2002 RAYBESTOS BRAKES NORTHWEST SERIES

RACE FACTS & NOTES OF INTEREST

WHAT: Tri-City 125

Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 11 of 14

WHERE: Tri-City Raceway, West Richland, Wash.   .500-Mile Paved Speedway

WHEN: Sunday, September 1, 2002 – 8:30 p.m. PST

DISTANCE: 125 Laps/62.5 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $30,250

FIELD: 28 cars possible. Fastest 21 cars through time trials with two provisional starting positions available to the top 30 drivers based on the current 2002 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring Championship point standings, two starting positions from the current top 30 car owners in the 2002 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 21 positions, the final two positions will be filled by the top two finishers in the Qualifying Race.

SANCTION: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR)

PROMOTER: Red Mountain Motorsports, Inc.

CONTACTS: Doug Pace, NASCAR, 509/469-4401

SCHEDULE:
Sunday, September 1
Noon Garage opens

2:00 p.m. Mandatory Crew Chief’s Meeting

2:15 p.m. Draw for qualifying order

2:30 to

5:00 p.m. Alternating Practice

5:15 p.m. Mandatory Driver’s Meeting

5:30 p.m. Mandatory Rookie Meeting

6:30 p.m. Time Trials (2 Laps). All positions

7:15 p.m. 15-lap Qualifying Race

7:30 p.m. Trophy Dash

8:30 p.m. Tri-City125

THE RACETRACK: Tri-City Raceway is a slightly banked .500-mile paved tri-oval.

RECORDS: Driver Date Speed Time

QUALIFYING: Jeff Krough 4/22/95 103.211 mph 17.440 seconds

RACE: Chris Hart 6/5/99 86.772 mph 43 min 13 sec

2001 TOP 10 IN THE EVENT
1) Shane Biles

2) John Dillon

3) Jeff Jefferson

4) Joe Benedetti

5) Kevin Hamlin

6) Steven Howard

7) Gary Lewis

8) Troy Conrad

9) Rick Suran

10) John Bender

PAST 10 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT
Winner

2001 Shane Biles

2000 Gary Lewis

1999 Gary Lewis

1998 John Dillon

1997 Kelly Tanner

1996 Marc Groskreutz

1995 Ron Eaton

1994 Garrett Evans

1993 Tobey Butler

1992 Dirk Stephens

2001 RACE STATISTICS

Bud Pole: Jeff Jefferson

Gatorade Front Runner: Zach Niessner

Rookie of the Event: Troy Conrad

Time of Race: 52 min. 40 sec.

Average Speed: 71.565 mph

Margin of Victory: .08 seconds

Caution Flags: 5 for 22 laps

Lap Leaders: Zach Niessner (1-49), John Dillon (50-78), Jeff Jefferson (79), Joe Benedetti (80-107), Shane Biles (108-128).

NOTES OF INTEREST:

· Kevin Hamlin is the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series points leader heading into the Tri-City 125. He holds a 64-point lead on Gary Lewis with four races left in the 2002 season. Pete Harding sits in third place, 69 points behind Lewis and only 39 in front of fourth place Chris Hart. Troy Conrad holds down the fifth position on the points ladder. Jeff Jefferson is sixth, a mere four points behind Conrad. Only 125 points separate Jefferson in sixth place to Rick Suran in tenth.

· Hamlin won four of the first five series events in 2002. Coming into the Tri-City 125, Lewis has won three straight series events and has three career victories at Tri-City Raceway. Jefferson (2) and Harding (1) are the only other drivers to win an event this season.

· Since 1994, John Dillon the 1990 series champion, has three wins and six top-5 finishes in West Richland. Dillon has earned two Bud Pole Awards at Tri-City Raceway during his career. Five of his 14 career victories have come at the .500-facility. The Eagle, Idaho native has become a part-time driver on the series over the last ten years but consistently races in Tri-Cities.

· The series last visited the .500-mile tri-oval on April 27. Jeff Jefferson won the race, his first victory on the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series. On that day, Jefferson had competed in a NASCAR Winston West race in California, just making into West Richland, Wash. in time for qualifying. This weekend Jefferson has no conflicts with other series’ and will take part in the entire day’s festivities.

· Chris Hart, who is fourth in the current points standings, picked up his first career win in West Richland, Wash. during a June 1999 event. Hart, a native of Yakima, Wash., has also captured one Bud Pole Award at the .500-mile speedplant.

STAT OF THE WEEK:

· Garrett Evans and John Dillon are the leaders in career wins at Tri-City Raceway. Each has come home with the checkered flag five times during their respective careers. Evans has seven pole awards to his credit while Dillon has two. Ron Eaton and Gary Lewis are tied for the second highest win total at the West Richland track. Each driver has three victories apiece.

RBNWS Race Winners in 2002:                   Bud Pole Award Standings:
Kevin Hamlin 4                                                  Jeff Jefferson 3

Gary Lewis 3                                                     Kevin Hamlin 1

Jeff Jefferson 2                                                  Troy Conrad 1

Pete Harding 1                                                  Garrett Evans 1

                                                                         Pete Harding 1
                                                                         Zach Niessner 1
                                                                         Ron Eaton 1
                                                                        Gary Lewis 1

Gatorade Front Runner Award Standings:
Jeff Jefferson 9

Gary Lewis 8

Kevin Hamlin 8

Chris Hart 5

Shane Biles 4

Garrett Evans 3

Pete Harding 2

Wes Rhodes 1

Top-10 Driver Standings:                     Rookie-of-the-Year Standings:

1. Kevin Hamlin                                         1. Kelly Mann

2. Gary Lewis                                            2. Travis Powell

3. Pete Harding                                         3. Aaron Young

4. Chris Hart

5. Troy Conrad

6. Jeff Jefferson

7. Joe Benedetti

8. Garrett Evans

9. Shane Biles

10.Rick Suran

2001 RBNWS Manufacturers’ Championship
                     Points           Wins

1. Chevrolet      81                 7

2. Pontiac         69                 3

3. Ford            40                  0

View the Northwest Series on NASCAR.com with Results - Standings & Driver Profiles