Nationwide short track championship program to include 81 race tracks, eight regions
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2002) - The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has announced the lineup of tracks in the 2002 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge, NASCAR's nationwide short track championship program. The series will include 81 race tracks, and the participating facilities will present more than 1,400 racing events throughout the year.
The NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge features local drivers - backed by local, regional and national sponsors - in front of their hometown fans at both dirt and asphalt ovals across the nation. The 81 race tracks that comprise the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge will now be divided into eight geographic regions - the Atlantic Region, Heartland Region, Midwest Region, New England Region, Northeast Region, Northwest Region, Southeastern Coastal Region and Sunbelt Region. Each region contains 10 tracks with the exception of the Midwest Region, which includes 11 tracks. In total, the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge features 62 asphalt and 19 dirt or clay tracks.
Drivers in the designated feature division collect track championship points at their "home track" and are also eligible for regional and national championship awards. Feature division cars include Late Model Stock Cars, Sportsman, Modifieds, Dirt Late Models, Pro Stocks, Super Late Models and other styles of cars.
Regional and national championship rankings are tracked using the Competition Performance Index (CPI), a mathematical formula that rates each driver based on certain statistical categories (wins, top-five finishes, top-10 finishes, number of cars in the field and number of starts). At the end of the season, the drivers atop their respective regions are crowned as regional champions. The eight regional champions are then compared against one another, using the same CPI index, to determine a national champion. The race for the championship will be contested each weekend until the 2002 points close on Sept. 15.
"There's a great group of tracks in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge, and the excitement begins with the competitors. Friends and families assemble as teams, and they're making the championship program more and more competitive each year," said Chris Boals, director of NASCAR Touring and the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge. "This series is the foundation of our sport, this is where the stars of the future begin their careers."
The annual point fund awards are significant prizes for any weekly driver. In 2001, each NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge regional champion collected over $40,000 in point fund awards. Ted Christopher, of Plainville, Conn., earned more than $160,000 as the 2001 national champion. Christopher earned the honors after a 15-win performance at the .625-mile Thompson (Conn.) Speedway last season.
In addition to regional and national championship awards, NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge competitors are eligible for several special awards including the Gatorade Front Runner Award, the True Value Mechanic of the Year Award and additional bonus programs from participating sponsors.
2002 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge Regional Alignment:
Atlantic Region:
Big Daddy's South Boston Speedway, South Boston, Va. Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C. Caraway Speedway, Sophia, N.C. Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Greenville, S.C. Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, N.C. Lanier National Speedway, Gainesville, Ga. Lonesome Pine International Raceway, Coeburn, Va. New River Valley Speedway, Radford, Va. Old Dominion Speedway, Manassas, Va. Southside Speedway, Midlothian, Va.
Heartland Region:
Atomic Motor Speedway, Lenoir City, Tenn. Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway, Dubuque, Iowa Elko Speedway, Elko, Minn. Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville, Nashville, Tenn. Kalamazoo Speedway, Kalamazoo, Mich. LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway, LaCrosse, Wis. Peoria Speedway, Peoria, Ill. Raceway Park, Shakopee, Minn. Rockford Speedway, Rockford, Ill. Tri-City Speedway, Granite City, Mo.
Midwest Region:
Adams County Speedway, Corning, Iowa Capital Speedway, Holts Summit, Mo. Crawford County Speedway, Denison, Iowa Farley Speedway, Farley, Iowa I-70 Speedway, Odessa, Mo. Lakeside Speedway, Kansas City, Kan. Madison Speedway, Madison, Minn. Nebraska Raceway Park, Greenwood, Neb. Park Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, Iowa Viking Speedway, Alexandria, Minn. West Liberty Raceway, West Liberty, Iowa
New England Region:
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Scarborough, Maine Claremont Speedway, Claremont, N.H. Grandview Speedway, Bechtelsville, Pa. Lee USA Speedway, Lee, N.H. Riverhead Raceway, Riverhead, N.Y. Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, Mass. Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs, Conn. Star Speedway, Epping, N.H. Thompson International Speedway, Thompson, Conn. Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford, Conn.
Northeast Region:
Big Diamond Raceway, Minersville, Pa. Chemung Speedrome, Chemung, N.Y. Columbus Motor Speedway, Columbus, Ohio Holland International Speedway, Holland, N.Y. Jennerstown Speedway, Jennerstown, Pa. Kil-Kare Speedway, Xenia, Ohio Lorain County Speedway, South Amherst, Ohio Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H. Motordrome Speedway, Smithton, Pa. Spencer Speedway, Williamson, N.Y.
Northwest Region:
Altamont Raceway Park, Tracy, Calif. Colorado National Speedway, Denver, Colo. Evergreen Speedway, Monroe, Wash. Magic Valley Speedway, Twin Falls, Idaho Rocky Mountain Raceways, West Valley City, Utah South Sound Speedway, Tenino, Wash. Stockton 99 Speedway, Stockton, Calif. Tri-City Raceway, West Richland, Wash. Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval, E. Wenatchee, Wash. Yakima Speedway, Yakima, Wash.
Southeastern Coastal Region:
Ace Speedway, Altamahaw, N.C. Concord Motorsport Park, Concord, N.C. JAX Raceways, Jacksonville, Fla. Langley Speedway, Hampton, Va. Myrtle Beach Speedway, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Oglethorpe Speedway Park, Savannah, Ga. Orange County Speedway, Rougemont, N.C. Southampton Motor Speedway, Capron, Va. Southern National Speedway, Kenly, N.C. Summerville Speedway, Summerville, S.C.
Sunbelt Region:
Birmingham International Raceway, Birmingham, Ala. Cajon Speedway, El Cajon, Calif. Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, Calif. Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev. Madera Speedway, Turlock, Calif. Mesa Marin Raceway, Bakersfield, Calif. Orange Show Speedway, San Bernardino, Calif. San Antonio Speedway, San Antonio, Tex. Tucson Raceway Park, Tucson, Ariz. Watsonville Speedway, Watsonville, Calif.
For more information, contact:
Jeremy Davidson, NASCAR Public Relations, 386/681-4173 or e-mail: jdavidson@nascar.com
