Saturday July 22, 2000
Ventura Raceway

Clear skies, warm temperatures, and windy conditions usually make Ventura's track unfavorable. The track was greasy to dry slick, which caused many unpredictable spinouts, and also some very exciting racing.

Greg was in Heat #1, front row outside, next to Jeff Heaton. Heaton and Greg were 1 and 2 all the way to the checkered. A second place in the heat put Greg 4th row inside for the main event.

Starting in 7th position, green flag went out, and 30 laps of racing were on the way. After the 3rd lap, a couple of cars in front of Greg tangled. He managed to dodge the accident, which caused him to dwindle all the way to 13th position. Green flag came out again, and Greg charged through and weaved gracefully through cars and lapped traffic. Just like a racing veteran, 18-year-old Greg was in 2nd place!

Another yellow came out, and the officials put Greg in 3rd with 2 lap cars in front of him. This mishap was no challenge. Greg swiftly caught up to the leaders, with a huge gap between himself and the rest of the pack.

Gary Howard (who started on the pole), Ronnie Case, and Greg were all battling for the #1 position. Another yellow came out, which caused these drivers to catch up to one another, leaving no more than an inch of room between them. With 6 laps to go, someone would make a move to the front.

When the green waved, Greg passed Case in turns 1 and 2 and was on Howard's tail. Greg and Howard were side by side, and the white flag came out. Howard was running the high line, which was a little faster. In contrast, Greg was running the bottom of the track. Greg gave it all he had, but Howard barely held on for the win. Greg finished 2nd, and Ronnie Case 3rd. What a great race!

It was a great finish for the Taylor Motorsports Team. Great job Greg. Keep it up!

Greg is currently 3rd in points for the championship, behind Chris Wakim and Gary Howard.