ANDERSON, California — Craig Raudman, driver of the #2 Mouse Graphic's/Approved Memory Chevy Impala, owned by Bob Strandwold, will be returning to the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series this weekend at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale with two goals in mind. First, win the Race of Champions, the first of its kind for the series. It will include six past tour Champions competing in a 12-lap race similar to a Trophy Dash format whereby along with competing for the win, drivers will need to make sure they have something left to race for the main event in the NTS Inc. 125. The second and similar goal is to take the checkered flag in the main event.
Raudman is the 2001 NASCAR Elite Division Southwest Tour Series champion, who has had 29 poles and 17 wins in Elite Division competition and was runner up in the 2008 Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series championship. Craig has won at Irwindale in the past and lead many laps there. Craig will be in good hands with Junior Joiner returning as crew chief for the race. Junior and Craig have a great chemistry and work really well with each other. Both Junior and Craig have something to prove this weekend and that is to set fast time, lead the most laps and win the race.
This past weekend, while the Spears SRL Southwest Tour was racing at Stockton 99 Speedway, Raudman took the weekend off to be with his family. His famed #2 race car was at the Coto De Caza Golf & Racquet Club in Orange County raising money for the Village of Hope, MDA – Augie’s Quest, and ClubCorp’s Employee Partners Care Foundation.
The car was on display during the golf tournament for viewing and later the car hood space was auctioned off for the upcoming Irwindale race. The winning live auction bidder was Tom Lane, owner of Mouse Graphics in Costa Mesa, CA. Mouse Graphic's offer's a broad range of graphic and reprographic services. Tom shared, "Having a race car at a charity golf tournament was something new and refreshing, I thought this would be a great way to help out and to get involved with a great race team and bring our company team members, as well as, friends and family out for a fun day of racing and team building while cheering on Craig for the win". For more info on Mouse Graphics go to their web site at www.sendmouse.com.
Car owner, Bob Strandwold commented on the charity event, "We are really happy we can use the race car to help benefit people in need. We look forward to having the Mouse Graphic's people out to the race track to support the team and have a good time while watching the best racing on the west coast”.
About the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series. Celebrating its ninth season in 2009, the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. The series utilizes cars based on the former NASCAR Elite Division Series rulebook. www.SRLSouthwestTour.com.
