Ryan Philpott will not claim he is racing away from his NASCAR Western Late Model competitors at Altamont Motorsports Park.

But the numbers don't lie.

Philpott has won all three WLM main events this season at the 1/2-mile asphalt oval, and his most impressive performance was Saturday in the 100-lap race.

Philpott led the final 77 laps and at times led by almost half a lap against a strong field of cars that showed up on the same night the Grand National West Series was at the track.

Philpott is happy, but the Tracy driver was careful to point out that it's not as easy as it looks.

"We've done great so far, but there are a lot of quality drivers out here," Philpott said. "Everyone is competitive, and I would expect that now that I've won a few in a row, that will spur people to lift their game. That's the way it goes."

Brock Monroe of Escalon, who finished third in the last race, said beating Philpott's 2007 red Chevrolet Monte Carlo - the "Red Rocket" - will be a difficult task.

"He's really dialed in here," Monroe said. "You are really going to have to have a strong day to have a chance."

Cashing in

Mike David's unlikely Grand National win at Altamont gave him a sizable points lead.

David has 520 points, compared to 450 for Tim Woods III of Chino Hills. David has earned $22,456 in three races.

David won on Saturday when he was running third and took the lead on the final lap after John Borneman of Ramona and Justin Lofton of Westmoreland crashed while battling for the lead.