NORTHWEST SERIES HEADS TO MAGIC VALLEY SPEEDWAY THIS WEEKEND

The track at Magic Valley Speedway, despite its relatively short history in the Northwest Series, has become one of the favorite stops for the drivers. The 1/3-mile track has two racing grooves, which leads to exciting short track racing for what is expected to be one of the largest fields, in terms of competitors, this season for the series.

Gary Lewis, of Bothell, Wash. and defending champion of the Pepsi 125, said, "I love this place. We've always run fast here and the fans are great." Lewis already has two Bud Pole Awards under his belt.

"I am looking forward to the race at Magic Valley. I really like that track," said Brandon Riehl of Boring, Ore. "Those little tracks that lead to some good beating and banging are a lot of fun."

• NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series driver Eddy McKean out of Jerome, Idaho will make an appearance with his car at the AutoZone store on 5566 Blue Lakes Boulevard from 5:00-7:30 pm Friday evening. McKean is the 2002 Southwest Series champion and is currently fourth in the 2004 point standings in that series. The local Idaho driver is making an appearance in the Northwest Series since the Southwest Series does not have an event on Saturday.

• Defending Northwest Series champion Jeff Jefferson will be at the Twin Stop location at 108 Addison Avenue from 4:00-7:00 pm on Friday with his No. 42 Sunfair Chevrolet/Mears Trucking Chevrolet. Jefferson is currently 10th in the Northwest Series point standings and his coming off a win at Yakima (Wash.) Speedway in the last event.

• Travis Bennett, who is one of the series' exciting young drivers and current leader in the Auto Meter Rookie of the Year standings, will have his No. 33 Bowman's Electro Painting/Zeb's Truck Stop Chevrolet at the Twin Stop location at 3197 Kimberly Road from 4:00-7:00 pm on Friday. In addition to being the series' current top rookie, Bennett ranks second in the Northwest Series season point standings just 18 points behind leader Garrett Evans.

Each of the drivers will have his car and hauler on display so that fans can get an up close and personal look at the equipment used by these rising stars of NASCAR.

What:

Pepsi 125 (Race No. 4 of 12 in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Northwest Series).

Where:

Magic Valley Speedway, Twin Falls, Idaho.

When:

9:00 p.m. MDT (approx.), Saturday, June 12, 2004

Track layout:

1/3-mile oval

Race length:

125 laps/41.67 miles.

Posted awards:

$45,292.

2003 winner:

Gary Lewis.

2003 polesitter:

Jeff Bailey.

Top 10 in points:

1. Garrett Evans 480, 2. Travis Bennett 462, 3. Jason Jefferson 457, 4. Brandon Riehl 449, 5. John Bender 446, 6. Wes Rhodes 440, 7. Steven Howard 424, 8. Pete Harding 418, 9. Shane Biles 414. 10. Jeff Jefferson 380.

Pre-race schedule (all times local):

10:00 a.m. Registration opens, 2:30-5:00 p.m. Practice, 6:30 p.m. Time Trials Race.

Track contact:

Steve York, (208) 734-3700.

See Also .:

• Magic Valley Speedway Track Page

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