RAUDMAN RETURNS TO SOUTHWEST SERIES ACTION AT PIR

Source: Craig Raudman Public Relations
Date: 11/08/2006

REDDING, California -- Craig Raudman of Redding, Calif. will make his return to the driver’s seat this Thursday at Phoenix International Raceway in the running of the Konica Minolta “125” for the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series.

Raudman, the 2001 Southwest Series champion, has been only competed on a part-time basis the past five years and has spent this season acting as crew chief and mentor for Brian Ickler on the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series.

“I am really looking forward to returning to Phoenix,” Raudman said. “I have wanted to drive all season but we have been very busy with Brian (Ickler) and have not been able to get the car done.”

Raudman will reunite with long-time crew chief Tracy Norman who will take a break from his regular duties at MB2 Motorsports and turn the wrenches for Raudman one last time. Raudman’s championship car owner Dave Reed will also be back with the team this week as the team’s spotter.

Raudman will be driving a Ted Davidson owned Chevrolet sponsored by Ted Davidson Equipment and Approved Memory. The car will have a retro paint scheme that fans will recall from Raudman’s glory days on the Southwest Series.

Raudman has made 18 starts at Phoenix with his best finish of second coming at PIR in 2004. Raudman has 15 career Southwest Series wins for fifth all-time and is the career Bud Pole Award winner with 29 career fast times. Raudman holds the series mark of five fast times in a row (2001) and had eight Bud Pole Awards in the 2001 season.

Raudman has started 157 Southwest Series races with 57 career top five and 88 career top ten finishes. Perhaps Raudman’s biggest race win came at the LA Street Race in 2000 where he bested a field of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup regulars and the best of the Southwest Series to claim the winner’s purse of more than $18,275.

With a long and storied racing past that fills his shelves with memories it is the present that occupies Raudman’s mind. “I just really want to have a Phoenix win under my belt,” Raudman said. “Phoenix is a special place and a place that all of us on the west coast think about.”

Raudman and his team plan to return to racing full-time next season pending sponsorship and scheduling. For more information please log on to www.craigraudman.com for all of the latest news and information regarding Craig Raudman.

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