SERIES NOTES HEADING TO ALTAMONT

Source: NASCAR Winston West Series Public Relations
Date: 06/11/1998

Woodside has the best average finish at this point among the regulars in the series. He has finished an average of 4.8 in the six races, including three fourth-place finishes.

Woodside has also completed the most laps of competition. He turned 823 of the 824 laps run so far, which is 99.9 percent. Tony Toste is second in that category, completing 803 laps.

Kevin Harvick has led the most laps of competition, meanwhile. He has had the Spears Motorsports Chevrolet out front for 287 laps and is the only driver to lead in all six races.

There have been five different winners in the six races. With his victory at Bakersfield, Butch Gilliland became the only driver with more than one win. Others to reach victory lane this year include Harvick, Woodside, Ken Schrader and Rich Woodland Jr.

Harvick has dominated qualifying so far this season in the NASCAR Winston West Series. He has won the Bud Pole Award four times. Schrader and Cain have each won it once.

Freshman drivers continue to shuffle positions in the chase for the Sears Point Raceway Rookie-of-the-Year Program. Five different drivers have led the standings for that award so far. Richards currently tops the list. Other rookies who have led the list so far include Cain, Toste, Kelly Tanner and Craig Raudman.

Turning to Altamont: This is the seventh of 14 races on the NASCAR Winston West Series schedule, completing the first half of the 1998 season. This is the only visit the series will make to Altamont Raceway Park this season.

Since the series returned to Altamont in 1995, there has been one 200-lap NWWS event at the 1/2-mile facility each year. Five drivers competed in all three of those events -- Scott Gaylord, Wayne Jacks, Bill McAnally, Dan Obrist and Jack Sellers. Jacks had top-five finishes in 1996 and 1997, while Obrist had top-five finishes in 1995 and 1997.

With two victories each -- Ray Elder, Jim Insolo and Jack McCoy are tied for the most series wins at Altamont. Elder won in 1973 and 1974. Insolo also won in 1973 and 1974. McCoy's two victories came in 1966 and 1968.

There have been three different winners in the three 200-lap events since 1995. They were Doug George in 1995, Lance Hooper in 1996 and Gilliland in 1997.

While Gilliland won last year's 200-lap race, Woodside was victorious in the 250-lap event. It was the only time in recent years that Altamont hosted two NWWS races in one season.

There have been three different Bud Pole Award winners in this event in the past three years, also. Those who clicked off times as fast qualifiers were George in 1995, Hooper in 1996 and Woodside in 1997.

The Golden West Motorsports team is three-for-three in qualifying at Altamont, however. Hooper drove the Ray Claridge Pontiac in 1996, while Woodside was behind the wheel for last year's event and in the 250-lap race later in the year.

McCoy is tied with Woodside for the most number of Bud Pole Awards at Altamont. McCoy's two came in 1973 and 1974 while both of Woodside's were last season.

Among active drivers, three drivers have started the most NWWS races at Altamont. Scott Gaylord, Bill McAnally and Jack Sellers have each taken the green flag there four times.

Dodge has the most manufacturer wins, with four overall. Pontiac has won two of the last three, however.

Stats of the Week: The average starting position of NWWS winners at Altamont is 3.0. Of the eight NWWS races at Altamont in the modern era of the series (since 1971), three were won from the pole position and three were won from the third starting spot on the grid. No winners have come from outside of the top 10 starting positions.

This Date in the NASCAR Winston West Series: June 13, 1982 -- Tim Richmond won at Riverside International Raceway over Terry Labonte and Geoff Bodine. Finishing sixth was NWWS competitor Roy Smith.

June 14, 1958 -- Parnelli Jones won a 100-lap race at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, Calif. Lloyd Dane took second, followed by Eddie Gray.

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