Copper World Classic: Raudman Joins in the Fun at Phoenix
30 January 2000
Irvine, California (January 30, 2000) - Craig Raudman, driver of the #2 Advantage Memory/Victory Circle/Fast Time Signs Chevrolet Monte Carlo in NASCAR's Winston West and Featherlite Southwest Series, joins in on what may become a record-breaking car count for the 23rd Annual Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway. With the February 6th Southwest Series season opener still more than a week away, a record number of teams have already indicated that they will compete in the annual 50-lap event. Raudman hopes that his past performance at the one-mile desert oval will set him apart from the throng of drivers expected to attempt to qualify for the event. Although he has yet to win at PIR, he has led many laps and, during the 1998 Copper World weekend, he edged out Winston Cup regular Kenny Schrader to take the Bud Pole Award with a qualifying run of 27.546 seconds. "Our first and primary goal will be to qualify for a good starting position," said Raudman. "The competition is going to be fierce, just to get into the race. We've built a great new car, and we should be in good shape for the race itself." Crew chief Tracy Norman and several other team regulars are looking forward to joining Raudman and team owner Dave Reed for the opening race of the Southwest Series season. Reed expects to enter approximately seven Southwest Series and Winston West events throughout the 2000 season. He commented, "We're still working on putting together a sponsorship package that will allow us to get back into a full schedule. In the meantime, our plan is to concentrate our resources on a few selected events to ensure that we'll run competitively." Reed is seeking a primary sponsor for the team both for a full-season effort and on a race-by-race basis. He is hoping to secure a one-race sponsorship for the car for the Phoenix weekend. More information on the team is available on the official Web site for Dave Reed Racing at http://www.davereedracing.com. Dave Reed Racing operates NASCAR Winston West and Featherlite Southwest Series teams featuring Craig Raudman as driver. Raudman's 1999 season results included one win, three top five finishes and one Bud Pole award. He finished the 1998 season in seventh place out of fifteen drivers competing for the Sears Point Raceway Winston West Rookie-of-the-Year Award and thirteenth in the points standings. Raudman finished in the top five in final points standings in four of his past five full NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series seasons.