WHAT: Pepsi 125
Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 3 of 15
WHERE: South Sound Speedway, Tenino, Wash.
.375-Mile Paved Speedway
WHEN: Saturday, May 11, 2002 – 8:30 p.m. PST
DISTANCE: 125 Laps/46.875 Miles
POSTED AWARDS: $30,250
FIELD: 22 cars possible. Fastest 15 cars through time trials with two
provisional starting positions available to the top 30 drivers based
on the final 2001 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring
Championship point standings, two starting positions from final top 30
car owners in the 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 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: South Sound Speedway 1995, Inc.
CONTACTS: Doug Pace, NASCAR, 509/469-4401
Butch Behn, South Sound Speedway, 360/273-6420
SCHEDULE:
Saturday, May 11
Noon Garage opens
1:00 p.m. Mandatory Crew Chief’s Meeting
1:15 p.m. Draw for qualifying order
2:30 to
3:15 p.m. First Practice Session
3:45 to
4:30 p.m. Second Practice Session
4:45 p.m. Mandatory Driver’s Meeting
5:00 p.m. Mandatory Rookie Meeting
5:45 p.m. Time Trials (2 Laps). All positions
6:45 p.m. Trophy Dash
7:00 p.m. 15-lap Qualifying Race
8:30 p.m. Pepsi 125
THE RACETRACK: South Sound Speedway is a slightly banked .375-mile
paved oval.
RECORDS: Driver Date Speed Time
QUALIFYING: Ken Kaltschmidt 5/12/01 92.504 mph 13.621 seconds
RACE: Ron Eaton 5/20/00 67.167 mph 37 min 11 sec
2001 TOP 10 IN THE EVENT
1) Ron Eaton
2) Chris Hart
3) John Bender
4) Troy Conrad
5) Pete Harding
6) Joe Benedetti
7) Ray Wallace
8) Tom Sweatman
9) Roger Habich
10) Steven Howard
PAST 10 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT
Winner
2001 Ron Eaton
2000 Ron Eaton
1999 Joe Benedetti
1998 Garrett Evans
1997 Event Not Held
1996 Kelly Tanner
1995 Monte English
1994 Dan Press
1993 Garrett Evans
1992 Dirk Stephens
2001 RACE STATISTICS
Bud Pole: Ken Kaltschmidt
Gatorade Front Runner: Joe Benedetti
Rookie of the Event: John Bender
Time of Race: 40 min. 36 sec.
Average Speed: 63.824 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.55 sec
Caution Flags: 6 for 39 laps
Lap Leaders: Chris Hart (1-45), Joe Benedetti (46-106), Tom Sweatman
(107-110), Ron Eaton, (111-125)
NOTES OF INTEREST:
· Kevin Hamlin is the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series points leader
heading into the Pepsi 125. He holds a ten-point lead on Jeff
Jefferson. Hamlin finished 12th in this race one year ago. Jefferson
did not race at South Sound Speedway in 2001.
· Ron Eaton has won two straight spring races at South Sound. The
Lakewood, Wash. native has eight career victories on the .375-mile
paved oval and has captured four career Bud Pole Awards.
· Garrett Evans has nine career victories at South Sound, the series
leader in that category. Evans is tied with Dirk Stephens for career
Bud Pole Awards at the Tenino, Wash. facility. Each driver has earned
six fast times in the 18-year history of the Raybestos Brakes
Northwest Series.
· Evans is fifth in the current points standings after two races. This
is the highest the Ardenvoir, Wash. driver has been on the points
ladder since September of 2000, the year of his fourth series
championship.
· South Sound Speedway has produced a considerable number of current
and past drivers on the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series including:
Joe Benedetti, Wes Rhodes, Steven Howard, Troy Conrad, Ralph Hubbert,
Tom Sweatman, Wilber Bruce, Ray Wallace, Dirk Stephens, Dan Press, and
Derrick Cope.
· Derrick Cope won the first Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series race
ever held at South Sound Speedway back in 1985. Two drivers who
finished in the top-3 of that event, Ron Eaton and Garrett Evans, are
scheduled to race in this year’s Pepsi 125.
· The Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series has entered its 18th year of
competition. In that time, 13 different drivers have won a race at
South Sound Speedway. Joe Benedetti has two series victories, both
coming at the Tenino, Wash. facility.
STATS OF THE WEEK:
· Chevrolet has dominated the competition at South Sound Speedway with
23 victories. Pontiac and Ford are tied with 14 each; Buick has won
twice on the .375-mile track. Eaton and Tom Sweatman both came home in
2001 behind the wheel of a Chevrolet. Joe Benedetti was the last
Pontiac driver to win a race in Tenino. Shane Biles was the last Ford
driver to find victory lane. Both of those drivers captured
non-Chevrolet wins in 1999.
RBNWS Race Winners in 2002: Bud Pole Award Standings:
Kevin Hamlin 1 Jeff Jefferson 2
Jeff Jefferson 1
Gatorade Front Runner Award Standings:
Gary Lewis 3
Jeff Jefferson 3
Chris Hart 2
Shane Biles 1
Kevin Hamlin 1
Top-10 Driver Standings: Rookie-of-the-Year Top-5:
1. Kevin Hamlin 1. Kelly Mann
2. Jeff Jefferson 2. Travis Powell
3. Pete Harding 3. Aaron Young
4. Chris Hart 4. Brian Saling
5. Garrett Evans 5. Kristi Schmitt
6. Rick Suran
7. Kelly Mann
8. Shane Biles
9. Gary Lewis
10.Troy Conrad
2001 RBNWS Manufacturers’ Championship
Points Wins
1. Chevrolet 18
2
2. Pontiac 12
0
3. Ford
8 0