RACE REPORT 11.10.2001

“The NASCAR WINSTON WEST JaniKing 250 presented by NAPA”

Brendan Gaughan put a giant exclamation mark on his 2001 season on Saturday night with a win in the JaniKing 250 at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway - clinching his second consecutive NASCAR Winston West Series championship and sweeping all three series races this year at the Southern California track.

Gaughan, who entered the event with just a 40-point lead in the championship standings, clinched the championship by 60 points over series rookie Mark Reed, who finished the race in fourth.

Brandon Ash finished .825 of a second behind the leader, with Scott Lynch taking third. Reed was fourth, followed by Steve Portenga in fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Austin Cameron, Tim Woods III, Bobby Dotter, Eric Norris and Brett Thompson.

Gaughan became the first driver in nearly a decade to win back-to-back titles in the series.

JaniKing 250 Presented by NAPA
NASCAR Winston West Series
Irwindale, Calif. Nov. 10, 2001

Final leaders of Saturday's $108,628 NASCAR Winston West Series stock car race with driver's starting position in parenthesis, hometown, make and model of car, laps completed, winner's average speed, reason out if any and prize money.

1. (4) Brendan Gaughan, Las Vegas, Nev., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, 75.063 mph, $14,700
2. (14) Brandon Ash, Umpqua, Ore., Ford Taurus, 250, $9,275
3. (8) Scott Lynch, Burley, Idaho, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $6,295
4. (9) Mark Reed, Bakersfield, Calif., Pontiac Grand Prix, 250, $5,125
5. (20) Steve Portenga, Sparks, Nev., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $4,800
6. (7) Austin Cameron, El Cajon, Calif., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $3,125
7. (2) Tim Woods III, Chino Hills, Calif., Ford Taurus, 250, $2,275
8. (3) Bobby Dotter, Chicago, Il, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $1,800
9. (13) Eric Norris, Dana Point, Calif., Ford Taurus, 250, $2,825
10. (17) Brett Thompson, Jerome, Idaho, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $2,380
11. (5) Bill Sedgwick, Acton, Calif., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $2,625
12. (19) Hershel McGriff, Portland, Ore., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $1,775
13. (16) Sammy Potashnick, Sikeston, Mo., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $1,675
14. (15) Mike Duncan, Lamont, Calif., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 250, $1,700
15. (6) Joe Bean, San Diego, Calif., Ford Taurus, 249, $1,650
16. (1) Sean Woodside, Saugus, Calif., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 249, $2,700
17. (12) Brandon Miller, Bakersfield, Calif., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 248, $1,050
18. (22) Neville Lance, Perth, Australia, Ford Taurus, 247, $1,025
19. (21) Todd Burns, Riverside, Calif., Pontiac Grand Prix, 247, $1,000
20. (24) DavyLee Liniger, Englewood,Colo., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 246, $975
21. (23) Mike Grady, Farmington, N.M., Pontiac Grand Prix, 245, $1,325
22. (26) Kazuki Saito, Tokyo, Japan, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 244, $925
23. (25) Jack Sellers, Sacramento, Calif., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 156, Axle, $2,050
24. (18) Scott Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 155, $2,050
25. (10) Johnny Borneman, Ramona, Calif., Ford Taurus, 127, Engine, $1,300
26. (11) Kevin Richards, Spokane, Wash., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 14, Accident, $2,050

Did not qualify: (2) Jeff Barrister, Doug Bland
Time of race: 1 hour 39 minutes 55 seconds
Margin of victory: .825 seconds
Caution flags: Seven for 36 (14-21, 23-25, 51-54, 113-118, 152-156, 194-198, 230-234)
Lap leaders: Sean Woodside-grid, Bobby Dotter 1-2, Bill Sedgwick 3-7, Mark Reed 8-29, Brandon Ash 30, Brendan Gaughan 31-86, Steve Portenga 87-93, Ash 94-113, Gaughan 114, Tim Woods III 115-128, Ash 129-136, Gaughan 137-250.
Eleven lead changes among seven drivers.
NASCAR Winston West Series Championship Standings: 1. Brendan Gaughan 2,257, 2. Mark Reed 2,197, 3. Austin Cameron 2,048, 4. Steve Portenga 1,983, 5. Eric Norris 1,945, 6. Sean Woodside 1,914, 7. Johnny Borneman 1,873, 8. Scott Gaylord 1,861, 9. Brandon Ash 1,852, 10. Bill Sedgwick 1,806.

AMERICAN RACE TRUCKS RACE, IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY, NOV. 10
By Tim Kennedy

Nick Lynch, the Mountain States Region Champion from Burley, ID, won the third annual American Race Trucks 65-lap "National Shootout" Saturday before 5,452 at Irwindale Speedway. He also won the second annual ART National in his Mr. Gas-sponsored Chevy Silverado at Irwindale last November.

Lynch earned $1,500 from a $10,000+ ART purse that attracted 37 trucks
from nine states and 2001 champions from six ART Regions. The race, which
took 40:53.788 to complete, was taped for airing by Fox Sports Net at a date
to be determined later.

The 19-year old winner started on the pole and led laps 10 through the
lap 65 conclusion. He won by 0.577 seconds-about ten yards. Earlier, the
young Idaho-born and based driver from the Lynch racing family set the
fastest qualifying time in the field. His time of 20.328 (88 MPH) broke the
old one lap track record of 20.373, which he set on September 1 this year.

Deyon Young, the 2001 ART Southwest Region Champion from La Verne, CA,
started 26th, arrived in second place on lap 59 and finished second in his
Chevy Silverado. He collected $1,000 for his impressive run. Young's
transmission broke after he had completed only one lap during the group qualifying sessions in which five trucks at a time qualify and all laps are timed
electronically. Young and his crew removed and replaced the broken
transmission immediately when qualifying concluded at five p.m.

Dave Lyon, from nearby West Covina, started second in his patriotic red,
white and blue Chevy Silverado and led the first nine laps. He dropped as
low as fifth but finished third and earned $800. He finished 1.467 seconds
behind Lynch. Josh Hulsebosch, in a Ford F-150, and past Southwest Region
Champion Val Cummings, in a Chevy Silverado, completed the top five.

Twenty-nine of the 37 starters finished and 21 drivers ran all 65 circuits.
In addition to the winner and runner-up, other 2001 ART Regional
Champions in the race and their finishing positions were as follows: 18-year
old Colt James (Lone Star Region)-sixth; Shawn Parker (Northeast)-ninth; Lane
Moore (Heartland)-29th, and Randy Bergdoll (Great Lakes)-30th. The 37 ART
drivers in competition came from Alaska, California, Idaho, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.

The feature race was scheduled for 75 laps. However, officials cut the
race distance by ten laps after the fifth of six caution periods. Most of
the yellow flags were for debris, minor spinouts or to check for oil on the
track after smoking trucks left the track.

A lap two crash in the first turn sidelined Randy Nelson and cost Jim Satterfield two laps and a front bumper. Winner Lynch said, “This is the biggest race of the year. Guys came here from all over the country. This is the second National win in a row I’ve taken here. We had a really good truck tonight. I mean it was loose, but loose is fast. Last time I was here (September 1) when I got the lead I kind of took it easy and I had some problems. So this time when I got the lead I decided to just run every lap like it was qualifying. The truck held, the tires held, it was just awesome.” He thanked Mr. Gas and other sponsors, his family and crew. Later, his 21-year old brother Scott finished third in the NASCAR Winston West 250-lap race to continue the family success story at a track both drivers love.

Runner-up Young said, "Nick had a better set-up on the restarts. He just
pulled away on every restart. I knew we'd come up from starting 26th toward
the front, but I didn't really think I'd make it to second. The cautions
really saved my bacon because they kept bunching the field. If it had gone
green all the time I don't think I could have made second. We blew a tranny
in qualifying and I didn't have first gear. We just didn't get the linkage
hooked up right, so we didn't have first and that hurt us on the restarts.
But it was a good race."

Third place finisher Lyon said, "Man, I'm glad they cut it to 65. We started
getting a little bit of a vibration and a push on the restarts, but we held
it together. I had to take it to the wall on that very last lap and all the
way to start/finish. I was trying to save my tires there for awhile, but
then I was getting passed, I mean they were coming inside of me, and then I
had to drop down a little to protect my position. We tried to save the tires
but they went away. It was a good year."

Fast Time: Nick Lynch, 20.328 – New Track Record (old Track Record: 20.373 by Lynch on 9-1-01).

Main: Lynch, Deyon Young, Dave Lyon, Josh Hulsebosch, Val Cummings, Colt
James, John Wong, Jeff Williams, Shawn Parker, Terry Young, Michael Thomas,
Dennis Bennett, Kenny Vanderham, Jon Garrett, Tony Forfa, Robbie Brand, Steve
Dyer, Chris Johnson, Michael May, Dale Cromwell, D. Bruce Stark, Corey
Taylor, Chett Gehrke, Rick Harbaugh, Stewart Spring, Jim Satterfield, Jason
Hatfield, Dan Pehrson, Lane Moore, Randy Bergdoll, Mark Schilling, Bret
Carlson, Aaron Staudinger, Steve Reeves, Kirk Knostman, Ryan Givens, Randy Nelson.

PHOTO: WINSTONE WEST TOP THREE GAUGHAN (CENTER), CRAFTON (LEFT), LYNCH (RIGHT)

THANKS!