NASCAR WWEST: Eric Norris/Jani-King Prolong Racing Notes

13 August 1999

* Eric Norris and the Jani-King team are making their first start at the tight little half-mile Portland Speedway in Portland, Oregon. Last year the team elected not to attend the Portland race because of other commitments. This year the team enters the race eighth in points.

The Jani-King team arrives at the Portland race looking to regain the racing form that produced three top ten finishes in a row, until the last race when Norris was forced out of a top ten finish due an unavoidable crash.

* Over the last month the Norris racing team has been very busy testing at the upcoming facilities. The team went to Irwindale Speedway in California and Rocky Mountain Raceway in Utah. Both tests went very well and Norris's speeds were among the fastest at each location.

* Eric Norris is one of only three drivers that have competed in every event in 1999 and been running at the finish of each of them. The other two drivers are Brandon Ash and Sean Woodside who are one and two in NASCAR Winston West points.

* Eric Norris is currently 172 points out of the lead in the Winston West Series standings. So to say the team is pumped up about the year is an understatement. With a good finish at Portland, Norris could move over the $100,000 mark in career earnings on the NASCAR West tour.

* The Jani-King team and driver Eric Norris are currently third in laps completed. Norris and his #32 Ford Taurus have finished 1244 laps of a possible 1300. The other two drivers that have finished more laps in 1999 than Norris are Brandon Ash and Sammy Potashnick.

Eric Norris Quotes for Portland Speedway

"I've never run at Portland so I really don't what to expect. Everyone I've talked to says it's a tight track with very little passing. They have also told me that it's hard on tires so I will have to take car of them. We'll be OK. I think this team is really starting to come together and the runs we've had the last four races are proof of that."

"It's been a good few weeks for us. We were out doing some testing and we really feel like we have found a few things. It also helps when we get to test because then I have more confidence in what kind of setup we take to a track."

"The thing I have to work on this week is getting use to the short tracks. Most of the guys we race against have a better time on the short tracks, but I'm a little different. I enjoy the mile or bigger tracks. So it makes it a bit strange when I talk to people about the speedways."

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