The 1990 NASCAR Winston West Series was the 37th season of the series. The title was won by Bill Schmitt, his fourth in the series[1] and second in succession. Schmitt won the championship by just 1 point over Bill Sedgwick.[2]
Bill Sedgwick started the season with a win, leading 254 of the 400 laps. Bill Schmitt, who led 62 laps, fell out with engine issues halfway through the race. Six other drivers took turns at the front of the field, but Sedgwick was able to prevail by 2.85 second over Gary Collins.
It was the only standalone West race of the season where a driver failed to qualify, as Rick Mackey would not make the field.
Rusty Wallace continued his Winston Cup road course mastery in earning his second win of the season at Sears Point. It was his fifth road course win in the last seven, finishing second in the other two. Wallace overtook Ricky Rudd on the 11th turn on lap 60 and led the rest of the way, beating Mark Martin to the caution on lap 73, earning the win under caution in the final lap. Martin overtook the Winston Cup points race at 1800, while Terry Fisher moved to the Winston West points lead.
This was the final race victory for Blue Max Racing, as the team would fold after Wallace left the team at the end of 1990, and Roger Penske would acquire their equipment and hire Wallace starting in 1991.
Terry Fisher was the highest finishing West Series driver, coming home 15th overall and scoring points equivalent to a win. As previously mentioned, Fisher would take the points lead, leaving Sonoma with a 14 point lead over Bill Sedgwick.
Bill Sedgwick scored his second win of the season, leading all 200 laps. He would retake the points leader from Terry Fisher, who would be 29 points behind after his eighth place finish.
Roy Smith, in his second start of the season, would score his first win of the season, leading only 23 of the race's 200 laps.
Bill Sedgwick would grow his points lead, leading Portland with a 71 point advantage over Bill Schmitt, who surpassed Terry Fisher and left Portland with a 3 point advantage over him.
This was the last standalone West race Derrike Cope would compete in.
Sedgwick maintained his points lead over Bill Schmitt, who was 76 points behind after the race. Terry Fisher maintained third, however was now 99 points behind Sedgwick.
Bill Sedgwick scored his fourth and final win of the season, and his second in a row. He led 179 of the race's 200 laps, with the other 21 being led by polesitter Jim Bown, who fell out of the race with overheating issues after 129 laps.
Sedgwick expanded his points lead to 134 points over Bill Schmitt. Schmitt stayed just 4 points ahead of Terry Fisher.
Roy Smith scored his second win of the season and the final of his career.
Bill Sedgwick had engine issues late in the race and finished 16th, allowing Bill Schmitt to gain in the standings, leaving Tri-City with an 84 point deficit.
John Krebs got credit for fourth, although he required relief from Robert Sprague, who had fallen out of the race early with engine issues.
After starting on pole, Bill Sedgwick only completed five laps before engine issues sent him out of the race and he finished 22nd. Terry Fisher failed to start the race and was given credit for 24th place.
Sedgwick's points lead was cut to just 6 points after Schmitt led the most laps and finished second. Fisher finally lost third in points, as Chase was able to move into third, only 34 points behind Sedgwick.
Dale Earnhardt won his first (and only) race at Phoenix in a dominant fashion, leading 262 laps of 312 laps. He also took the Cup points lead by 6 points over Mark Martin heading into the season finale at Atlanta.
Bill Schmitt was the highest finishing West driver and received points equivalent to a win, taking the championship from Bill Sedgwick by one point. Mike Chase, who finished last of the West drivers who made the field, ended the season third in points, with Terry Fisher and John Krebs completing the top five in the standings.