WOODSIDE SHOOTING FOR RECORD 4TH AT THE OCTOBER CLASSIC

Source: NASCAR Public Relations
Date: 10/16/2000

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (Oct. 16, 2000) - Sean Woodside has won the NASCAR Winston West Series portion of the October Classic at Mesa Marin Raceway three times in a row. He will be shooting for his fourth consecutive victory when the series visits the high-banked 1/2 mile oval in Bakersfield, Calif., for the Spears Manufacturing 250 on Sunday, Oct. 22.

The $118,091 event will be televised to a national audience an the Speedvision cable network. It is slated to air on a tape-delay basis at 6 p.m. (PT) on Nov. 13.

Last year's race featured a thrilling side-by-side dual between Woodside, who was en route to winning the series championship, and Bill Sedgwick, who won back-to-back series titles in 1991 and 1992. Woodside held on to win by .24 of a second. With the victory, he tied Sedgwick's record of three straight event wins - set in 1991, 1992 and 1993.

Woodside of Saugus, Calif., will face even more opposition this year, meanwhile, in the fall event. Of course, Sedgwick of Acton, Calif., is expected to be one of the top contenders among an entry list that features drivers representing 11 different states.

Also topping the list of entries is NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division rookie Kevin Harvick of Bakersfield. Harvick, who won the NASCAR Winston West Series championship in 1998, will be looking for his first NWWS win on his hometown track.

Other entries include Brendan Gaughan of Las Vegas, Nev., Bobby Dotter of Charlotte, N.C.; Kevin Richards of Spokane, Wash.; Austin Cameron of El Cajon, Calif.; Joe Bean of San Diego, Calif.; Steve Portenga of Sparks, Nev.; Scott Gaylord of Lakewood, Colo.; John Metcalf of Aurora, Colo.; Eric Norris of Dallas, Texas; Craig Raudman of Redding, Calif.; Dan Obrist of Portland, Are.; Sammy Potashnick of Sikeston, Mo.; Jason Small of Bakersfield; and series rookie Mike Duncan of Lamont, Calif,

Gaughan, who reached victory lane when the circuit visited Mesa Marin Raceway earlier this season, is looking to lock up this year's championship in the series. He has a 185-point lead in the standings over Dotter - 1,163 to 1,478 - with just one race remaining on the schedule after Bakersfield. Gaughan could clinch the title at this event by winning the race and also leading the most laps.

Dotter, who tops the competition in victories this season with three, leads five drivers tightly grouped in the championship standings. The competitors in second through sixth are separated by only 103 points. Dotter is followed Portenga with 1,438, Sedgwick with 1,418, Richards with 1,413 and Metcalf with 1,375. Others in the chase for a top-10 position are Gaylord with 1,326 points -followed by Norris with 1,314, Duncan with 1,303; Bean with 1,259; and Potashnick with 1,193.

In addition to Duncan, other freshman drivers among this year's talented field of rookies include Jeff Jefferson of Naches, Wash.; Troy Cline of Hawthorne, Calif.; Rick Bogart of El Cajon, Calif.; Mike Grady of Farmington, N.M.; and Gene Christensen of Garland, Texas. Duncan leads the standings in the chase for the Rookie-of-the-Year Award, while Jefferson is the only rookie with a victory under his belt this season.

The NASCAR Winston West Series is one of nine NASCAR Touring Series' that blanket the United States, bringing special events to many NASCAR Weekly Racing Series tracks and some NASCAR superspeedways and road courses. NASCAR Touring Series' are extremely popular with fans and competitors. NASCAR Touring Series can provide a competitor with an entire career, or they can provide valuable experience to competitors moving through the NASCAR ranks. Corporate sponsors make significant contributions to NASCAR Touring Series point funds. These sponsors include Anheuser-Busch, Featherlite, Goody's Headache Powders, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Raybestos Brakes, RE/MAX International, Inc., Slim Jim, and RJ Reynolds brand, Winston.

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