WINTER HEAT NWWS SCHEDULE & RACE FACTS

Source: NASCAR Public Relations
Date: 01/29/2002

2002 NASCAR WINSTON WEST SERIES RACE FACTS

WHAT: WINTER HEAT Presented by Bosch

NASCAR Winston West Series Race #1

WHERE: Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, Ariz.
1-Mile Paved Speedway

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002 - 2:00 p.m. MT (Approx.)

DISTANCE: 150 Laps, 150 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $132,200

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

SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Jan. 31
7:00 a.m. NWWS Team Haulers enter B 7:00 a.m. Registration & Inspection
11:00 a.m. Optional practice until 4 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 1
7:00 a.m. Garage Opens
7:45 a.m. Mandatory Rookie Drivers' Meeting
8:00 a.m. Mandatory Driver Photos
10:10 a.m. Practice to 11:10 a.m.
11:30 a.m. Practice to 12:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. Time Trials, 2 laps (All positions)
4:30 p.m. Final practice to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 2
7:00 a.m. Garage Opens
9:30 a.m. Mandatory Drivers' Meeting

BTHE RACE: Phoenix International Raceway is a one-mile superspeedway with turns one and two banked 11 degrees, turns three and four banked nine degrees and two degrees of banking in the dogleg. The track has hosted the NASCAR Winston West Series for 21 races - 12 were stand-alone events and nine were combination races with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

RECORDS: Driver Date Speed Time

Qualifying: Steve Portenga March 17, 2000 129.394 mph 27.822sec
Race: Ken Schrader Feb. 2, 2001 93.136 mph 1 hr 36 min 38 sec

2001 REVIEW: Series rookie Mark Reed captured the early attention by winning the Bud Pole Award in time trials. It was Eric Norris, however, who charged into the early lead from his starting position on the outside of the front row. Norris set the pace for the first 61 laps, before giving way to Ken Schrader. Scott Lynch, making only his second start in the series, took over the top spot during a caution on lap 119. Schrader moved back into the lead shortly after the restart and pulled away for the win over Norris and Austin Cameron.

PARTICIPATING AWARDS SPONSORS:
Winston, Anheuser-Busch, Auto Meter Products, 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, Wix Air Filters, 3M Automotive, 76 Race Gasoline.

WINTER HEAT SUMMARY:

• The NASCAR Winston West Series closed out its season each year from 1977 to 1984 with a visit to PIR. Between 1988 and 1996, the series participated in nine combination races with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series at the one-mile track.
• Richard Petty, with three victories, is the only driver with multiple NWWS wins at Phoenix. He won in 1978, 1980 and 1981. Petty also has the most Bud Pole Awards for the series at PIR. He started from the pole position in 1978, 1979 and 1980. In addition, he has also led the most laps of NWWS competition at Phoenix, leading 361 circuits around the D-shaped oval.
• Scott Gaylord has competed in the most NWWS events at Phoenix. He raced in seven combination events and four stand-alone races. Gaylord, who will pilot Geoff Burney's familiar Oliver Gravity Separators-sponsored Chevrolet again in 2002, is the only driver with a top-10 finish in each of the past three events at Phoenix.
• Kevin Richards is the leading money winner in NWWS competition at Phoenix, with $34,646. He is also the only driver with a top-five finish each of the past two years at Phoenix. He won the season-opener in 2000 and finished fifth last year.
• The NWWS races at Phoenix have varied in distance. The eight annual events between 1977 and 1984 were 156 laps in length. The 1998 and 2001 races were 150 laps, while the 1999 and 2000 events were 100 laps in distance.
• Ken Schrader, Jeff Jefferson, Mike Walker and John Baker are slated to pull double duty in Phoenix. In addition to competing in the NASCAR Winston West Series event, they are entered in the Featherlite Southwest Series, NASCAR touring event.
• With six victories, Chevrolet has the most wins among manufacturers in NWWS competition at Phoenix.

• This event is the first of an eight-race schedule for the series in 2002 - with championship events at eight different racetracks. In addition to Phoenix, other superspeedways on the schedule include California Speedway near Los Angeles on April 27; Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., on June 1 and Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 12. Four short-track races on tap for 2002 include The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 13; Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash., on June 29; Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway on July 27; and Rocky Mountain Raceways near Salt Lake City on Aug. 31.
• After driving for his family-owned AC Motorsports team for four years, Austin Cameron has replaced Brendan Gaughan in the NAPA/Martin Senour Chevrolet. Gaughan, a two-time series champion, will compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year.
• Legendary driver Hershel McGriff will be back with the series with a new team this season. Crew chief duties will be shared by Hershel McGriff Jr. and Steve Portenga.
• Drivers who are celebrating birthdays in the month of February include Billy Kann, who turns 40 on the 4th; John Metcalf, who turns 54 on the 14th; Wayne Jacks, who turns 53 on the 21st; Shawn Culp, who turns 38 on the 22nd; C.T. Hellmund, who turns 32 on the 24th; and the 1997 champion Butch Gilliland, who turns 45 on the 25th.

• Bud Pole winners went on to win three of the 12 NWWS events at Phoenix International Raceway.

See Also .:

News Index | E-mail to a Friend