CHASE CHASING VICTORY; WINSTON WEST LEADER LOOKS FOR FIRST '99 WIN.

Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer

Mike Chase says that if he cannot win, there's no sense racing. It's why the current NASCAR Winston West series leader let others do the racing the past two seasons.

``I watched the grass grow,'' the 47-year-old said of those years. ``If I can't win, I don't want to drive.

``It was very frustrating. I was trying everything I could do to get into Winston Cup. I was looking at different deals. But if you're not famous, the finger is always pointed at the driver if you don't do well. I didn't want to go out and not be able to qualify and have to hope to get a provisional (starting position).''

Chase hasn't won a race this season, but when the series moves to Irwindale Speedway tonight for the Irwindale 250, the former Northern Californian knows his team has at least a chance. He has a second-place finish (Phoenix), two fifths and two sixths. His worst finish was on Memorial Day, when he completed only 98 of 200 laps at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield and finished 19th.

He holds a six-point lead over Sean Woodside and Brandon Ash and is nine points ahead of fourth-place Austin Cameron.

Being up front is a feeling he hasn't had since he won the series title in 1994. Chase won four NWWS events that year and placed in the top 10 in 10 of 14 races. He also moved to Concord, N.C., to be closer NASCAR action, a move he says was to further his career.

He returned to NWWS in '95 but ran only seven races, winning two. Instead, he concentrated on the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck series. He placed 30th in that season and 35th the year after, running half of each schedule. He was never among the top 10 in any of the races in the series.

``I went and drove for a team without the finances,'' Chase admitted. ``It was probably a mistake.''

Chase decided he wasn't going to let it happen again. Car owner Gene Christensen offered him a chance to return to the NWWS this season. His top-five finishes have convinced other series owners to take a look at him again.

``They see you on TV and it definitely opens a lot of people's eyes,'' he said. ``The phone has been ringing off the hook. People are asking, `Where have you been?'''

He said he had an offer to race in last Friday's Trucks race at Texas Speedway in Fort Worth. He turned it down.

``It was not a position which I felt I could win and I didn't feel comfortable,'' he said.

But Chase thinks that another ride could be in the offing.

``I don't want to get into a situation where it's not the right combination and you know you can't do your job. When that happens, the first thing they do is replace the driver or the crew chief.''

Chase says the position he's in now is perfect, at least for this season.

``I don't know if Greg Christensen wanted for me to drive it the first year to set it up for him for next year. All I know is that I want to win and not ride.''