CAMERON WINS ORLEANS 222 TO GO 2-FOR-2 IN 2002 IN NASCAR WINSTON WEST SERIES

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 15, 2002) – Don’t blame Austin Cameron if he considers the number “2” as his lucky number on his next trip to Las Vegas. In visiting the entertainment mecca for a NASCAR Winston West Series race on April 13, Cameron went two-for-two in 2002 by winning The Orleans 222 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In addition, it was his second race in the NAPA/Martin Senour Chevrolet and his second visit to the tight .375-mile paved oval. “My lucky number use to be 12, now it may become 2,” Cameron said afterward with a chuckle.

Cameron, who captured the NASCAR Winston West Series season-opener at Phoenix in dominant fashion, used more of a follow-the-leader approach to gain his second consecutive victory of the season. He won his fifth career Bud Pole Award with a fast lap of 85.540 mph in qualifying, but dropped from the point just 14 laps into the race.

“The first half of the race, I knew I was not going to win or lose it,” Cameron said. “I didn’t have anything for (Kevin) Richards or even (Sean) Woodside in the first half. I might have been able to catch him, but I don’t think I could have passed him. So, I backed off to where the car felt comfortable.”

The five cautions in the first half of the race also disrupted the strategy of his team, according to Cameron. “The pace of the race is what disturbed us. We were set up for long green-flag runs, but did not get those in the first half. The car was too tight, but I knew we were still in the ballgame.”

Things turned around in the second half. Cameron moved to second just past the midway point and appeared content to ride in the leader’s wake. “I kept real close tabs on how much I was using the car up, while also trying to pressure (Greg) Pursley,” Cameron explained. “He was tough. I tried to wear him out by keeping up the pace.”

After initially trying an outside pass, Cameron used the inside groove to move by and grab the lead for good on lap 197. The 25-year-old El Cajon, Calif., competitor took the win with a margin of victory of 1.160 seconds, at an average speed of 59.500 mph. The victory, the third of his career, netted him $12,050 in prize money and posted awards.

Woodside of Saugus, Calif., took the runner-up spot in the Team Walker Motorsports/Ron’s Rear Ends/NAPA Chevrolet. C.T. Hellmund of Austin, Texas, took third place by a nose in the Suzuki Motorcycle & ATV Pontiac. Mike David of Modesto, Calif., was fourth in the Injury Helpline.com Ford, followed by series veteran Scott Gaylord of Lakewood, Colo., in the Oliver Gravity Separators Chevrolet.

Greg Pursley was sixth, while seventh went to Kevin Richards. Jeff Jefferson was eighth, the final car on the lead lap. Rounding out the top 10 were Brandon Ash and Eric Norris.
The race featured six lead changes among four drivers – Cameron, Woodside, Richards and Pursley. The pace was slowed due to nine cautions that flew for 52 laps.

The Orleans 222 will be televised to a national audience on a tape-delay basis on NASCAR TV on SPEED Channel. It is slated to air at 8 p.m. ET on April 22.

With early back-to-back wins, Cameron has quickly built a lead in the chase for the championship this season in the NASCAR Winston West Series. He leads with 365 points over Woodside with 335. Pursley is third with 315, followed by Norris with 304 and Richards with 301. They are followed by David at 290, Ash at 247, Hershel McGriff and Gaylord each at 246, and Mike Duncan and Jeff Jefferson each at 245.

Pursley and David are atop the standings in the chase for the Stage 8 Locking Fasteners Rookie-of-the-Year Award. They each have 19 points, followed by Brett Thompson with 15, G.J. Mennen Jr., with 13 and Scott Lynch with eight.

The next event on the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule is the Pontiac WideTrack Grand Prix 200 at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on April 27.

 **** NASCAR WINSTON WEST SERIES DRIVER LEADERS ****

ORLEANS 222
RACES NUMBER : 2 LAST RACE DATE:04/13/02
PRINTOUT DATE:04/15/02
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MONEY
POS DRIVER NAME POINTS STARTS WINS TOP 5 TOP 10 WON
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1 AUSTIN CAMERON, El Cajon, CA 365 2 2 2 2 31655
2 SEAN WOODSIDE, Saugus, CA 335 2 0 2 2 14430
3 #GREG PURSLEY, Newhall, CA 315 2 0 1 2 8751
4 ERIC NORRIS, Dana Point, CA 304 2 0 1 2 13965
5 KEVIN RICHARDS, Spokane, WA 301 2 0 0 2 9555
6 #MIKE DAVID, Modesto, CA 290 2 0 1 1 7078
7 BRANDON ASH, Umpqua, OR 247 2 0 0 1 6005
8 SCOTT GAYLORD, Lakewood, CO 246 2 0 1 1 6430
9 HERSHEL MCGRIFF, Portland, OR 246 2 0 0 1 6505
10 JEFF JEFFERSON, Naches, WA 245 2 0 0 1 3150
11 MIKE DUNCAN, Lamont, CA 245 2 0 0 0 4680
12 BOBBY HILLIS, Phoenix, AZ 239 2 0 0 0 4155
13 JOHNNY BORNEMAN, Ramona, CA 236 2 0 0 1 7805
14 DARYL HARR, St Albert,AB Canada 236 2 0 0 0 2950
15 TIM WOODS III, Chino Hills, CA 225 2 0 0 1 5655
16 JACK SELLERS, Sacramento, CA 224 2 0 0 0 5580
17 #BRETT THOMPSON, Jerome, ID 224 2 0 0 0 6105
18 #G.J. MENNEN, Austin, TX 224 2 0 0 0 3225
19 CARL HARR, Edmonton, AB Canada 224 2 0 0 0 3025
20 MIKE GRADY, Farmington, NM 209 2 0 0 0 3630
21 SAMMY POTASHNICK 170 1 0 1 1 12330
22 #GENE WOODS 170 0 0 0 0 0
23 C.T. HELLMUND 165 1 0 1 1 3675
24 KEN SCHRADER 138 1 0 0 1 3700
25 #SCOTT LYNCH 127 1 0 0 0 3355
26 CLINT VAHSHOLTZ 118 1 0 0 0 1225
27 RICK BOGART 112 1 0 0 0 1050
28 JEFF BARRISTER 97 1 0 0 0 2105
29 DUSTY FIELDEN 97 1 0 0 0 1000
30 JOHN BAKER 88 0 0 0 0 0
31 MIKE WALKER 85 0 0 0 0 0

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