In 1991, with a new full ride sponsor, LRH Motorsports, Steve aggressively continued his pursuit of the championship in the Sportsman Division. With 13 main event wins, a track record and the pure determination to win, Steve Portenga won his first track Championship and became the youngest driver in the history of the track, and Nevada, to capture such a title.

The next step was the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series. This division included all the best track champions from the West Coast. Running with veterans Hershal McGriff, Ron Hornaday, Jr. and Rick Carelli, the young and very talented driver had his work cut out for him. Having his best finish at Las Vegas Speedway, a third, he was the driver to watch. Steve Portenga finished the 1992 season with the Rookie of the Year honor, 6th place in overall points and the highest paid rookie of that season.

After the death of dear friend and car owner, Art Henderson, Steve’s sophomore year on the Series was a struggle from the beginning. After a change in crew members, the team pulled together and put their best efforts forward and won one of the biggest races of that season - the October Classic in Bakersfield, California. That year, Steve finished 12th in overall points for the season.

From November 1993 to February 1994, many changes were happening for Steve Portenga. Purchasing the race team from Lenore Henderson, Steve was maturing as a young man and as a rising star in the racing community. Ed Hansen of Shaver Racing Engines was brought on board to build and maintain the team’s engines and, in only his third year on the Southwest Series, Steve took the 1994 Championship Title, becoming the youngest champion in the series’ history!

Click for Steve's Entry in Wikipedia

In late 1994, Steve met team owners Mark and Linda Mountanos of L & M Racing. Impressed with Steve’s hard-charging driving style and natural ability, Mark and Linda offered to campaign a truck for the 1995 and 1996 racing seasons. Backed by his new team, L & M Racing, Steve proved to be a tough competitor in NASCAR’s inaugural year of the Supertruck Series by Craftsman. In his #83 Chevrolet truck with a Hutcherson Pagan chassis, powered by a Shaver Racing Engine and sponsored by The Coffee Critic and Mission Uniform & Linen Service, Steve was once again the driver to watch. He had several strong starts and finishes during the season, including a 5th place finish in Odessa, MO and a 6th place finish in Louisville, KY. In the overall point standings for the year, Steve placed 13th out of a field of 103 drivers. With these successes, Steve Portenga once again made racing history as the highest paid youth in the series and the youngest driver to finish in the top 5 in a race.

Steve and L & M Racing ran a limited 6 race Supertruck schedule in 1996 as well as 2 Winston West races, securing a 4th place finish at the Winter Heat event in Tucson, AZ and a 14th place finish at Altamont Raceway Park in the Winston West Series. But with the ambition to run a full schedule racing season, Steve left L & M Racing.     The 1997 NASCAR racing season found Steve Portenga once again behind the wheel of a Southwest Series car. As owner of his own team again, Steve drove his #14 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to a career high season with 9 Top 5 finishes, including 3 main event wins. He led the most races during the season, set both track and series' records at Tucson Raceway Park and Orange Show Speedway, and finished 5th overall in the series' point standings.    1998 was the "Year of the Tiger" as Steve Portenga chalked up 7 Top 5 and 11 Top 10 finishes backed by Exxon Superflo Motor Oils to achieve the highest paying season of his career. With his trademark consistency and determination, Steve Portenga dominated the season, capturing wins at Colorado and Los Angeles ultimately securing his 2nd NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series Championship title at the age of 28.    In 1999, Steve Portenga Racing has joined forces with Jim Offenbach of Golden Gate Race Team and is making a charge into the NASCAR Winston West Series. With one main event win under their belt already this season, Steve Portenga is aggressively pursuing Championship #1 and with his multitude oftalents, his hard-charging spirit and his "Best in the West" crew, fans should look for the #3 Roto-Rooter Racing Chevrolet to be up front! Steve and the team finished fifth in the Winston West Series for the year.

In 2000, Steve Portenga purchased the team from Jim Offenbach, owner of Golden Gate Racing. Portenga will again be an owner/driver for the year 2000. Jim Offenbach will continue to be a major part of the team as a sponsor and advisor. 2000 proved to be a good year, finishing 3rd in the point standings.

In 2001, Steve Portenga and Roto-Rooter chalked up 2 wins, 6 top 5s and 9 top 10s. Steve Portenga racing had a very good year and finished 4th in NASCAR Winston West Point standings.  

2002 and Steve Portenga racing moved up into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Steve Portenga was the owner and driver of the number 39 NASCAR Craftsman

In 2003, Steve Portenga teamed up with Performance Motorsports with only one goal, win the Winston West Championship. After only the third race, Steve Portenga and PMS notched one of the most impressive wins in Steve’s career. With just a handful of laps to go Steve passed Winston Cup’s Ken Schrader, and won the California Speedway race with over a 2 second margin. This win launched Steve into the points lead. After leading the points the entire year a race incident placed Steve in 3rd position in the points. With one race to go, “California Speedway”, we knew with our win we could regain the championship title. Wild fires struck California and the race was cancelled. We had an awesome year finishing 3rd in the points standings, knowing we are a championship team!

"I look forward to being the crew chief for the Golden gate Race team, I think it will be a good partnership. With my experience and Ryan Foster’s skills and ability we should be front runners with championship potential."

2006 NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series Race Results

Click Here for Racing West's Driver Card for Steve Portenga