web site: Mike Chase . 2022-04-14 . ESPN.com.
6. News: Grissom misses field by only .137 of a second. Smethers. Jimmy. August 6, 1994. The Gadsden Times. D4. 2012-08-28. Gadsden, AL.
7. Web site: Record puts Gordon on Rockingham pole. February 25, 1995. The Charlotte Observer. 1B. Charlotte, NC.
8. Web site: Mike Chase - 1994 NASCAR Winston West Series Results. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. 2012-08-28.
9. Web site: 1995 Sprint Cup Series Results. NASCAR.com. Turner Sports. 2012-09-01.
10. Web site: Mike Chase - 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman Results. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. 2012-08-28.
11. News: Trucker Can't Wait to Begin His Chase at Flemington. https://archive.today/20130131143133/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mcall/access/16226916.html?dids=16226916:16226916&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+18,+1995&author=JOHN+JAY+FOX,+The+Morning+Call&pub=Morning+Call&desc=TRUCKER+CAN'T+WAIT+TO+BEGIN+HIS+CHASE+AT+FLEMINGTON&pqatl=google. dead. January 31, 2013. Fox. John Jay. August 18, 1995. The Morning Call. C1. 2012-08-28. Allentown, CA.
12. Web site: Mike Chase - 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. 2012-08-28.
13. Web site: Bobby Dotter Teams Up With Green Light Racing. March 13, 2000. RacingWest. 2012-08-28. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150104032622/http://www.racingwest.com/news/articles/515-bobby-dotter-teams-up-with-green-light-racing.html. January 4, 2015.
14. News: Rick Bickle gets benched. July 20, 2001. The Daily Union. 16. 2012-08-28. Junction City, KS.
15. Web site: Mike Chase - NASCAR Nationwide Series Results. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. 2012-08-28.
16. Web site: Mike Chase - Crew chief stats. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. 2012-08-28.
17. Web site: Eleven Set For Induction Into West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. 2012-08-28.
18. Web site: Mike Chase – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
19. Web site: Mike Chase – 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
20. Web site: Mike Chase – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
21. Web site: Mike Chase – 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
22. Web site: Mike Chase – 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
23. Web site: Mike Chase – 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
24. Web site: Mike Chase – 1986 NASCAR Busch Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
25. Web site: Mike Chase – 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
26. Web site: Mike Chase – 2002 NASCAR Busch Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 10, 2023.
27. Web site: Mike Chase – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.
28. Web site: Mike Chase – 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 17, 2023.