Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 14 of 14

WHAT: Northwest Racing Enterprises 150

WHERE: Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval, East Wenatchee, Wash.
.250-Mile Paved Speedway

WHEN: Saturday, September 28, 2002 - 9:00 p.m. PDT

DISTANCE: 150 Laps/37.5 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $32,450

FIELD: 22 cars possible. Fastest 15 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 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 15 positions, the final four positions will be filled by the top four finishers in the Qualifying Race.

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

PROMOTER: Garrett L. Evans Promotions, Inc.

CONTACTS: Doug Pace, NASCAR, 509/469-4401
Michelle Lawson, Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval, 509/886-5801

SCHEDULE:

Saturday, September 28
Noon Garage opens/Registration Opens
2:00 p.m. Mandatory Crew Chief's Meeting
2:15 p.m. Draw for qualifying order
2:30 to
4:45 p.m. Alternating Practice
5:00 p.m. Mandatory Driver's Meeting
5:15 p.m. Mandatory Rookie Meeting
5:45 p.m. Time Trials (2 Laps). All positions
7:00 p.m. 15-lap Qualifying Race
7:20 p.m. Trophy Dash
9:00 p.m. Northwest Racing Enterprises 150

THE RACETRACK: Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval is a high-banked .250-mile paved oval.
RECORDS:           Driver             Date         Speed                Time
QUALIFYING: Pete Harding    5/27/00     73.777 mph      12.199 seconds
RACE:               Kevin Hamlin   9/29/01     50.924 mph      44 min 18 sec

2001 TOP 10 IN THE EVENT
1) Kevin Hamlin
2) Pete Harding
3) Garrett Evans
4) Shane Biles
5) Joe Benedetti
6) Gary Lewis
7) Troy Conrad
8) Chris Hart
9) Wilber Bruce
10) Rick Suran

PAST 10 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT
Winner
2001 Pete Harding
2000 Event Not Held
1999 Event Not Held
1998 Event Not Held
1997 Event Not Held
1996 Event Not Held
1995 Event Not Held
1994 Event Not Held
1993 Event Not Held

2001 RACE STATISTICS
Bud Pole: Garrett Evans
Gatorade Front Runner: Kevin Hamlin
Rookie of the Event: Troy Conrad
Time of Race: 58 min. 13 sec.
Average Speed: 64.954 mph
Margin of Victory: .07 seconds
Caution Flags: 6 for 34 laps
Lap Leaders: Garrett Evans (1-49), Pete Harding (50-125).

NOTES OF INTEREST:
· It appears that Kevin Hamlin should clinch the championship by starting the Northwest Racing Enterprises 150 this weekend. Hamlin leads Gary Lewis by 95 points heading into the last race of the 2002 season. Pete Harding is third in series points, 54 points in front of fourth place Chris Hart. Troy Conrad sits in fifth place on the points ladder, only three behind Hart. Only 101 points separate sixth place Shane Biles from tenth place Rick Suran.

· Once Hamlin captures the championship, he will become the second driver and youngest ever to record back-to-back titles. Kelly Tanner is the only driver to consecutively win Northwest championships. Hamlin has led the points standings since June 9, 2001 and wire-to-wire in 2002. The last driver to win a championship wire-to-wire was Gary Lewis in 1998.

· This is the second time a 150-lap race has been run at Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval. Hamlin won the inaugural Northwest Racing Enterprises 150 on his way to his first championship.

· Harding won the last event held at Wenatchee Valley (July 6) while Hamlin won the first race held this year on the .250-mile paved oval (May 25). Lewis has two top-5 finishes in those events, Hart finished runner-up to Hamlin and grabbed a top-10 finish during the summer stop.

· Jeff Jefferson leads the series with four Bud Pole Awards. Hamlin is the only other driver on the series with multiple Bud Pole Awards (2). Hamlin led 125 laps at the series last event to lock up the Gatorade Front Runner Award for the season.

· Six drivers have multiple wins at the .250-mile paved oval. Ron Eaton leads all drivers with five career victories followed by Garrett Evans with four; Gary Lewis and Kelly Tanner are tied with three wins apiece. Hamlin and Harding are tied with two wins each. Eight drivers are tied with one win at Wenatchee Valley.

· Ron Eaton has entered the Northwest Racing Enterprises 150, bringing the number of current and past champions in the race to five with Hamlin, Evans, Harding, and Lewis set to take the green flag.

STAT OF THE WEEK:
· No driver on the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring has ever swept events at Wenatchee Valley in a single season. Hamlin has won two of three events in a single season and has the chance to repeat the accomplishment with a win in the Northwest Racing Enterprises 150.


RBNWS Race Winners in 2002:                     Bud Pole Award Standings:
Kevin Hamlin         5                                                Jeff Jefferson     4
Gary Lewis            3                                                Kevin Hamlin    2
Jeff Jefferson          2                                                Troy Conrad    1
Pete Harding          1                                                Garrett Evans   1
Jason Jefferson       1                                                Pete Harding    1
Garrett Evans         1                                                Zach Niessner  1
Ron Eaton              1
Gary Lewis             1
Joe Benedetti         1

Gatorade Front Runner Award Standings:
Kevin Hamlin        12
Jeff Jefferson          9
Gary Lewis            8
Chris Hart              5
Shane Biles            5
Jason Jefferson       3
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. Shane Biles
7. Joe Benedetti
8. Garrett Evans
9. Jeff Jefferson
10.Rick Suran

2001 RBNWS Manufacturers' Championship
                         Points      Wins
1. Chevrolet        105           9
2. Pontiac              81          3
3. Ford                 61           1

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