2001 RAYBESTOS BRAKES NORTHWEST SERIES RACE FACTS & NOTES OF INTEREST
WHAT: George Morlan Plumbing 100
Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 6 of 14
WHERE: Portland International Raceway, Portland, Ore.
1.95-Mile Paved Road Course
WHEN: Saturday, June 23, 2001 -- 4:15 p.m. PDT
DISTANCE: 40 Laps/78 Miles
POSTED AWARDS: $42,550
FIELD: 32 cars possible. Fastest 27 cars through time trials with two provisional starting positions available to the top 20 drivers based on the current 2001 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring Championship point standings, two starting positions from highest 30 car owners in the current 2001 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring Championship point standings, one position for a former champion of the series who has not qualified in the original 27 positions, the final two positions will be filled by the top two highest finishers in the Qualifying Race.
SANCTION: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR)
PROMOTER: Portland Rose Festival Association
SCHEDULE:
Friday, June 22
9:00 a.m. Registration begins at Portland Speedway
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon Haulers enter PIR paddock
1:45 p.m. Drawing to determine order of qualifying
2:30 p.m. Mandatory Crew Chief’s Meeting
2:45 p.m. Mandatory Rookie Driver’s Meeting
4:15 p.m.to 5:00 p.m. Practice
5:15 p.m.to 6:00 p.m. Time Trials.
European Style Qualifying
7:00 p.m. Garage area will close
Saturday, June 23
12:00 noon Garage Opens
2:00 p.m. Driver’s Meeting
4:15 p.m. George Morlan Plumbing 125
THE RACETRACK: Portland International Raceway is a 1.95 mile paved road course.
QUALIFYING RECORD: Lance Hooper 6/21/96 91.679 mph 1 min. 16.433 sec.
RACE RECORD: First race at this distance
2000 TOP 10 IN THE EVENT
1. John Zaretzke
2. Joe Benedetti
3. Garrett Evans
4. Ken Kaltschmidt
5. Zach Niessner
6. Chris Hart
7. Steve Hodge
8. Gaylon Stewart
9. Matt Kelley
10. Shane Biles
PAST 5 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT
2000 John Zaretzke
1998 Rudy Revak
1997 Tom Hubert
1996 Lance Hooper
1995 Mark Martin
2000 RACE STATISTICS
Bud Pole: Chris Hart
Time of Race: 1 hr. 31 min. 11 sec.
Average Speed: 66.723 mph
Margin of Victory: 6 seconds
Caution Flags: 4 for 13 laps
Lap Leaders: Hart (1-7), Hodge (8-10), Lewis (11-24), Hart (25-28), Benedetti (29-47) Zaretzke (48-52)
NOTES OF INTEREST:
- This will be the first time the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series has run a 40-lap/78 mile race at Portland International Raceway. In the past, the series has run 52-lap and 54-lap events at PIR.
- John Zaretzke, the defending champion of the June race at PIR, was the first Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series driver to win on the famed 1.95-mile road course. Since the series began racing at PIR in 1995, winners have included Mark Martin, Lance Hooper, Tom Hubert, Rudy Revak, and Steve Petty, all drivers in other series of NASCAR.
- Last season, Chris Hart was the first driver in Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series history to win a Bud Pole Award at PIR. Hooper and Jim Inglebright have two poles, while Bryan Germone has one. All three men ventured north from the Featherlite Southwest Series to run PIR.
- Ford leads the way in the manufacturer standings at PIR. In six events held at the 1.95-mile road course, Ford has three wins, including two straight in 2000. Pontiac has two wins while Chevrolet has one in the short history of Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series events at PIR.
STAT OF THE WEEK:
- Bill Lawrence has three top-5 finishes in six races at PIR. Lawrence, of Kelowna, B.C., has finished as high as third in a race on the road course. Last season, defending series champion, Garrett Evans, captured two top-5 finishes at PIR, including a third place in this event.
2000 IN REVIEW:
- Five different drivers led a lap at the NetXposure 100. John Zaretzke was perhaps the most exciting. Forced to pit early in the race, Zaretzke returned to the track just in front of the leaders. He stayed on the lead lap and eventually worked his way into the top-5 before taking the lead from Joe Benedetti with five laps to go in the race. The win was Zaretzke’s second in the Portland area. He had won at Portland Speedway earlier in the season.
Current 2001 Money Winners:
1. Kevin Hamlin $13,250
2. Ron Eaton 12,980
3. Gary Lewis 7,870
4. Joe Benedetti 7,020
5. John Bender 6,800
6. Chris Hart 5,070
7. Garrett Evans 4,585
8. Pete Harding 4,200
9. Ray Wallace 4,170
10.Shane Biles 4,000
2001 RBNWS Manufacturers’ Championship
Points Wins
1. Chevrolet 42 4
2. Pontiac 33 1
3. Ford 20 0
