CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS 125 RACE FACTS & NOTES OF INTEREST

Source: NASCAR Media Relations
Date: 05/20/2001

WHAT: Charter Communications 125
Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 3 of 14

WHERE: Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval, Wenatchee, Wash.
0.250-Mile Paved Speedway

WHEN: Saturday, May 26, 2001 -- 9:00 p.m. PDT

DISTANCE: 125 Laps/31.25 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $27,150

FIELD: 22 cars possible. Fastest 17 cars through time trials with two provisional starting positions available to the top 20 drivers based on the final 2000 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series point standings, two starting positions from the top two finishers in the non-qualifiers race, and one additional starting position for a former Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series champion who participated as a driver in 2000 and did not qualify in one of the original 17 starting positions.

SCHEDULE:
Saturday, September 23
12:00 noon Registration and inspection
1:15 p.m. Drawing to determine order of qualifying
2:30 to3:15 p.m.
Practice 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. Practice
5:00 p.m. Mandatory Driver’s/Crew Chief Meeting
5:15 p.m. Mandatory Rookie Driver’s Meeting
5:45 p.m. Time Trials (2 Laps) All Positions
6:30 p.m. Trophy Dash
7:00 p.m. 15-Lap Qualifying Race
9 p.m. Charter Communications 125

THE RACETRACK: Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval is a slightly banked .250-mile paved oval.

RECORDS: QUALIFYING: Pete Harding 5/27/00 73.777mph 12.199 seconds

RACE: Gary Lewis 5/27/00 59.211mph 31 min 40 sec

2000 TOP 10 IN THE EVENT
1. Gary Lewis
2. Pete Harding
3. Ray Wallace
4. Ken Kaltschmidt
5. Gaylon Stewart
6. Joe Benedetti
7. Ron Eaton
8. Howard Ford
9. John Zaretzke
10. Wes Rhodes

PAST 10 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT
Winner
2000 Gary Lewis
1999 Tom Pinkowsky
1998 Gary Lewis
1997 Gary Lewis
1996 Kelly Tanner
1995 Ron Eaton
1994 Pete Harding
1992 Kevin Stimberis
1991 Garrett Evans

2000 RACE STATISTICS

Bud Pole: Pete Harding

Time of Race: 31 min. 40 sec. (Record)

Average Speed: 59.211 mph (Record)

Margin of Victory: 0.45 seconds

Caution Flags: 2 for 13 laps

Lap Leaders: Lewis (1-125)

NOTES OF INTEREST:

• Ron Eaton extended his own record of oldest driver to win on the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring. His 39th career win on the series in the Pepsi 125, held May 12th, came at the tender age of 57 years, nine months. Kevin Hamlin holds the record for youngest driver to win on the series when he won in Roseburg, Ore. in June of 1999, at the age of 19 years, 11 months.

• The series career leaders in overall wins have done quite well at Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval. Garrett Evans and Ron Eaton have four wins apiece while Gary Lewis has three.

• Each of the last two seasons, the track qualifying record has been lowered at Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval. Ken Kaltschmidt timed in with a lap of 12.577 seconds (71.559 mph) on August 21, 1999. Pete Harding bested that with a blistering time of 12.199 seconds (73.777 mph) on May 27, 2000.

• Garrett Evans leads the series with seven Bud Pole Awards at Wenatchee Valley. The series only back-to-back champion, Kelly Tanner, is next with five poles. Ron Eaton, who is second in career pole awards on the series, has never had fast time at Wenatchee Valley.

• Since 1998, two drivers, Wilber Bruce and Tom Pinkowsky, have claimed their first career wins at Wenatchee Valley.

Gary Lewis led wire-to-wire in notching the win over Pete Harding. Lewis, who started on the pole based on a six-car invert, collected $4,275 in the first of six wins on the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring, in 2000. Harding, who broke the track qualifying record with a time of 12.199 seconds, held Ray Wallace off in the closing laps. Wallace notched his best career finish on the series with his third place effort.

2001 RBNWS Manufacturers’ Championship
Points Wins
1. Pontiac 15 1
2. Chevrolet 15 1
3. Ford 8 0

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Article posted by RacingWest.com staff on 05/20/2001. http://www.racingwest.com