IRWINDALE LOOMS AS FEATHERLITE SOUTHWEST SERIES WRAPS UP 2003 SEASON AT PHOENIX

Source: NASCAR Public Relations
Date: 10/29/2003

DAYTONA BEACH, Flordia -- The NASCAR Elite Division, Featherlite Southwest Series holds its final event of the season Thursday at Phoenix International Raceway and several drivers are scrambling for a final points position in the top 10 and a invitation to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway Nov. 6-8.

Victory Circle Chassis Rookie-of-the-Year contender JR Patton finds himself in the top ten of the point standings amidst the series’ top drivers.

The 19-year-old from Los Cruces, N.M. has established himself as one of NASCAR’s rising stars and knows this event is his chance to shine.

The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown will bring together the top 10 drivers in each of the four series that comprise the NASCAR Elite Division, along with the top 15 drivers in the two NASCARGrand National series – Busch North and Winston West – who will compete in a similar format.

"I am really excited about this event," said Patton, who has one career Bud Pole Award with a career-best finish of third at Irwindale. "I’m still learning every time we are at the track. Though we have struggled at times this season, racing at Irwindale will cap off a great season."

Drivers in the showdown will be competing for their share of $500,000 in prize money, but for a young driver like Patton, this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

"I just want to be competitive,” Patton said. “The best drivers from across the country will be here. Some of these guys have been doing this for a long time.”

With some drivers looking at the Toyota All-Star Showdown as a crowning achievement in 2003, other drivers see the event as an opportunity to see which series is really the best.

Steve Belletto, of Modesto, Calif., (currently 7th in the standings) has graduated from the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series where he honed his skills and garnered multiple track championships at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway. Competing on the Featherlite Southwest Series has taken his racing program to new heights and meant establishing new goals.

“I can’t wait for the Showdown,” Belletto said. “This has the toughest competition I have ever faced. You add in the top drivers from the other series and this will be one fantastic event. Winning would be big.”

While the points leaders in each series are locked in, other drivers throughout the top 10 in the standings have a lot more pressure to perform. 2001 Featherlite Southwest Series champion Craig Raudman, of Bakersfield, Calif., would like nothing more then to finish his tumultuous season with a win at Irwindale.

Raudman currently sits 10th in the standings – a position the 12-time race winner is not accustomed to – and knows the finale at Phoenix stands as his most important race of the season.

"We have struggled at every turn,” Raudman said. “Luck has not gone our way, but we keep fighting back and will have to perform at Phoenix. Right now it’s all about pride; we will be at the Showdown and there we will redeem our season."

With Raudman clawing to hang on to the top ten, Doug McCoun and Danny Burson are trying to break into the top 10 with a strong finish at Phoenix. Burson, a rookie form Albuquerque, N.M., finished a career-best second at Mesa Marin Raceway last weekend and moved into 12th place in the standings, just 57 points behind Raudman.

McCoun, of Prunedale, Calif., has finished in the top 10 final standings for 10 straight years and looks to extend his streak. After winning the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series National championship in 1985, a Toyota All-Star Showdown champion’s trophy would fit nicely on his mantle.

The Toyota All-Star Showdown is an invitation-only, non-points event. Drivers will be invited based on their finish in the 2003 point standings for their respective series. Forty Elite Division teams and 30 Elite Division teams will make up the event's starting fields.

The three-day event begins with practice on Thursday, Nov. 6. Teams return for another practice session on Friday, Nov. 7, along with twin 50-lap qualifying races for both divisions. The feature races will be held Saturday, Nov. 8. Friday night’s qualifying races and the main events on Saturday will both be televised live, on NASCAR TV on SPEED Channel.

Darrell Waltrip named Grand Marshall. … Darrell Waltrip, three-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, Fox Sports NASCAR analyst and occasional NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor, will officially start things off at the Toyota All-Star Showdown. Toyotanamed Waltrip as the event’s Grand Marshall and the popular NASCAR driver/TV analyst will give the command for the drivers to start their engines on Saturday night at Irwindale. "Toyota is delighted to have an icon of the sport as our Grand Marshall at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown," said Les Unger, National Motorsports Manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA. "We are working diligently with NASCAR and the staff of Irwindale Speedway to make sure this inaugural event is remembered for years to come."

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