HAMLIN BEGINS CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSE WITH BIG O TIRES 125 VICTORY ON RAYBESTOS BRAKES NORTHWEST SERIES

MONROE, Wash. (March 30, 2002) – Kevin Hamlin, defending Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series champion, began his assault on a second title with a win in the Big ‘O’ Tires 125, held at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash.

Gary Lewis led 92 laps before Hamlin made a bold pass entering turn No. 2 of the .646-mile paved oval. Lewis would settle for second, Chris Hart was third followed by Pete Harding and Jeff Jefferson.

Shane Biles led the field to the green flag in front of a capacity crowd. Hart moved from fourth place on the grid to second by lap five and settled in behind Lewis as the pair began lap six. Hart grabbed the lead from Biles on lap five and held Lewis at bay until the start of lap 15. Jefferson, Hamlin and John Bender gave chase to Lewis through lap 33 before a caution flew for John Zaretzke’s contact with the turn No. 1 wall.

As lap 43 began, Hamlin had passed Jefferson with his sights set on Hart. Hamlin, powered by a Nutter Racing Engine, moved past Hart as the pair raced down the backstretch of lap 44. Over the next 50 laps, Lewis would move to as much as a three second lead on Hamlin as he held Hart, Pete Harding, and Jefferson at bay.

With less than 15 laps to go, Hamlin had come to Lewis rear bumper as the crowd roared with approval. Exiting turn No. 2, Hamlin and Lewis touched, moving Lewis up the track and opening the door for Hamlin to fly by as the two entered turn No. 3.

Lewis fell back four car lengths to cool the tires just a bit before mounting one last challenge to Hamlin’s lead. The 1998 series champion could get no closer than .47 seconds behind Hamlin who earned his sixth career win.

“We tried to car it one car at a time and it seemed to work,” Hamlin said of his early patient run to the front. “It’s fun to be here in victory lane at Evergreen Speedway, it feels great. I have to thank my crew, American Dream Motorsports, Berryman’s, Bowman’s Electro Plating, and Nutter Racing Engines.”

“I got underneath him,” Hamlin said of his pass for the win. “I knew he saw that he had a mirror full of us and he did a great job of keeping it on the bottom but we applied some pressure on him, made a little contact and that’s the way it went.”

“I saw Kevin sitting back there and knew they had a good car,” Lewis said. “I was holding him up a bit in the turns, as a driver I was just trying to protect my line but I knew it was only a matter of time (before Hamlin took the lead).”

The next race for the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series is the Costco 125, at Tri-Cites Raceway on April 27.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

Lewis won the Gatorade Front Runner of the Race award by leading 92 laps. Jeff Jefferson was the Bud Pole Award winner and Kelly Mann earned Rookie of the Race honors. The series first full-time female driver, rookie Kristi Schmitt came home 14th.

The capacity crowd witnessed the 50th season of operation begin at Evergreen Speedway. Fireworks, a military color guard and flag ceremony from the Washington Quarter Midget Association were all part of the evenings festivities. The Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series returns to the ‘Superspeedway of the West’ on July 13.