WHAT:                        Frank’s Chevrolet 125

Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 5 of 15

 WHERE:                       Yakima Speedway, Yakima, Wash.

.500-Mile Paved Speedway

 WHEN:                            Saturday, June 1, 2002 – 8:30 p.m. PST

 DISTANCE:                        125 Laps/62.50 Miles

 POSTED AWARDS: $31,350

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 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:                        Williams Promotions, Inc.

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

                                               Dennis Williams, Yakima Speedway, 509/248-0647 

SCHEDULE:

Saturday, June 1

Noon         Haulers Enter

1:00 p.m.   Registration Begins

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

2:15 p.m.   Drawing for Qualifying Order

2:30 to

5:00 p.m.   Alternating Practice Sessions 

5:15           Mandatory Driver’s Meeting

5:00 p.m.   Mandatory Driver’s Meeting

5:30 p.m.   Mandatory Rookie Meeting

6:30 p.m.   Time Trials (2 laps)

7:15 p.m.   15-lap Qualifying Race

7:30 p.m.   Trophy Dash

8:30 p.m. Frank’s 125

THE RACETRACK: Yakima Speedway is a slightly banked .500-mile paved oval.

RECORDS:            Driver            Date                Speed             Time

QUALIFYING: Bill Lawrence 4/19/95 98.436 mph 18.286 seconds

RACE: Pete Harding 5/29/93 74.626 mph 50 min 15 sec

2001 TOP 10 IN THE EVENT

1)      Ron Eaton

2)      Joe Benedetti

3)      Kevin Hamlin

4)      Pete Harding

5)      Mel Shenyer

6)      John Bender

7)      Ray Wallace

8)      Zach Niessner

9)      Garrett Evans

10)  Chris Hart

PAST 10 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT

            Winner

2001 Ron Eaton

2000 Kevin Quesnell        

1999 Pete Harding                  

1998 Garrett Evans 

1997 Kelly Tanner

1996 Gary Lewis  

1995 Ron Eaton

1994 Kirk Rogers

1993 Dan Press

1992 Dirk Stephens

2001 RACE STATISTICS

Bud Pole: Bryan Wiener

Gatorade Front Runner: Ron Eaton

Rookie of the Event: John Bender

Time of Race: 51 min. 13 sec.

Average Speed: 73.218 mph

Margin of Victory: .5 seconds

Caution Flags: 3 for 20 laps

Lap Leaders: Gary Lewis (1-4), Pete Harding (5-12), Eaton (13-125).

NOTES OF INTEREST:

·         Kevin Hamlin is the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series points leader heading into the Frank’s Chevrolet 125, holding a 70-point lead on Chris Hart. Hamlin had three top-5 runs at the series three events held at Yakima Speedway in 2001. Hart came home with one top-10 finish in three starts.

·         Hamlin has three straight top-5 finishes at Yakima Speedway. Dating back to the 2000 season, the 22-year old defending champion has five top-10 runs in six starts.

·         Kelly Mann holds a three-point lead on Travis Powell for the 2002 Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Rookie of the Year award. Mann earned rookie-of-the-race honors at the series last event, held at Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval. Mann had captured the first two rookie-of-the-race awards of the season (Evergreen Speedway and Tri-Cities Raceway) before Powell grabbed the honor at South Sound Speedway in early May.

·         Former Yakima Speedway Late Model champion Troy Conrad, sits in fourth place in the series points standings. This is the highest the second-year driver has ever been on the points ladder during his young career.

·         During the 12-year history of NASCAR Touring racing action at the famed Yakima Speedway, Kelly Tanner is the only driver to sweep events held at the track when more than one race has been run in a season.

·         Six drivers have multiple wins at the .500-mile paved oval. Garrett Evans leads all drivers with six career victories followed by Pete Harding with five; Ron Eaton has come home with the checkers four times in his 18-year career. Gary Lewis, Kirk Rogers, and Kelly Tanner each have two wins apiece.

·         Since 1998, Pete Harding is the hottest driver to run Yakima Speedway. In nine starts, the Surrey, BC native has four wins and five top-5 finishes.

STAT OF THE WEEK:

·         Chevrolet has dominated the competition at Yakima Speedway in the 13-year history of Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series action at the racetrack. The ‘Bow-Tie’ brigade has 18 wins with Pontiac and Ford each collecting four wins apiece. Gary Lewis is the last driver to win in a Pontiac while Garrett Evans was the last Ford driver to find victory lane.  

RBNWS Race Winners in 2002:                                  Bud Pole Award Standings:    

Kevin Hamlin               3                                                            Jeff Jefferson                     3

Jeff Jefferson              1                                                            Garrett Evans                     1

Gatorade Front Runner Award Standings:            

Kevin Hamlin               5

Gary Lewis                  3

Jeff Jefferson              3

Garrett Evans              3

Chris Hart                    2

Shane Biles                 1

Wes Rhodes               1

 

Top-10 Driver Standings:                                                               Rookie-of-the-Year Top-4:

1. Kevin Hamlin                                                                            1. Kelly Mann

2. Chris Hart                                                                                 2. Travis Powell

3. Pete Harding                                                                             3. Aaron Young

4. Troy Conrad                                                                              4. Brian Saling

5. Jeff Jefferson                              

6. Shane Biles                      

7. Gary Lewis

8. Rick Suran

9. Ken Kaltschmidt 

10.Joe Benedetti     

2001 RBNWS Manufacturers’ Championship

              Points              Wins

1. Chevrolet 36                    4

2. Pontiac    24                    0

3. Ford        16                      0