2002 RAYBESTOS BRAKES NORTHWEST SERIES RACE FACTS & NOTES OF INTEREST

Source: NASCAR PR
Date: 07/05/2002

WHAT: Leonard Evans Superstore 125
Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 6 of 14

WHERE: Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval, East Wenatchee, Wash.
.250-Mile Paved Speedway

WHEN: Saturday, July 6, 2002 – 9:00 p.m. PST

DISTANCE: 125 Laps/31.25 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $31,350

FIELD: 22 cars possible. Fastest 15 cars through time trials with two provisional starting positions available to the top 30 drivers based on the current 2002 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring Championship point standings, two starting positions from current top 30 car owners in the 2002 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 15 positions, the final two positions will be filled by the top two finishers in the Qualifying Race.

SANCTION: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR)

SCHEDULE:

THE RACETRACK: Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval is a high banked .250-mile paved oval.

2001 TOP 10 IN THE EVENT
1) Ron Eaton
2) Kevin Hamlin
3) Joe Benedetti
4) Shane Biles
5) Pete Harding
6) Wes Rhodes
7) Ed Watson
8) Howard Ford
9) Steven Howard
10) Matt Hall

PAST 10 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT
2001 Ron Eaton
2000 Event Not Held
1999 Event Not Held
1998 Wilbur Bruce
1997 Kelly Tanner
1996 Garrett Evans
1995 Gary Smith
1994 Garrett Evans
1993 Kelly Tanner
1992 Dirk Stephens

2001 RACE STATISTICS
Bud Pole: Garrett Evans
Gatorade Front Runner: Joe Benedetti
Rookie of the Event: Howard Ford
Time of Race: 42 min. 48 sec.
Average Speed: 44.135 mph
Margin of Victory: .06 seconds
Caution Flags: 7 for 35 laps
Lap Leaders: Gary Lewis (1-15), Joe Benedetti (16-89), Eaton (90-125).

NOTES OF INTEREST:

• Kevin Hamlin is the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series points leader heading into the Cellular One 125, holding a 120-point lead on Chris Hart. Hamlin won two of three events held at Wenatchee Valley in 2001 and captured the first race of the 2002 season at the .250-mile paved oval. Hart had one top-5 finish in three 2001 starts on the .250-mile paved oval. He placed second to Hamlin at the series first stop of 2002 at Wenatchee Valley.

• Hamlin has held the series points lead for one calendar year. He vaulted past Ron Eaton on June 9, 2001 after a win at Tri-City Raceway. The 23-year old Snohomish, Wash. native is in line to become the series second back-to-back champion should he continue as the 2002 points leader.

• Kelly Mann holds a five-point lead on Travis Powell for the 2002 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Rookie of the Year award. Mann earned rookie-of-the-race honors at the series last event, held at Yakima Speedway on June 1. Powell has captured one rookie-of-the-race award this season (South Sound Speedway).

• Troy Conrad has moved to third place in the 2002 chase for the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring championship. This is the highest position on the points ladder the Puyallup, Wash. native has been in his two-year career.

• During the 13-year history of NASCAR Touring racing action at Wenatchee Valley, no driver has ever swept events held at the track when more than one race has been run in a season.

• Since 1998, Pete Harding, Gary Lewis and Kevin Hamlin have been the hottest drivers at the East Wenatchee, Wash. facility. Harding has seven top-5 finishes; Hamlin has three wins and five top-5 runs. Lewis has two wins and four top-5 runs in that time span.

STAT OF THE WEEK:

Kevin Hamlin has added to his collection of records in the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring history book. The defending champion has won three straight races and led a new record, 275 consecutive laps of series racing action.

See Also .:

News Index | E-mail to a Friend

Article posted by RacingWest.com staff on 07/05/2002. http://www.racingwest.com