DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 30, 2002) - Rusty Buholz, of Palo Alto, Calif., has moved into the lead this week in the chase for the championship in the Northwest Region of the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge.
Buholz has two wins and six top-five finishes in Sportsman Late Model competition this season at Altamont Raceway Park near Tracy, Calif. His Competition Performance Index of .8164 tops the region. The index is used each week to rank the track leaders in each of the eight regions across the country.
Moving to second in the region is Dave Byrd, of San Jose, Calif. The veteran stock car competitor has three wins and seven top-five finishes overall, in seven races in the Western Late Model division on the historic .25-mile paved oval of Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway.
Jumping to third in the rankings this week is Jason Jefferson, of Yakima, Wash. He has one victory and three top-five finishes in three races this season at Yakima Speedway.
Moving up two spots to fourth is Bruce Yackey. The Greeley, Colo., competitor has one win and five top-five finishes in six races this season at Colorado National Speedway, north of Denver. Jeff Bailey took over the fifth-ranked spot this week - with two wins, eight top fives and nine top-10 finishes overall in nine races at Tri-City Raceway in West Richland, Wash.
Completing the top 10 of the Northwest Region are Brent Harris, of East Wenatchee, Wash., Wenatchee Valley Super Oval; John Bender, of Snohomish, Wash.; Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash.; Lynn Hardy, of West Jordan, Utah, Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley City, Utah; Ray Wallace, of Olympia, Wash., South Sound Speedway in Tenino, Wash.; and Steve Jones, of Twin Falls, Idaho, Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls.
THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN: Pos Driver Name Home Track Starts Wins T-5 T-10 CPI
1 BUHOLZ, RUSTY ALTAMONT RACEWAY PARK 6 2 6 6 0.8164
2 BYRD, DAVE STOCKTON 99 SPEEDWAY 7 3 7 7 0.7908
3 JEFFERSON, JASON YAKIMA SPEEDWAY 3 1 3 3 0.7675
4 YACKEY, BRUCE COLORADO NATIONAL SP 6 1 5 5 0.7500
5 BAILEY, JEFF TRI-CITY RACEWAY 9 2 8 9 0.7120
6 HARRIS, BRENT WENATCHEE VALLEY SUP 4 3 3 4 0.7096
7 BENDER, JOHN EVERGREEN SPEEDWAY 5 1 4 5 0.7030
8 HARDY, LYNN ROCKY MOUNTAIN RACEW 4 2 2 3 0.6833
9 WALLACE, RAY SOUTH SOUND SPEEDWAY 6 2 4 6 0.6805
10 JONES, STEVEN MAGIC VALLEY SPEEDWAY 6 1 5 6 0.6090
NEWS OF NOTE:
· Nick Woodward, the 2000 national championship runner-up in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Presented by Dodge, is scheduled to make his NASCAR Busch Series career debut this weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, in the No. 49 Ford for owner Jay Robinson. "It's going to be really exciting to drive my first Busch race so close to my hometown," said Woodward, who grew up in Preston, Maryland. "I started out by racing go-karts when I was nine years old and never have had the chance to compete at Dover. I've always wanted to race there, and now I'll get the opportunity to do so with plenty of friends and family on hand." Woodward finished runner-up for the 2000 national title, but earned the Atlantic Seaboard Region crown as well as track titles at Southampton Motor Speedway and Big Daddy’s South Boston Speedway. Last season, he progressed to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he made two starts and had a top finish of 11th at Indianapolis. His last competitive start came April 27 at South Boston, where he finished third in a late-model event.
FROM THE ARCHIVES:
· On May 9, 1987, Bowman Gray Stadium honored Richard Childress at the track from which he emerged into the national spotlight. Childress sold peanuts at the Stadium as a child, and started his driving career in 1964. Among the VIPs that honored Childress during pre-race ceremonies were Dale Earnhardt, who had just captured the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series title; then Mayor of Winston-Salem, Wayne Corpening; NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter; and R.J. Reynolds executive T. Wayne Robertson
