PETTIT PERFORMS PERFECTLY AND NETS FOURTH SOUTHWEST SERIES WIN OF THE SEASON

Source: NASCAR
Date: 10/24/2004

TUCSON, Arizona Jim Pettit II from Prunedale, Calif. inched closer to his first NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series title by winning the Star Nursery.COM "150" at Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park Sunday afternoon. The victory was Pettit's fourth triumph of the season and allowed him to extend his point lead to 116 points after Craig Raudman suffered mechanical woes and finished ten laps down. Greg Voigt from Santa Barbara, Calif. notched his career best finish of second trailing Pettit to the finish line by .103 seconds. Doug McCoun scored his best finish of the season finishing third. Mike Mendenhall and Auggie Vidovich rounded out the top five finishers.

Burney Lamar top twenty-four drivers in qualifying but drew an eight-car invert putting HPS Mechanical teammate Craig Raudman on the pole to start the event. Raudman led briefly before Eddy McKean took over the top spot and led the charge through 110 laps when his right rear tire lost stagger. McKean would finish sixth.

While Pettit upped his advantage on Raudman by 116 points, Lamar lost ground and now only holds a three point margin on McKean for the third position in the standings. Eric Holmes maintains fifth place heading into the series finale November 4 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The race took 51 minutes and 57 seconds to complete at an average speed of 64.966 mph. Pettit's margin of victory over Voigt was a scant .103 seconds. Lamar claimed his fourth Bud Pole Award of the season with a quick lap of 15.494 seconds/87.131 mph around the 3/8-mile paved oval. Mike Mendenhall collected the $750 PowerAde Power Move-of-the-Race after starting 21st and finishing fourth. Doug McCoun collected the $300 Featherlite Award for improving the most positions from the previous race (27). Rip Michels was the top finishing rookie with his tenth place performance. The were four caution periods for 23 laps of competition, while Eddy McKean led the most laps in the 150-lap event (107).

The final event for the Southwest Series is Thursday, November 4 at Phoenix Int'l Raceway in Phoenix, Ariz. Pettit needs only to start event and then finish better than the 33rd position to claim the title. Both Raudman and Pettit had of top five performances at PIR less than a month ago when the series last visited the one-mile paved oval, setting up a finish that will take the stars of the Southwest Series down to the final lap.

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series Star Nursery.COM "150" presented by AutoZone Tucson Raceway Park, Tucson, Ariz., October 24, 2004 150-Laps/56.25 miles on a 3/-mile Paved Oval, Purse: $44,894 Finishing position, starting position, driver, car, laps completed, reason out, money won.

	
1. (6) Jim Pettit II, Ford, 150, Running, $2,900;	
2. (16) Greg Voigt, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $2,850;	
3. (18) Doug McCoun, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $2,100;	
4. (21) Mike Mendenhall, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $1,200;	
5. (3) Auggie Vidovich Jr., Chevrolet, 150, Running, $1,100;	
6. (2) Eddy McKean, Pontiac, 150, Running, $1,400;	
7. (11) Bob Lyon, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $980;	
8. (15) Nick Joanides, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $950;	
9. (19) Darrell LaMoure, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $920;	
10. (9)# Rip Michels, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $1,290;	
11. (22) Keith Spangler, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $820;	
12. (12) Dustin Jones, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $750;	
13. (8) Burney Lamar, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $1,400;	
14. (13) Joe Herold, Chevrolet, 150, Running, $1,000;	
15. (14) John Luecht, Pontiac, 149, Running, $575;	
16. (17) Thomas Martin, Pontiac, 149, Running, $550;	
17. (10) Todd Souza, Chevrolet, 149, Running, $940;	
18. (20) Richard Johnson, Chevrolet, 147, Running, $530;	
19. (24) Curtis Lansing, Chevrolet, 147, Running, $520;	
20. (1) Craig Raudman, Chevrolet, 140, Running, $910;	
21. (4) Danny Burson, Chevrolet, 92, Running, $510;	
22. (5) Eric Holmes, Chevrolet, 50, Suspension, $910;	
23. (23) Charles Utts, Chevrolet, 42, Engine, $510;	
24. (7)# Nick Lynch, Chevrolet, 13, Accident, $510;	
# Autometer Rookie-of-the-Year Contenders	
Failed to Qualify: None	

FEATHERLITE AWARD: Doug McCoun, Camacho's Cantina Chevrolet AUTOMETER ROOKIE-OF-THE-RACE AWARD: Rip Michels, Stock Building Supply Chevrolet CAUTION FLAGS: Four cautions for 23 laps (15-22, 51-55, 100-103, 141-146)

LAP LEADERS: Four Lead Changes between four drivers . Craig Raudman 1-2, Eddy McKean 3-48, Burney Lamar 49, McKean 50-107, Jim Pettit II 108-150

AUTOZONE SOUTHWEST SERIES TOP 20

				POINTS(WINS)
1. Jim Pettit II		2056	(4)
2. Craig Raudman		1940	(2)
3. Burney Lamar		1819	(1)
4. Eddy McKean		1816	(1)
5. Eric Holmes		1696	(2)
6. Greg Voigt		1637	-
7. Joe Herold		1612	-
8. Doug McCoun		1606	-
9. Rip Michels		1601	-
10. Todd Souza		1582	-
11. Nick Joanides		1467	-
12. Danny Burson		1457	-
13. Darrell LaMoure	1433	-
14. Nick Lynch		1415	-
15. Bob Lyon		1396	-
16. Thomas Martin		1342	-
17. David Gilliland	1223	(2)
18. Dan Holtz		1222	-
19. Richard Johnson	967	-
20. Auggie Vidovich Jr.	953	-

ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR STANDINGS
Rip Michels 124
Nick Lynch 108
Todd Burns 41

See Also .:

• Doug McCoun Driver Card
• Jim Pettit II Driver Card
• Greg Voigt Driver Card
• Tucson Raceway Park Track Page

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Article posted by RacingWest.com staff on 10/24/2004. http://www.racingwest.com