LIKE PARENTS, LIKE SON; SAUGUS' WOODSIDE FUELS FAMILY TRADITION ON NASCAR CIRCUIT.

Byline: Bill Schlotter Daily News Staff Writer

When Sean Woodside told his mother he wanted to be a professional race car driver, risking life and limb tearing around at speeds of up to 180 mph, he didn't get the predictable ``Not MY baby'' reaction.

Pam Woodside didn't pass out. She didn't get mad. She didn't shriek, ``Over my dead body.''

Instead, she took off her driving helmet and racing suit, stepped out of her own stock car racer and handed Sean the keys.

The Woodsides of Saugus, you see - father Larry, Pam and Sean - are a racing family. They've been driving off to races together for most of Sean's 27 years. And they'll be together again at the California Speedway in Fontana Saturday to watch Sean, one of the top young drivers on the NASCAR Winston West Tour.

Meanwhile, Santa Clarita driver Jerry Cain will be competing with Woodside in the Auto Club 200, a support race to Sunday's Winston Cup California 500.

Woodside, last year's Winston West runnerup, grew up watching mom and dad race. Just barely old enough for elementary school, he made the transition from tricycles and training wheels to souped up go-karts.

He liked the competition. He liked it a lot.

``Ever since I was a little kid, it's all I ever wanted to do,'' said Woodside, who is in third place on this year's Winston West tour. ``Some kids want to be firemen; I wanted to race cars.''

In 1988, after a dozen years in karts, Woodside graduated from Saugus High and began pursuing his dream in a big car. Pam ended her driving career to give him the chance.

``My mom stopped driving so I could drive her car when I turned 18,'' Woodside said. ``She used to be the fastest of the three of us.'' Sean holds that family honor now.

When he was 22, Sean was running with the best at the now-closed Saugus Speedway. After finishing second in season points in the late-model class in 1993, he won the title in 1994 and 1995. Last year, Woodside joined Van Nuys-based Golden West Racing's Winston West team.

``Sean caught my eye,'' said team owner Ray Claridge, whose squad was losing Palmdale driver Lance Hooper, who took it to championships on a NASCAR Southwest Tour in 1995 and the Winston West Tour in 1996. ``Even though Sean didn't have the experience in the big cars, we felt he had the ability.''

Woodside proved Claridge right in a rookie season in which he won three races and challenged for the series title, winding up runnerup to veteran Butch Gilliland.

Woodside comes to Fontana third in points with 458, trailing leader Kevin Harvick (494) and Gary Smith (461). Claridge is convinced Woodside has a great career ahead of him with a top-notch team at a higher level.

``I don't think it will be much more than a year or two until somebody wakes up and lures him away,'' Claridge said.

Cain, a 40-year-old rookie on the tour isn't in the top 10 in points but did earn the pole position and finished fifth at Tucson earlier this year.

President and CEO of Merchants Bankcard Network, Cain calls racing his hobby.

A national high school rodeo champion, he started racing boats in 1991 and won national and world championships in 1993. He switched to off-road trucks in 1994 and then to cars.

While Cain considers racing a hobby, he goes at it passionately.

``I'm sort of a fanatic,'' said Cain, who put about $800,000 of Merchants Bankcard sponsorship money into his Southwest Tour racing effort last year. ``I don't just do something a little bit; I do it a lot.''

He moved up to the Winston West Tour this season to get more mileage out of his sponsorship funds.

``Nobody is going to know you won a Southwest race,'' Cain explained. ``Everybody is going to know you won a Winston West race.''

Cain would like to race in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series but doesn't think it's feasible to be gone 35 weekends and be a bank president. Besides, he said, the Winston West Tour is on the rise. And as it grows, so will the rewards.

``There's going to be no shame in being the Winston West champion,'' he said.

Cain is looking forward to the tour's visit to the California Speedway. To drive at a state-of-the-art venue will be a thrill, he said.

``It's going to be like a college basketball player who steps on the floor at the Forum for the first time,'' he said. ``You get out there and just go, `Wow.' ''

There will be a lot of wows heard in the Santa Clarita Valley if either he or Woodside comes home the winner.

CAIN FILE

Name: Jerry Cain

Age: 40

Residence: Canyon Country

Notable: 1998 Winston West rookie

1998 points standing: 14th

WOODSIDE FILE

Name: Sean Woodside

Age: 27

Residence: Valencia

Notable: 1997 Winston West runner-up

1998 points standing: third