RACE FACTS & NOTES OF INTEREST

 WHAT:                        Leonard Evans Superstore 125

Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series Race No. 6 of 14

WHERE: Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval, East Wenatchee, Wash.

.250-Mile Paved Speedway

WHEN:                        Saturday, July 6, 2002 – 9:00 p.m. PST

DISTANCE:                        125 Laps/31.25 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $31,350

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 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:                        Garrett L. Evans Promotions, Inc.

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

                        Michelle Lawson, Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval, 509/886-5801 

SCHEDULE:

Saturday, July 6

Noon         Registration Opens

1:00 p.m.   Garage Opens

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

2:15 p.m.   Drawing for Qualifying Order

2:30 to

3:15 p.m.   First Practice Session

4:15 to

4:45 p.m.   Final Practice Session

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

5:15 p.m.   Mandatory Rookie Meeting

5:45 p.m.   Time Trials (2 laps)

7:00 p.m.   15-lap Qualifying Race

7:20 p.m.   Trophy Dash

9:00 p.m. Evans 125

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 5/26/01 61.275 mph 30 min 36 sec

2001 TOP 10 IN THE EVENT

1)      Ron Eaton

2)      Kevin Hamlin

3)      Joe Benedetti

4)      Shane Biles

5)      Pete Harding

6)      Wes Rhodes

7)      Ed Watson

8)      Howard Ford

9)      Steven Howard

10)  Matt Hall 

PAST 10 RESULTS OF THIS EVENT

            Winner

2001 Ron Eaton

2000 Event Not Held         

1999 Event Not Held                 

1998 Wilbur Bruce 

1997 Kelly Tanner

1996 Garrett Evans 

1995 Gary Smith

1994 Garrett Evans

1993 Kelly Tanner

1992 Dirk Stephens

2001 RACE STATISTICS

Bud Pole: Garrett Evans

Gatorade Front Runner: Joe Benedetti

Rookie of the Event: Howard Ford

Time of Race: 42 min. 48 sec.

Average Speed: 44.135 mph

Margin of Victory: .06 seconds

Caution Flags: 7 for 35 laps

Lap Leaders: Gary Lewis (1-15), Joe Benedetti (16-89), Eaton (90-125).

NOTES OF INTEREST:

·         Kevin Hamlin is the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series points leader heading into the Cellular One 125, holding a 120-point lead on Chris Hart. Hamlin won two of three events held at Wenatchee Valley in 2001 and captured the first race of the 2002 season at the .250-mile paved oval. Hart had one top-5 finish in three 2001 starts on the .250-mile paved oval. He placed second to Hamlin at the series first stop of 2002 at Wenatchee Valley.

·         Hamlin has held the series points lead for one calendar year. He vaulted past Ron Eaton on June 9, 2001 after a win at Tri-City Raceway. The 23-year old Snohomish, Wash. native is in line to become the series second back-to-back champion should he continue as the 2002 points leader.

·         Kelly Mann holds a five-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 Yakima Speedway on June 1. Powell has captured one rookie-of-the-race award this season (South Sound Speedway).

·         Troy Conrad has moved to third place in the 2002 chase for the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring championship. This is the highest position on the points ladder the Puyallup, Wash. native has been in his two-year career.

·         During the 13-year history of NASCAR Touring racing action at Wenatchee Valley, no driver has ever swept events held at the track when more than one race has been run in a season.

·         Since 1998, Pete Harding, Gary Lewis and Kevin Hamlin have been the hottest drivers at the East Wenatchee, Wash. facility. Harding has seven top-5 finishes; Hamlin has three wins and five top-5 runs. Lewis has two wins and four top-5 runs in that time span.

STAT OF THE WEEK:

·         Kevin Hamlin has added to his collection of records in the Raybestos Brakes Northwest Series, NASCAR Touring history book. The defending champion has won three straight races and led a new record, 275 consecutive laps of series racing action.

RBNWS Race Winners in 2002:      Bud Pole Award Standings:    

Kevin Hamlin               4                                           Jeff Jefferson          3

Jeff Jefferson              1                                            Garrett Evans          1

                                                                                 Pete Harding         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