|
 LAKEVILLE,
IN (June 10) -- Four of the five NASCAR Touring divisions that Hoosier
exclusively provides tires for were to have been in action over the
weekend. But Mother Nature had other ideas as has been the case much
of this season. In the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series rain again
disrupted race plans causing the cancellation of the Miller Lite 200,
at New York's Riverhead Raceway. The next race is this Saturday at
Pennsylvania's Lake Erie Speedway. In the NASCAR International Truck
and Engine Corporation Midwest Series, Eddie Hoffman won his second
race of the season after being involved in a late-race on-track
incident with Brian Hoppe at Colorado National Speedway. In the NASCAR
Featherlite Southwest Series, David Gilliland led every lap in
becoming the fifth different winner in as many races this season in
the series. Gilliland won the Taco King 150, at California's Irwindale
Speedway. While in the NASCAR Kodak Southeast Series, Charlie
Bradberry led all 100 laps of the Bob Harmon Memorial Sunbelt Rentals
125. Bradberry is the third race winner in the three races contested
to date in the series. The series boasts a 10-race schedule in
2003.
NASCAR MIDWEST SERIES
ERIE, CO (June 7) -- Thirty-three cars attempted to make the 26-car
field for the NASCAR Midwest Series' Auto Trader 150 at Colorado
National Speedway on Saturday. Eddie Hoffman was the Bud pole Award
winner with his lap of 16.092 seconds (83.893 mph) around the 3/8-mile
oval. Hoffman however, would start tenth after the qualifying
inversion.
When the green flag dropped, pole-sitter Pete Moore
took command of the race. Moore led until lap 37, when Brian Hoppe
took over at the point. Hoppe's lead lasted until lap 114, when Steve
Carlson took over. Carlson's lead would be brief however, with fast
qualifier Eddie Hoffman moving into the lead on lap 118. A late race
caution bunched the field with three laps to go. On the restart,
Brian Hoppe nudged Hoffman out of the lead in turn two only to have
Hoffman return the "favor" in turn three sending Hoppe into
a spin. The spin caused another caution to come out. Series rules
require a green flag finish so the race was extended to 157 laps with
Hoffman declared the winner. Hoffman collected $5,625 for the win.
Eleventh starting Steve Carlson finished in second
place followed by eighth starting Justin Diercks. Ron Breese, Jr.
finished in fourth place after starting 18th, while Jon Lemke rounded
out the top five. Rookie Jeremy Lepak was sixth after starting 22nd in
the field. Brian Hoppe was scored in 13th after his late-race spin.
The race featured five cautions for a total of 44 laps.
Ron Breese, Jr. (665) continues to hold a narrow seven
point lead over Steve Carlson (658) in the series standings. Eddie
Hoffman is in third with 621 points followed by Eric Fransen (617) and
Justin Diercks (592).
The next race on the series schedule is on Saturday,
June 21, at Minnesota's Elko Speedway.
NASCAR SOUTHWEST SERIES
IRWINDALE, CA (June 7) -- Thirty-nine cars attempted to make the
30-car field for the Taco King 150 at Irwindale Speedway Saturday. JR
Patton won the Bud Pole Award for being the fastest qualifier after
his lap of 18.207 seconds (98.863 mph) around the 1/2-mile oval. But
it was David Gilliland who immediately took the race lead from his
outside pole position. Gilliland led every lap of the race in
capturing his second career NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series race. Gilliland
pocketed $4,000 for the win.
Following Gilliland to the finish line was third
starting Craig Raudman who collected $2,800. JR Patton finished in
third place earning $2,125, while Danny Burson and Auggie Vidovich Jr.
rounded out the top five. Amazingly, it was the fifth different winner
in as many events to start the 2003 season.
Auggie Vidovich Jr. continues to lead the Southwest
Series standings with 800 points followed by Jim Pettit II with 709
points. Eric Holmes, Eddy McKean and Dan Holtz round out the top five.
The next race on the Featherlite Southwest Series
14-race schedule is June 21, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.
NASCAR SOUTHEAST SERIES
LEBANON, TN (June 7) -- In qualifying, 37 cars took turns circling the
1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway. Charlie Bradberry set a new track
record in qualifying with a lap of 32.208 seconds (148.994 mph) to
earn the pole position for the 100-lap Kodak Southeast Series Bob
Harmon Memorial Sunbelt Rentals 125. The race was to have been
contested on Friday, but rain forced it to be rescheduled to Saturday.
The 20-year-old Bradberry led all 100 laps en route to
the win--his first in the series. Bradberry also earned a hefty
$10,925 check for the win. Following him to the finish line was
seventh starting Eddie Mercer who collected a tidy $7,000.
Thirty-third starting Scott Carlson rounded out the top three earning
$5,750, while Gary Helton and Ray Skillman rounded out the list of top
five finishers.
Amazingly, Bradberry completed the race without ever
pitting for tires or for fuel. The race had just one caution for seven
laps.
Jeff Fultz, who finished 19th, currently leads the
series point standings with 436 points. Fultz is followed by Charlie
Bradberry and John Wilkinson III--each with 419 points. Dusty Williams
(409) and Steven Howard (401) round out the top five in the
standings.
The next race in the Kodak Southeast Series is this
Friday, June 13, at Kentucky Speedway.
Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. is proud to have been
selected by NASCAR to be the exclusive tire provider in the series'
covered in this report.
|
