SCOTTS VALLEY, CA -- Jerry Nadeau has added his name to the list of winners in the West's oldest stock car racing circuit. The Danbury, Conn., driver macbed victory lane in The Orleans 150 NASCAR Winston West Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5.

He joins other NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers who have claimed victory in the 45year-old western region series. That list of winners includes Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Ken Schrader, Geoff Bodine, Neil Bonnett, Gale Yarborough, Michael Waltrip, Derrike Cope and Chad Little.

Nadeau led off his debut in the series by grabbing the Bud Pole Award with a track record of 166.246 mph in the Melling Ford. He went on to lead 79 of the 100 laps around the 1.5-mile superspeedway, winning $18,250 in prize money. His margin of victory was .644 of a second, at an average speed of 104.368 mph.

Palmdale, Calif., competitor Ron Hornaday -- a two-time champion in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and former regular competitor in the NASCAR Winston West Series -finished second in the Napa/Fluidyne Pontiac. Bobby Hamilton Jr., making his first NWWS appearance, was third in the Southern Pride Trucking Chevrolet. Finishing fourth was series rookie Sammy Potashnick of Sikeston, Mo., in the WW Transport/PTl Transportation Chevrolet. Austin Cameron of El Cajon, Calif., was fifth in the Mar-Con/Creative Touch Chevrolet. Rounding out the top 10 were Mike Chase, Jason Small, Kurt Busch, Brandon Ash and Kevin Richards.

The race included seven lead changes among five drivers -- Nadeau, Hamilton, Cameron, Busch and Ricky Craven. The pace of the event was slowed by five cautions for 29 laps. Qualifying for The Orleans 150 featured 46 drivers attempting to make the 36-car field

His ninth-place finish in the event moved Ash into the lead in the NASCAR Winston West Series championship standings. The 21-year-old Umpqua, Ore., competitor has 308 points after two events. Chase of Redding, Calif., is second with 300; followed by Sean Woodside of Saugus, Calif., with 298. Potashnick is fourth with 294, while Cameron has 281. Completing the top 10 in the standings are Rick Carelli with 280, Small with 266, Joe Bean with 262, Richards with 258 and Eric Norris with 233.

Potashnick has taken over the lead in the chase for the Sears Point Raceway Rookie-ofthe-Year Award. Among the record 19 freshman drivers who have registered for the program; he has 19 points. He is followed by Small with 11; John Metcalf with 11; Jerry Cain and Rick Ware with eight; Mike Dillard, Mike Duncan, Brendan Gaughan and Billy Turner with seven; David Gilliland with six; Dean Kuhn and Scott Busby with five; and Bobby Pangonis with two

Ford leads the standings in the battle for the Manufacturers' Championship. Ford has 15 points and one victory, while Chevrolet has 13 points and one win, followed by Pontiac with 10 points.

The next event on the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule is the Napa Auto Parts 100 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway on March 21th.

Source: NASCAR Public Relations
Posted: 3/8/99