You Don't Havbe To Be A Redneck To Drive For NASCAR - Drivers From Lots Of Places - State By State Breakdown
NASCAR Drivers From Lots Of Places This weekend the NASCAR Winston Cup Series visits the road course of Sears Point International Raceway in Sonoma, Cal - not exactly a traditional venue for the sport whose proud roots started on dirt tracks throughout the South. But NASCAR is changing and so are the places where teams find drivers. More than a third of the drivers that comprise the top 43 spots in the driver standings come from three states: Indiana, California and Missouri. Although most drivers live near Charlotte, N.C. a typical weekend’s entry list includes the drivers’ official hometowns that represent about 20 states. For drivers like #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich. NASCAR’s growing diversity is an indication of the sport’s success. Johnny Benson On NASCAR Racing Encompassing Entire Country: “There were days when I guess you could say me and other guys from outside the South were a minority, but if you walk through the garage anymore you can hear all kinds of accents. It’s not just that. We get stopped for autographs in places you might never think we’d be popular. I’ve signed autographs in the Waldorf Astoria in New York, in Japan, and we get fan mail from Europe all the time. NASCAR Racing is a national if not international sport and I hope it keeps growing. Look at the number of fans that show up for our races in New York, California, Michigan, Texas and Indianapolis. In a few years I bet you will add a few names from outside the United States to that list.” Benson On Road Courses: “They are kind of fun. I’m glad we only have to do two a year. Now if they had a schedule with a lot more road courses then I might go find some other thing to do. You get better the more you run but by the same token everyone else does too. That keeps the playing field fairly equal.” Benson On Road Course Strategy: “You run the best you can and you have to stay on the track. If you stay on the track, by the end of the day you should be in pretty good shape." ### Driver State By State Indiana 5 (Stewart, J. Gordon, Newman, Andretti, Raines) California 5 (R. Gordon, Skinner, Mears, Johnson, Harvick) Missouri 5 (Schrader, R.Wallace, M. Wallace, K.Wallace, McMurray) Virginia 4 (J.Burton, W.Burton, Sadler, Rudd) North Carolina 3 (Earnhardt, Jarrett, Petty) Kentucky 3 (Mayfield, M.Waltrip, J.Green) Texas 3 (T.Labonte, B.Labonte, Foyt) Michigan 2 (Benson, Sprague) New York 2 (Park, T.Bodine) Georgia 1 (Elliott) Arkansas 1 (Martin) Wisconsin 1 (Kenseth) Connecticut 1 (Nadeau) Pennsylvania 1 (Spencer) Tennessee 1 (Marlin) Florida 1 (Nemechek) Maine 1 (Craven) Washington 1 (Biffle) Nevada 1 (Busch) Ohio 1 (Blaney) Benson Sears Point Record Year S F 2002 30 15 2001 14 29 2000 35 18 1999 35 26 1998 19 21 1997 35 21 1996 31 18 Race Information THE RACE: Dodge/Save Mart 350 Winston Cup Race #16 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup season Race: Sunday, June 22, 2003 in Sonoma, CA TV: Pox - 4:00pm/et Pre-Race Show: Fox - 3:30pm/et - with hosts Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond Race Re-Air: June 25th at 8:00pm/et on Speed Channel, June 26th at 1:00am/et and 3:00pm/et on Speed Channel Announcers: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Matt Yocum, Steve Byrnes, Jeanne Zelasko Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond Purse/Race Awards: $4,458,247 (was $4,007,910 in 2002) 2002 Race Winner: Ricky Rudd, 81.107mph, started 7th Race Record: Ricky Rudd, June 2002, 81.007mph (current layout) Race Record: Jeff Gordon, June 2000, 78.789mph (old layout). Track/Race Length: 1.99 mile road course, 110 laps, 218.9 miles, 350 kilometers. Pit Road Speed: 35mph ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Practice Practice: Friday, June 20th, 2:20 - 4:20pm/et; and Saturday, June 21st, 12:30 - 1:15pm/et Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, June 21st, 2:10 - 2:55pm/et on TV-FX via live. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Qualifying Qualifying Draw: Friday, June 20th, 1:00pm/et First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, June 20th at 6:05pm/et, TV-Speed Channel live, re-air at 1:00am/et, and live via PRN radio/internet Track Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace, June 2000, 99.309mph (old layout) Track Qualifying Record: Tony Stewart, June 2002, 93.476mph (current layout) June 2002 Pole Sitter: Tony Stewart, 93.476mph, finished 2nd ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Track Specs: 1.99 mile Road Course with 10 turns Pit Road/Stalls: 16' wide by 29' long, 58' wide increased from 1.949 miles to 1.99 after the 2000 season ---------------- PAST RACE WINNERS at Infineon Raceway 2002 Ricky Rudd 2001 Tony Stewart 2000 Jeff Gordon 1999 Jeff Gordon 1998 Jeff Gordon 1997 Mark Martin 1996 Rusty Wallace 1995 Dale Earnhardt 1994 Ernie Irvan 1993 Geoffrey Bodine 1992 Ernie Irvan 1991 Davey Allison 1990 Rusty Wallace 1989 Ricky Rudd ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - PAST POLE WINNERS at Infineon Raceway 2002: Tony Stewart 93.476 2001: Jeff Gordon 93.699 2000: Rusty Wallace 99.309 1999: Jeff Gordon 98.519 1998: Jeff Gordon 98.711 1997: Mark Martin 92.807 1996: Terry Labonte 92.524 1995: Ricky Rudd 92.132 1994: Ernie Irvan 91.514 1993: Dale Earnhardt, 91.838 1992: Ricky Rudd, 90.985 1991: Ricky Rudd, 90.634 1990: Ricky Rudd, 90.743 1989: Rusty Wallace, 90.041 10 Valvoline Pontiac Team Television Information Pit Contact: James Ince or Drew Brown Owners: Valvoline (Jim Rocco)/MB2 Motorsports (Tom Beard, Nelson Bowers, Read Morton) Crew Chief/Car Chief: James Ince Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports Spotter (Race Day) Jay Guy Spotter (Practice Only) Russell Hoekwater Engine Tuner John Kendrach Over The Wall Pit Crew Front Tire Changer Bobby Burrell Front Tire Carrier Shane Cooke Rear Tire Changer Greg Burkhart Rear Tire Carrier Steve Genenbacher Gasman Jimmy Watts Tire Specialist Skippy Johnson Catch Can Steve Mann Jackman Doug Morgan Other Crew Members Truck Driver: Gale (Bandit) Wilson Mechanic: Jerry Hess Mechanic: David Baum Shocks: Mike Cluka Tires: Jeff (Skippy) Johnson Engineer: Tim Turner Computers & Gas Runner: John Hayes Scorer: Terry Lane Pit Stop Coach: Gary Smith PR Rep: Drew Brown