STRONG PERFORMANCE NETS NORRIS

VICTORY AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 29, 2002) – A fuel miscalculation took Eric Norris out of contention for a NASCAR Winston West Series victory a year ago at California Speedway. The only calculating to be done when he returned to the two-mile superspeedway this season was to count his winnings.

A dominant performance led Norris to victory in the Pontiac WideTrack Grand Prix 200 and a payday of $24,549. The win on April 27 was his second in the series and his first on a superspeedway.

"We had about as good a race car as possible," Norris said. "The day was smooth. We were cruising all day long. To go out and win this race is a huge deal."

Norris started from the pole position in his JaniKing/Ultra Wheels Ford, after notching his second Bud Pole Award in three races with a lap of 181.333 mph. The 36-year-old Dana Point, Calif., competitor charged into the early lead and went on to stay out front for 83 of the 91 laps. Although he lost the top spot twice during the event, Norris battled back both times and took the lead for good on lap 74. Ironically, it was on that lap in last year’s event that Norris dropped out of contention when he had to give up the lead to make a green-flag pit stop for fuel.

A caution late in this race set the stage for a two-lap dash to the finish in the shortened event that ran 91 laps. Norris was not about to let the win get away, however, and pulled away to a margin of victory of 1.207 seconds, with an average speed of 135.708 mph.

Kevin Richards of Spokane, Wash., was second in the Monaco Enterprises Chevrolet – followed by Austin Cameron of El Cajon, Calif., in the NAPA/Martin Senour Chevrolet. Fourth-place went to Mike Duncan of Lamont, Calif., in the Surface Pumps Chevrolet; while David Gilliland of Chino, Calif., notched a career-best fifth-place finish in the Spirit of Fontana/Rose Café Chevrolet. Rounding out the top 10 were series rookie Brett Thompson, Tim Woods III, Scott Lynch, Scott Gaylord and Johnny Borneman.

The race featured four lead changes among three drivers – Norris, Lynch and Richards. The pace of the event was slowed by just three cautions for 16 laps.

The Pontiac WideTrack Grand Prix 200 is scheduled to be televised to a national audience on NASCAR TV on SPEED Channel at 8 p.m. ET on April 29.

Cameron was able to retain his lead in the championship standings, with 530 points. Norris moved to second with 489, followed by Richards with 476. Greg Pursley of Newhall, Calif., is fourth with 442; followed by Duncan with 405. Mike David is sixth at 393 – followed by Gaylord at 384, Thompson at 374, Tim Woods III at 371 and Borneman at 370.

A tight battle continues, meanwhile, for the Stage 8 Locking Fasteners Rookie-of-the-Year Award. Pursley leads the standings with 27 points over David and Thompson, each with 25. G.J. Mennen Jr. is third with 20, followed by Lynch with 17.

The next event on the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule is the kansasspeedway.com 150 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., on June 1.

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