SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., (October 24, 1996) -- The NASCAR Winston West Series will wrap up its 1996 season with the Las Vegas 300K at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Nov. 2. This is the inaugural NASCAR Winston West Series event on the new 1.5-mile superspeedway.
There have been six different winners in the 12 regular Winston West events this year. Lance Hooper leads with four victories. Butch Gilliland has three wins and Ron Hornaday Jr. has two. Joe Bean, Larry Gunselman and Mark Krogh each have one victory to their credit.
There have also been six different winners of the Busch Pole Awards this year in Winston West. Gilliland and Mark Krogh are tied with three each. Hooper and Scott Gaylord each have two poles, while Hornaday and Jeff Krogh each have one Busch Pole Award. Track records have been set at eight of the 13 races.
Although he has not won a race so far, Jeff Krogh has the most top-five finishes at 10, with those coming in 10 consecutive regular Winston West events. In addition, Krogh was the top finishing Winston West driver in the only other combination race earlier this year.
Hooper's average finish in the regular Winston West races this year is 4.58. Jeff Krogh's is 5.0, followed by Gunselman with a 6.41.
It's been common to see Hooper and the Golden West Motorsports Pontiac out front in Winston West races this year. He has led 44.81 percent of the time, which is 1,071 of the 2,390 laps run so far in regular Winston West events this season.
Hooper also leads in the most laps completed in the 12 regular Winston West events this season, making 2,273 or 95.1 percent of the 2,390 laps run. Gunselman is second on the list at 94.3 percent, followed by Jeff Krogh at 94.1 percent.
Chevrolet, Ford and Pontiac are battling for the Manufacturers' Championship in the series. Chevrolet tops the list with 78 points. Ford has 75 points, followed by Pontiac with 74. All three nameplates have four wins this season. Buick and Oldsmobile complete the list with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
