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 KAUKAUNA,
WI (August 6) -- Brian Hoppe won the Oneida Bingo & Casino 250 at
Wisconsin International Raceway in NASCAR RE/MAX Challenge Series
action on Tuesday. The win was the Madison, Wisconsin driver's third
of the season and ties him with Steve Carlson who also has recorded
three victories in 2002. Hoppe led 182 of the 250 race laps en route
to the win which was worth $8,050 to the young hot-shoe. The win also
narrows the gap between Hoppe and Carlson to 60 markers in the series
point standings. The race was a microcosm of the season and years
past. Steve Carlson has won the series championship in three of the
past four years with Hoppe taking the title in 1999. Last year, Hoppe
finished runner-up to Carlson in the standings. So, it is not
surprising that the two are one-two in the standings once again and
that they finished one-two in the Oneida Bingo & Casino 250 on the
WIR 1/2-mile.
The 26-car field took the green flag Tuesday evening
with Brian Hoppe starting on the pole and taking the early race lead.
Hoppe led until lap 28, when Steve Carlson moved into the lead after
starting seventh. Carlson maintained leader status until lap 87, when
Josh Vadnais took over the lead. But Hoppe charged back into the lead
on lap 96, and would not relinquish the lead a second time. Hoppe took
the win by 3.094 seconds over runner-up Steve Carlson.
With the win, Hoppe collected $8,050, while Carlson
earned $4,075 for his second place finish. Rounding out the top three
was Terry Baldry after starting 12th. Baldry netted $2,575 for the
final podium spot.
A total of six drivers finished the 250-lap event on
the lead lap. Paul Menard, Josh Vednais and Jeremy Lepak finished
fourth through sixth, respectively.
The race had just four cautions for a total of 30
laps.
Steve Carlson remains atop the RE/MAX Series standings
with 1503 points, followed by Brian Hoppe with 1433 points. Eddie
Hoffman (1369), Jon Lemke (1314), and Paul Menard (1236) round out the
top five in the standings.
The NASCAR RE/MAX Challenge Series resumes action on
August 24th, at Wisconsin's Madison International Speedway.
Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. is proud to be the exclusive
tire provider for the NASCAR RE/MAX Challenge Series for the 2002
racing season.
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