ROOKIE PROGRAM A TALENTED ONE

Source: NASCAR Winston West Series Public Relations
Date: 02/02/1998

Scotts Valley, Calif, (February 2, 1998) -- The chase for the rookie title in the NASCAR Winston West Series is shaping up as a tough battle for 1998, with 14 drivers already registered for the Sears Point Raceway Rookie-of-the-Year Program.

The large contingent of freshman drivers represent many new teams that have joined with veteran teams in chasing the NASCAR Winston West Series point fund of approximately $500,000. That record amount has sparked the unprecedented growth in the series for 1998, a year in which NASCAR's 50th Anniversary is being commemorated across the country.

Drivers in the NASCAR Winston West Series rookie program, which is sponsored by Sears Point Raceway, compete for a cash award at each of the series' 14 events as well as awards to the top three overall rookies at the end of the season.

Eleven rookies qualified for and competed in the 26-car field in the NASCAR Winston West season-opener at Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park on Jan. 11. Jerry Cain was the top-finishing rookie and subsequently leads the rookie standings with 10 points. He is followed by Kelly Tanner 9, Kevin Richards 8, Craig Raudman 7, Tony Toste 6, Craig Rayburn 5, Bo Lemler 4, Brandon Ash 3, Sammy Potashnick 2, Eric Norris 1 and Don Abreu 1. Other rookies registered for the program include Ron Burns, Bruce Bechtel and Darrel Krentz.

Tanner, 35, is a two-time NASCAR REB-CO Northwest Tour champion from Woodinville, Wash. He made his debut in the NASCAR Winston West Series at Tucson, where he finished sixth in the Yoshida's Pontiac, after qualifying 18th.

Jerry Cain of Canyon Country, Calif., won the Bud Pole Award at Tucson Raceway Park and cruised to a fifth-place finish in his Merchants Bankcard Chevrolet. Cain, 40, finished seventh at Mesa Marin Raceway in October in his only previous series race.

Another talented competitor among this year's crop of rookie drivers is 35-year old Kevin Richards of Spokane, Wash. The drivers of the Monaco Enterprises Chevrolet started seventh and finished eighth at Tucson.

In the five NWWS races he competed in last season, Richards' top finish was a fifth at Pikes Peak International Raceway at Colorado Springs, Colo., in July.

Craig Raudman also came away from Tucson with a top-10 finish. The Redding, Calif., competitor finished ninth in the Dave Reed-owned Advantage Memory Chevrolet after starting second. Raudman, 36, is a veteran of the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour. He finished as high as fourth in the four NWWS races he competed in during the past two seasons.

Another recent regular competitor in the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour who is competing for the NWWS rookie title this season is Tony Toste. The 29-year old driver from Pismo Beach, Calif., finished 15th in the Toste Motorsports Chevrolet at Tucson, his first NWWS event.

Craig Rayburn of Simi Valley, Calif., finished 16th in the Blachley Racing Chevrolet at Tucson. Rayburn, 34, competed in three NASCAR Winston West Series races last season, finishing as high as third at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in June.

Finishing 17th at Tucson Raceway Park was Bo Lemler in the Legacy Motorsports Pontiac. Lemler, 54, of Chula Vista, Calif., is a veteran stock car driver who previously competed at tracks such as Cajon Speedway and Ascot Park, both in Southern California.

Another rookie challenger is Brandon Ash, who competed in four NWWS races in 1996 and five in 1997. The 20-year old from Umpqua, Ore., finished 20th at Tucson in the Ash Motorsports Ford.

Sammy Potashnick, who won the Busch Pole Award at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last June in his first series race, competed in three NWWS races last season. The 23-year old Sikeston, Mo., competitor drives the PTI/Hart Transportation Chevrolet.

Eric Norris of Dallas, Texas, made his first appearance in the NASCAR Winston West Series two years ago at Tucson Raceway Park, where he finished 14th. The 32-year old driver, who has competed in various forms of motorsports since he began racing in 1981, returned to the series this season and will compete for the rookie title.

Making his debut in the NASCAR Winston West Series this season is Don Abreu. The 37-year old resident of Phoenix, Ariz., is a veteran NASCAR Winston Racing Series late model stock car competitor who has also raced in divisions such as Formula Ford, Formula Mazda, Formula Atlantic, Sports 2000 and Camel GTP.

Also challenger for the NWWS rookie title is 42-year Darrel Krentz of Sparks, Nev. Krentz, who drives the RC Cola Ford, is a well-known stock car competitor in Northern California and Nevada who raced in three NWWS events prior to this season.

Another 42-year old competitor challenging for the rookie title in the series is Bruce Bechtel of Corona, Calif., in the Bechtel Motorsports Chevrolet. Prior to focusing on the NWWS this year, Bechtel competed in the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour and the NASCAR Winston Racing Series at Cajon Speedway in El Cajon, Calif.

Also competing for the rookie title is a driver who has three top-10 finishes in the six NWWS races in which he was competed. Rob Burns of Phoenix, Ariz., raced four events in the series in 1996 and two in 1997.

The best finish for the 53-year old driver was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1996, when he finished fifth.

The next event on the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Feb. 25. It is the second of 14 races slated this season.

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