GAUGHAN, ROBINSON, DODGE HEADLINE ENTRIES FOR 24 HOUR FITNESS 150

Source: LVMS MEDIA RELATIONS
Date: 10/03/2001

Storylines and bloodlines will grab the headlines as the NASCAR Winston West Series heads for Las Vegas Motor Speedway next week with the running of the 24 Hour Fitness 150.

Las Vegas native and current series champion Brendan Gaughan will be looking to put distance between him and second place Mark Reed with just two races remaining. Gaughan, who is the track record holder for Winston West, holds a narrow 25-point lead over Reed in the series standings. Gaughan and Reed are just two of the 29 drivers who have filed entries for the event.

“I’ve never won here and this is my home track,” Gaughan said. “I can’t tell you how much it would mean to win at Las Vegas. We want to win the championship, and if we win this race, that will put us much closer to that goal.”

Reed won in Winston West’s first trip to LVMS this year. The rookie of the year contender beat Gaughan and Winston Cup veterans Michael Waltrip and Ron Hornaday on the speedway’s 3/8-mile Bullring on March 1.

“I have had a lot of success in Las Vegas,” said Reed, who won a Southwest Series event at the Bullring last year. “Most of it has been on the Bullring. I’m looking forward to running the big track.”

Two other drivers who will make some headlines in the 24 Hour Fitness 150 are Shawna Robinson and Scott Riggs.

Robinson, who made her Winston Cup debut at Michigan earlier this season, will make her first career Winston West start on Oct. 13. Robinson will be driving the same car that Andy Hillenburg drove to a third-place finish at Kansas Speedway earlier this year. It will mark the first appearance by a woman in the series since Marta Leonard competed in the 1988 season.

“I need to get some track time,” Robinson said. “I just need to spend as much time in a race car as I can. Las Vegas is the perfect track for me to get some seat time.”

The 24 Hour Fitness 150 also will mark the return of Dodge to the series after a 25-year absence. Scott Riggs, who is one of the leading contenders for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title, has filed an entry for the event.

Two other notable entries are NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Jon Wood, who is the grandson of legendary NASCAR driver and car owner Glen Wood, and Eric Norris, the son of television and movie star Chuck Norris.

The 24 Hour Fitness 150 is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. on Oct. 13. The Nevada 100 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series will begin the racing at 6:30 p.m. The Orleans 350 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event will complete the weekend on Sunday, Oct. 14.

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