THOMASVILLE, North Carolina -- Rick Ware and crew are on a mission. The rookie Winston West Series team leaves North Carolina at the end of the week to explore new territory in the states of Washington and Oregon. The mission is two-fold -- quickly learn about the .646 mile Evergreen Speedway. The Monroe, Washington venue is all new to both Ware and his Crew Chief, Phil "Bird" Nixon. "We haven't had the opportunity to test there, so we're going to school, and class starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning! We're on Hoosiers and with our combined knowledge of short-track racing, we'll hopefully be very good students," Ware commented.
Ware, currently 5th in rookie standings wants to keep his points momentum in overdrive. In the past two races, Ware has gained two positions in the chase for the Sears Point Raceway Rookie-of-the-Year title. "We've had some rotten luck this year, but we don't give up!" Ware said. "We wanted to be a top-10 team by mid-season, it hasn't happened. If we keep digging and lady luck joins our team, we'll be alright."
The second part of Ware's expedition will be a test at Portland while the team is in the neighborhood. On Monday, after the Coors Light 200, Ware and crew will head to the Portland Speedway for a one-day session scheduled mid-week. "We've spent four months building a new short-track car that we're anxious to shake down," Nixon said. "I've always heard about the track from Jim Bown and inside information from a former Portland late model racer doesn't hurt a bit," said Nixon. Nixon was crew chief for the Oregon native and Busch Series driver in 1995.
Ware is currently 16th in the points standings at the halfway point of the schedule. His best qualifying effort came at the California Speedway in May when he started 11th in the California 200. His series best finish came at Pikes Peak International Raceway in the Kings Sooper 150, finishing 13th. The number 51 Pontiac team is one of a few Winston West team regulars that are based in North Carolina.
The race team can be reached at E-mail address: wareracing@aol.com
