RACE FACTS & NOTES OF INTEREST > WENATCHEE VALLEY'S SUPER OVAL RBNWS

WHAT: Northwest Racing Enterprises 150
Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 14 of 14

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

WHEN: Saturday, September 29, 2001 -- 9:00 p.m. PDT

DISTANCE: 150 Laps/37.5 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $28,250

FIELD: 22 cars possible. Fastest 15 cars through time trials with two provisional starting positions available to the top 20 drivers based on the current 2001 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring Championship point standings, two starting positions from highest 30 car owners in the current 2001 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring Championship point standings, one position for a former champion of the series who has not qualified in the original 15 positions, the final two positions will be filled by the top two highest finishers in the Qualifying Race.

SCHEDULE:

Saturday, September 29
12:00 noon Registration and inspection
1:00 p.m. Mandatory Crew Chief’s Meeting
1:15 p.m. Drawing to determine order of qualifying
2:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Alternating Practice
5:00 p.m. Mandatory Driver’s Meeting
5:15 p.m. Mandatory Rookie Driver’s Meeting
5:45 p.m. Time Trials (2 Laps). All positions
TBA Trophy Dash
TBA 15-Lap Qualifying Race
9:00 p.m. Northwest Racing Enterprises 150

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

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

RACE RECORD: Kevin Hamlin 5/26/01 61.275 mph 30 min 36 sec NOTES OF INTEREST:

• Kevin Hamlin leads Joe Benedetti by 111 points for the 2001 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series championship. Benedetti narrowed the gap on the strength of his top-5 performance at the series last event, the Frank’s Chevrolet 125 in Yakima, Wash.
• It appears that Hamlin should clinch the championship by starting the Northwest Racing Enterprises 150 this weekend, after that the points chase is very close. Only 95 points separate Shane Biles in sixth place back to Rick Suran in 10th. The top four points positions could remain the same no matter the outcome of the race.
• If awards were given for consecutive top-10 finishes, Joe Benedetti would win hands down. The Auburn, Wash. native has 11 straight runs of top-10 or better heading to the last race of the season. Only a 21st place finish in the season opener blemishes his 2001 record.
• John Bender leads Troy Conrad by three points in the Totem Travel Rookie of the Year standings. All four candidates for the 2001 crown soldiered through a rough outing at the series last event. Ralph Hubbert was the highest finishing rookie with a 16th place showing. Bender was 19th, Matt Hall finished 22nd, and Conrad was 25th. Conrad must be the highest finishing rookie in the Northwest Racing Enterprises 150 and hope Bender is the lowest, to have a chance at the rookie title.
• Shane Biles has been one of the hottest drivers on the series over the last three races. The Woodinville, Wash. resident has picked up a win and three top-10 finishes, including two top-5 runs. With the strong performances, Biles has gone from 12th to sixth in the points standings.
• Three drivers, Gary Lewis, Pete Harding, and Chris Hart, have not won a Bud Pole Award in 2001 after doing so in 2000. Lewis was the Bud Pole Award champion last season with 10. Harding and Hart each earned one pole award apiece last season.
• Drivers who won races in 2000 and have yet to find victory lane this year include Garrett Evans, Ken Kaltschmidt, John Zaretzke, Gaylon Stewart, Steve Petty, John Dillon, and Kevin Quesnell. Evans, Zaretzke, and Kaltschmidt are expected to race the Northwest Racing Enterprises 150.

STATS OF THE WEEK:

• Should Kevin Hamlin win the 2001 championship, he would become the youngest champion in the history of the series. Hamlin is the holder of the series record for youngest race winner at 19 years, 11 months, established in June of 1999. John Dillon is the series youngest champion at 27 years, seven months. Hamlin is 22 years, three months old as of September 22, 2001.
• Chevrolet has clinched the manufactures championship for 2001. With nine wins in 12 events, Chevrolet teams have rode a wave of consistency over the year with 22 top-5 finishes among three drivers in the points standings, Kevin Hamlin, Pete Harding, and John Bender.

NEW EVENT IN 2001:

• This will be the third stop for the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series at Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval during the 2001 season. It will be the first time the series has run a 150-lap event on the .250-mile paved oval in East Wenatchee, Wash.

2001 RBNWS Manufacturers’ Championship
1. Chevrolet 99 Points 9 Wins
2. Pontiac 74 Points 2 Wins
3. Ford 55 Points 1 Wins

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