RACE FACTS & NOTES OF INTEREST

Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 6 of 15

WHAT:   Costco 125 

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

WHEN:  Saturday, June 8, 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:  Williams Promotions, Inc.

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

SCHEDULE:   Saturday, April 27

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.   15-lap Qualifying Race

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)      Kevin Hamlin

2)      John Bender

3)      Joe Benedetti

4)      Shane Biles

5)      Bill Lawrence

6)      Pete Harding

7)      Ken Kaltschmidt

8)      Steven Howard

9)      Ray Wallace

10)  Rick Suran

PAST 10 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT

            Winner

2001 Kevin Hamlin

2000 John Dillon  

1999 Chris Hart    

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: Kevin Hamlin

Gatorade Front Runner: Gary Lewis

Rookie of the Event: John Bender

Time of Race: 54 min. 24 sec.

Average Speed: 67.690 mph

Margin of Victory: .07 seconds

Caution Flags: 6 for 34 laps

Lap Leaders: Gary Lewis (1-78), Kevin Hamlin (79-125).

NOTES OF INTEREST:

·         Kevin Hamlin is the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series points leader heading into the Tri-City 125. He won his first career Bud Pole Award last season in West Richland, Wash. at this event. Hamlin has won six of the last nine series events held dating back to last season.

·         Hamlin has won four of the first five series events in 2002. With his win at Yakima Speedway in the last series event, Hamlin has two straight wire-to-wire victories and has led 275 consecutive laps going back to his South Sound Speedway victory on May 11.

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

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

·         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. 

STAT OF THE WEEK:

·         Chevrolet has dominated the competition at Tri-City Raceway. With 21 wins, the manufacturer has more than twice as many wins as Pontiac (8). Ford has captured six wins in West Richland, Wash. while Oldsmobile has one victory to its credit. 

RBNWS Race Winners in 2002:                 Bud Pole Award Standings:    

Kevin Hamlin               4                                                         Jeff Jefferson        3

Jeff Jefferson              1                                                          Garrett Evans        1

Gatorade Front Runner Award Standings:            

Kevin Hamlin               8

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 Standings:

1. Kevin Hamlin             1. Kelly Mann

2. Chris Hart                  2. Travis Powell

3. Troy Conrad              3. Aaron Young

4. Pete Harding             4. Brian Saling

5. Gary Lewis                       

6. Jeff Jefferson                              

7. Joe Benedetti

8. Rick Suran

9. Garrett Evans          

10.Ken Kaltschmidt                                                

2001 RBNWS Manufacturers’ Championship

              Points              Wins

1. Chevrolet 45                    5

2. Pontiac    30                    0

3. Ford        20                      0