MIKE COFER, TWO-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION, LEADS SUNBELT REGION STANDINGS

Source: NASCAR Public Relations
Date: 05/28/2003

Not far behind Cofer is Brian Richardson, of Bakersfield, Calif., who holds the second spot in the regional standings after three victories at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield. Mission Hills, Calif. resident Rip Michaels, a standout Super Late Model competitor at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway is third in the standings with three feature wins in six starts.

2002 Sunbelt Region champion Scott Winters, of Tracy, Calif., is in sixth place following one feature victory and three top-five finishes at Madera (Calif.) Speedway. Winters, 35, became the first Dodge-powered driver to win a regional championship under Dodge's first year as a sponsor of the series.

NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series regional standings are determined by the Competition Performance Index (CPI), a statistical formula which factors each drivers' winning percentage, races started and top-five finishes to establish a regional ranking of drivers. Regional standings are updated each week until Sept. 21 and the leader at the end of the season is declared the regional champion - a prize worth $45,000 in post-season awards.

EL NIÑO? ... Since March 15, a total of 134 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series events at 67 race tracks have been cancelled or postponed due to inclement weather. Colorado National Speedway near Denver, Rockford (Ill.) Speedway and Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway have cancelled events due to snowstorms and tornadoes have damaged tracks in other regions.

Among the affected tracks are Southampton Motor Speedway in Capron, Va., which was forced to postpone events on May 23 when a waterlogged retaining wall collapsed along the front stretch; Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, Calif., which experienced its 35th rainout in 43 years of operation; and Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa., which cancelled six of its first eight NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series events due to rain.

FROM THE ARCHIVES ... Ed Hale won a classic confrontation with Jerry Gay, as the two all-time leading feature winners at Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, Calif. battled for most of the 30-lap NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Sportsman feature on April 30, 1994. At the finish, Hale recorded his 104th career feature win at the track and Gay placed second after a faulty spark plug spoiled his challenge in the final two laps. Dennis Woolridge placed third ahead of Steve Nelson and Joe Bean. Completing the top-10 were Rick Chavez, Sean Monroe, Cap Pidgeon, Ron Sheker and Michael Cochran.

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