SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (July 18,1997)-- The NASCAR 500K, which will mark the debut of NASCAR stock car racing at the beautiful new $50 million Pikes Peak International Raceway, is attracting entries from coast to coast.
The NASCAR Winston West Series event -- slated July 27 on the new 1-mile D-shaped oval near Colorado Springs, Colo. -- features the largest purse ever offered for a stand-alone race in the series, with more than a quarter-million dollars in posted awards. The event will be televised by ESPN2 on a tape-delay basis and is slated to be broadcast on July 29 at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
NASCAR Winston Cup Series stars Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip top the list of entries for the event. Schrader has won four of the six times he has competed in the NASCAR Winston West Series, including one race earlier this season. Waltrip will be looking to better the runner-up finish he had last year in his only NASCAR Winston West Series race.
The race will also feature former NFL coach Jerry Glanville, who has competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Glanville, a television analyst with Fox and HBO, began his racing career in 1957 on a Toledo, Ohio drag strip.
Heading up the list of top West Coast competitors in the event are Butch Gilliland of Anaheim, Calif.; Gary Smith of Malahat, British Columbia; and Sean Woodside of Saugus, Calif. Gilliland, a veteran of the series, leads the NASCAR Winston West Series championship standings with 1,400 points. Smith and Woodside, both rookies in the series, are battling Gilliland for the title. Smith has 1,375 points, while Woodside has 1,326.
Other NASCAR Winston West Series regulars expected to compete are Larry Gunselman of Sierra Village, Calif.; Kevin Culver of Portland, Ore.; Scott Gaylord of Lakewood, Colo.; Bill McAnally of Elverta, Calif.; and John Kinder of Santa Ana, Calif.
Drivers from 10 different states are entered in the 500-kilometer event. Competitors from the Midwest include veteran stock car driver H.B. Bailey of Houston, Texas, and Sammy Potashnick of Sikeston, Mo. Potashnick stole the spotlight earlier this season by winning the Busch Pole Award and setting a new track record in his first NASCAR Winston West Series race.
