FOODSCO NASCAR CHALLENGE SALINAS 250 RACE FACTS

WHAT: FOODSCO NASCAR CHALLENGE SALINAS 250
NASCAR Winston West Series Race #7 of 14

WHERE: Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. 2.238-mile Road Course

WHEN: Sunday, May 20, 2001 - 1:00 p.m. PT

DISTANCE: 69 Laps, 154.422 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $170,828

FIELD: 32 cars possible. Fastest 27 cars through time trials. Two provisional starting positions based on 2001 NASCAR Winston West Series Championship driver point standings, two additional provisional starting positions based on 2001 NASCAR Winston West Series Championship owner point standings, one provisional starting position to NASCAR Winston West Series Champion.

SANCTION: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR)

PROMOTER: S.C.R.A.M.P.

SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 18
7:00 a.m. Optional NWWS Haulers enter
7:00 a.m. Optional Registration (At Track)
10:20 a.m. Optional alternating practice sessions until 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 19
7:00 a.m. NWWS Team Haulers enter
7:00 a.m. Registration (At Embassy Suites in Seaside, Calif.)
7:00 a.m. Inspection
11:15 a.m. Practice to 12:30 p.m.
1:15 p.m. Practice to 2:30 p.m.
4:00 p.m. Time Trials, All Positions

Sunday, May 20
7:00 a.m. Garage Opens
9:05 a.m. Final practice to 9:35 a.m.
10:00 a.m. Mandatory Drivers' Meeting

THE RACE: Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca is a 2.238-mile road course with 11 turns of various degrees. The track has hosted seven NASCAR Winston West Series races.

RECORDS: Driver Date Speed Time Qualifying: Austin Cameron May 20, 2000 86.911 mph 1:32.702 seconds Race: Bobby Dotter May 21, 2000 65.425 mph 2 hrs 21 min 37 sec

2000 REVIEW: After establishing a track record with a lap of 86.911 mph in qualifying, Austin Cameron darted into the early lead and set a quick pace in the opening laps. His lead evaporated when the caution flag flew on lap 13. Veteran road racer Scott Gaylord took command after the restart. Johnny Borneman charged into the lead on lap 21 and remained there for the next 20 circuits. Kevin Richards led briefly, as did Gaylord, again. Borneman moved back out front, however, on lap 50 and appeared headed for victory. But his effort came up one lap short, as the left rear tire on his car began to go flat as he headed to the white flag. Bobby Dotter flashed by to take the win, with Richards second and Borneman struggling across the finish line in third.

PAST RESULTS OF THIS EVENT
2000 Bobby Dotter Winner / Austin Cameron - Bud Pole
1981 Roy Smith - Winner / Jim Insolo - Pole
1980 Jim Insolo - Winner / Jim Insolo - Pole
1977 Bill Schmitt - Winner / Chuck Bown - Pole
1976 Gary Johnson - Winner / Gary Johnson - Pole
1975 Chuck Wahl - Winner / Jim Insolo - Pole
1973 Sonny Easley - Winner / Hershel McGriff - Pole

PARTICIPATING AWARDS SPONSORS: Winston, Aeroquip, Anheuser-Busch, Auto Meter Products, Bowman Distribution, Clevite Engine Parts, Competition Cams, Edelbrock Intake Manifolds, Featherlite Trailers, Ford Motor Company, Gatorade, Goodyear Belts & Hoses, Holley Carburetors, Hoosier Tires, JE Pistons, Jesel Rocker Arms, MAC Tools, Mechanix Wear, Moog Chassis Parts, MSD Ignitions, Raybestos Brakes, Simpson, Spicer Driveshafts, Wix Air Filters, 3M Automotive, 76 Race Gasoline.

RECAPPING IRWINDALE:

• With his win at Irwindale, Brendan Gaughan became the first driver with multiple victories in the NASCAR Winston West Series this season. It was the fourth win of his career.

• NASCAR Winston West Series champions finished in three of the top five positions at Irwindale. Gaughan, the defending champion, finished first. Sean Woodside, the 1999 champion, was third. Bill Sedgwick, the 1991 and 1992 champion, finished fifth.

• Woodside's third-place finish equaled his best finish this season, which came in the second race of the year at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

• Mark Reed continues to blister the field in time trials. He won the Bud Pole Award at Irwindale, his fourth in six races so far this season.

• The FoodsCo NASCAR Challenge Salinas 250 is the seventh event in the NASCAR Winston West Series 2001 season and the only visit by the series to a road course this season. The completion of this event marks the midway point of the 14-race schedule.

• The NASCAR Winston West Series visited the picturesque Monterey road course six times between 1973 and 1981, when a 1.9-mile layout comprised the course. The series returned last year to compete on the current 2.238-mile layout.

• Hershel McGriff is the only active driver who competed in the events at Laguna Seca between 1973 and 1981. He raced in four of those events, with his best finish being third in 1973. McGriff returned to run the full series schedule this season at 73 years of age.

• Seven different drivers visited victory lane in the seven NWWS races at Monterey. Sonny Easley, Jim Insolo, Gary Johnson, Bill Schmitt, Roy Smith and Chuck Wahl won the early events. Bobby Dotter notched his first of four series wins in 2000 at Laguna Seca.

• Insolo won three Bud Pole Awards at Laguna Seca, the most of any NWWS driver. Two active drivers in the series each won the Bud Pole Award once on the twisting road course. McGriff won it in 1973 and Austin Cameron won it last year.

• Insolo led the most laps of NASCAR Winston West Series competition on the Monterey road course. He was out front for 98 circuits around the twisting track.

• John Borneman raced at Laguna Seca in 1977 and 1980. His son, Johnny, nearly won last year's event - which was one of five NWWS races he competed in during 2000. The younger Borneman is battling for the rookie title in the series this year.

• The seven NWWS races at Laguna Seca attracted 113 different competitors.

• Reed and Scott Gaylord are the only drivers to finish in the top 10 in five of the six races this season.

• With an average finish of 5.5, Reed has the best average finish in the six races so far this season.

• Reed has completed the most laps of competition this season, running 1,252 of the 1,256 possible circuits.

• Gaughan has led the most laps of competition this year, keeping the NAPA/Martin Senour Chevrolet on the point for 278 laps.

• Gaughan is also out front in terms of money won so far this season. He has netted $50,041 in prize money and posted awards in the six races.

• When he takes the green flag at Monterey, Kevin Richards will break Jack McCoy's mark of 49 consecutive NASCAR Winston West Series starts. Richards - who has started every series race since Oct. 5, 1997 - will be fifth on the modern era list to Ray Elder, who started 121 consecutive races between January of 1971 and January of 1976.

• The battle in the NASCAR Winston West Series championship standings continues to be tight. The drivers in the top 15 positions are separated by just 250 points.