WHAT: YOUNG AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 250
NASCAR Winston West Series Race #8 of 10
WHERE: Rocky Mountain Raceways, West Valley City, Utah
.375-mile Paved Speedway
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 31, 2002 - 8:30 p.m. MT
DISTANCE: 250 Laps, 93.75 Miles
POSTED AWARDS: $139,959
FIELD: 22 cars possible. Fastest 17 cars through time trials. Two
provisional starting positions based on 2002 NASCAR Winston West
Series Championship driver point standings, two additional provisional
starting positions based on 2002 NASCAR Winston West Series
Championship owner point standings, one provisional starting position
to NASCAR Winston West Series Champion.
SANCTION: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.
(NASCAR)
PROMOTER: Young Family Racing Enterprises, Inc.
CONTACTS: Callie Birdsall, Rocky Mountain Raceways, 801/252-9557
Kevin W. Green, NASCAR, 707/447-2743
TV: NASCAR TV on SPEED Channel (Tape Delay)
Air Date & Time: Oct. 7, 8 p.m. ET
SCHEDULE: Saturday, Aug. 31
9:00 a.m. Series Haulers Enter
9:00 a.m. Registration & Inspection
12:00 p.m. Mandatory Rookie Drivers’ Meeting
1:00 p.m. Practice to 1:45 p.m.
2:15 p.m. Practice to 3:00 p.m.
3:15 p.m. Practice to 3:45 p.m.
4:30 p.m. Mandatory Drivers’ Meeting
5:30 p.m. Time Trials, All Positions (2 laps)
THE RACE: Rocky Mountain Raceways is a .375-mile paved oval with five
degrees banking in the straights and progressive banking of seven to
11 degrees in the corners. The track, located just west of Salt Lake
City, has hosted three NASCAR Winston West Series races.
RECORDS: Driver Date Speed Time
Qualifying: Sean Woodside Sept. 6, 1999 88.699 mph 15.220 seconds
Race: Bobby Dotter Sept. 4, 2000 66.673 mph 1 hr 24 min 22 sec
2001 REVIEW: For the second consecutive year, the Bud Pole winner at
Rocky Mountain Raceways failed to lead the first lap. Eric Norris
charged past Brett Thompson from the outside of the front row to lead
the first couple of circuits, before Thompson battled back briefly.
Steve Portenga slipped out front for a few laps, only to have Brendan
Gaughan move by to set the early pace. Gaughan gave up the point as he
and most other front-runners made a round of pit stops during the
fifth of 11 cautions in the event. Although he worked his way back to
the front, Gaughan was later eliminated from contention after contact
with another car left him spinning into the turn three wall. Portenga
and Sammy Potashnick each led for a short time, with Mark Reed
eventually taking the top spot. Contact with another car on a restart
eliminated Reed from contention, however. Portenga gained command,
only to encounter a mishap of his own on lap 212. Potashnick, who
moved out front on lap 207, held off all challenges to capture his
first career victory.
2000 TOP 10 IN EVENT: 2001 STATS:
1. Sammy Potashnick Bud Pole: Brett Thompson
2. Kevin Richards Time of Race: 1 hour, 31 minutes, 23 seconds
3. Steve Portenga Average Speed: 61.554 mph
4. Brett Thompson Margin of Victory: .365 seconds
5. Bill Sedgwick Caution Flags: Eleven for 67
6. Johnny Borneman Lap Leaders: Brett Thompson-grid, Eric Norris 1-2,
7. Scott Gaylord Thompson 3-9, Steve Portenga 10-14, Brendan
8. Hershel McGriff Gaughan 15-54, Mark Reed 55, Gaughan 56-99,
9. Austin Cameron Portenga 100-118, Sammy Potashnick 119-130,
10. Bobby Hillis Reed 131-193, Portenga 194-206, Potashnick 207-250.
Eleven lead changes among six drivers.
PAST RESULTS OF THIS EVENT
Winner Bud Pole
2001 Sammy Potashnick Brett Thompson
2000 Bobby Dotter Brendan Gaughan
1999 Butch Gilliland Sean Woodside
PARTICIPATING AWARDS SPONSORS:
Winston, Anheuser-Busch, Auto Meter Products, Clevite Engine Parts,
Competition Cams, Edelbrock Intake Manifolds, Featherlite Trailers,
Ford Motor Company, Gatorade, Goodyear Belts & Hoses, Holley
Carburetors, Hoosier Tires, JE Pistons, Jesel Rocker Arms, MAC Tools,
Moog Chassis Parts, MSD Ignitions, Raybestos Brakes, Stage 8 Locking
Fasteners, Wix Air Filters, 3M Automotive, 76 Race Gasoline.
YOUNG AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 250 SUMMARY:
· The Young Automotive Group 250 is the eighth of 10 events on the
NASCAR Winston West Series schedule for 2002. It is the only visit by
the series this year to Rocky Mountain Raceways.
· The three series races at Rocky Mountain Raceways (1999, 2000 and
2001) produced three different race winners – Bobby Dotter, Butch
Gilliland and Sammy Potashnick – and three different Bud Pole winners
– Brendan Gaughan, Brett Thompson and Sean Woodside.
· Ten drivers have competed in all three series races at the .375-mile
paved oval.
· Only three drivers finished in the top 10 in all three series races
at RMR – Potashnick, Scott Gaylord and Bill Sedgwick.
· Dotter, who won the 2000 event in dominating fashion, has led the
most laps of series competition at the Utah track. He led 191
circuits.
· With $30,382 in winnings, Potashnick leads in terms of money won in
series competition at Rocky Mountain Raceways.
STATS OF THE WEEK:
· The winner of this event has started from the 10th spot on the grid
in two of the three races. The other started from the second position.
Series Race Winners in 2002: Series Bud Pole Winners in 2002:
1. Austin Cameron 3 1. Austin Cameron 4
2. Eric Norris 2 2. Eric Norris 2
3. Brandon Ash 1 3. Brandon Ash 1
4. Johnny Borneman 1
Series money winnings for 2002: Stage 8 Locking Fasteners
1. Eric Norris $82,713 Rookie-of-the-Year Standings:
2. Austin Cameron 72,671 1. Mike David 64
3. Johnny Borneman 46,898 2. Greg Pursley 61
4. Kevin Richards 44,653 3. Brett Thompson 58
5. Brandon Ash 43,033 4. Scott Lynch 25
6. Mike Duncan 39,513 5. G.J. Mennen Jr. 21
7. Brett Thompson 32,606
8. Mike David 31,935 Series Manufacturers’ Championship
9. Greg Pursley 30,913 Points Wins
10. Scott Gaylord 29,374 1. Ford 52 4
2. Chevrolet 51 3
3. Pontiac 26 0
4. Dodge 10 0
Top 10 Lap Leaders: Top 10 Laps Completed (1165):
1. Austin Cameron 353 1. Kevin Richards 1,164
2. Johnny Borneman 203 2. Eric Norris 1,164
3. Kevin Richards 147 3. Mike Duncan 1,153
4. Eric Norris 125 4. Brandon Ash 1,146
5. Greg Pursley 95 5. Mike David 1,104
6. Scott Gaylord 67 6. Greg Pursley 1,096
7. Mike David 50 7. Austin Cameron 1,087
8. Brandon Ash 40 8. Brett Thompson 1,052
9. Sean Woodside 29 9. Scott Gaylord 979
10. Mike Duncan 27 10. Johnny Borneman 956
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
2002 2001 (After seven races)
Driver
Points Wins Driver Points Wins
1. Eric Norris 1,169 2 1. Mark Reed 1,105 1
2. Austin Cameron 1,094 3 2. Brendan Gaughan 1,062 2
3. Kevin Richards 1,091 0 3. Austin Cameron 1,036 0
4. Mike Duncan 1,045 0 4. Steve Portenga 995 1
5. Mike David 1,024 0 5. Scott Gaylord 977 0
6. Johnny Borneman 1,019 1 6. Eric Norris 975 0
7. Greg Pursley 996 0 7. Johnny Borneman 950 1
8. Brandon Ash 973 1 8. Sean Woodside 925 0
9. Scott Gaylord 942 0 9. Kevin Richards 916 0
10. Brett Thompson 938 0 10. Brandon Ash 900 0