TO BE DECIDED IN SEASON FINALE AT LAS VEGAS

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 7, 2002) – The NASCAR Winston West Series 2002 championship will be at stake as the circuit heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the season finale, The Orleans 150 on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Three drivers have a shot at the title, which will be decided under the lights on the 1.5-mile superspeedway. Eric Norris of Dana Point, Calif., holds a 36-point advantage over Austin Cameron of El Cajon, Calif. – while Kevin Richards of Spokane, Wash., is 78 points out of the lead.

Norris – who has 1,490 points with two wins, seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes this season – can clinch the title by finishing sixth or better. His best finish on the 1.5-mile track at Las Vegas is third.

Cameron enters the event with 1,454 points and has five wins and six top-five finishes in 2002. He has finished in the runner-up spot in three of the last four series events at LVMS.

Richards, who has 1,412 points with four top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes under his belt this season, is the only one of the trio to visit victory lane at the Las Vegas superspeedway – winning there in 1999.

In addition to the title being resolved, many other positions in the top 10 of the championship standings will be decided in the season finale. Fourth in the point standings is Mike Duncan, who has a slight four-point edge over Johnny Borneman. Duncan of Lamont, Calif., has 1,317 over Borneman of Ramona, Calif., with 1,313. They are closely trailed by series rookie Mike David of Modesto, Calif., with 1,298 points.

Brandon Ash of Umpqua, Ore., is seventh in the standings with 1,262 points. Just 23 behind him at 1,239 points is Scott Gaylord of Lakewood, Colo. – who has a five-point lead over series rookie Greg Pursley of Newhall, Calif., at 1,234. Brett Thompson of Jerome, Idaho, trails Pursley by 60 points at 1,174.

The $145,779 event at LVMS is expected to attract one of the series’ largest fields this season – including two graduates of the series who are competing as rookies in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Brendan Gaughan and Jason Small. Gaughan, a two-time NASCAR Winston West Series champion from Las Vegas, won this event last year. Small of Bakersfield, Calif., was the 1999 series Rookie of the Year and is making his first start in the series in a year.

Also on the entry list is Eddy McKean of Jerome, Idaho. He currently leads the Featherlite Southwest Series, NASCAR touring championship standings.

The Orleans 150 will be televised to a national audience on the SPEED Channel cable network. It is scheduled to air on a tape-delay basis at 8 p.m. on Nov. 25.

This year marks the return of the season finale to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the NASCAR Winston West Series wrapped up its season in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

The NASCAR Winston West Series 2002 champion will be crowned in a special awards ceremony at The Orleans Hotel and Casino the day after the race on Sunday, Oct. 13. More than $350,000 in post-season awards will be distributed at the gala event.

NEWS OF NOTE

Show me the money … Austin Cameron has moved past the $600,000 mark in career winnings. He is sixth on the list of career money winners in the series with $607,397. With $98,571 in winnings for 2002, Cameron is poised to surpass the $100,000 mark in season winnings.

Best average finish … The average finish for Eric Norris in the nine races this season is 3.67 – best among series competitors in 2002.

Streak continues … Norris has extended his streak of top-10 finishes to 11, including the final two events of last season.

Going the distance … Norris and Kevin Richards are tied in terms of completing the most laps of competition this season. Each driver has completed 1,619 of the 1,620 possible.

Leading the pack … Cameron has led the most laps of competition this season. He has had the NAPA/Martin Senour Chevrolet out front for 388 laps.

Blow out the candles … Drivers celebrating a birthday during the month of October include Tim Woods III, who turns 28 on the 11th; Eric Holmes, who turns 28 on the 12th; and Sean Woodside, who turns 32 on the 16th.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Kevin Richards (No. 85 Monaco Enterprises Chevrolet) has posted a top-10 finish in all nine races so far this year.

Eddy McKean (No. 19 NAPA Belts & Hoses Chevrolet) finished sixth in his debut with the series at Roseburg, Ore. McKean, a two-time regional champion in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge, currently leads the Featherlite Southwest Series, NASCAR touring championship standings.

Mark Reed (No. 3 Royal Bath & Body Products Pontiac) notched top-10 finishes in both races he has started since returning to the series. Reed finished second in the championship standings in 2001, while winning the rookie title.

Daryl Harr (No. 71 WestWorld Motorsports Chevrolet) will return to series action at Las Vegas after clinching the championship this year in the CASCAR Western Series. Daryl followed in the footsteps of his father, Carl, who won the Canadian series title in 2001. The father-son duo from Edmonton will be competing in their fifth NASCAR Winston West Series race this season at Las Vegas.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

On Nov. 2, 1996, Ken Schrader won the Las Vegas 300 NASCAR Winston West Series race, the inaugural event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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