IRWINDALE, Calif. -- Austin Cameron, who had to sit out four NASCAR Winston West Series races this spring while recovering from an inoperable form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, become a NASCAR Touring Series national champion Saturday night.

Cameron, of El Cajon, led the final 25 laps of the 125-lap Grand National Division race to win the invitation-only inaugural Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway.

Cameron was running fifth at the mandatory 100-lap break. NASCAR officials inverted the top six cars and Cameron broke away from the field to score his third victory in his last six races since returning to racing.

We could not win the championship because of a few hiccups in my career and my life, so this is the best championship we could win this year, said Cameron, who received chemotherapy Monday.

Andy Santerre, of Harrisburg, N.C., finished second and Mark Reed, of Bakersfield, finished third.

In the companion Elite Division national championship race, polesitter Ron Breese Jr., of DeKalb, Ill., dominated the 100-lap race, pulling away from Jim Pettit II, of Prunedale, and David Gilliland, of Riverside, who finished third.

We had a phenomenal car, Breese said. The best of the world, I guess, is from the Midwest.

In team competition, The North took the top four places after 100 laps to claim the $2,000 prize for each of the 15 drivers. The North scored 1,905 points and the West 1,660.

The Elite title went to the Midwest Series with five drivers among the top eight after 75 laps. The series scored 1,367 points to win $2,000 for each of the 10 rivers from the series.

The Featherlite Southwest Series finished second, Kodak Southeast Series third and Raybestos Northwest Series fourth.