NASCAR SJAPS: Gentry and Howard Are Hungry
17 April 2000
Daytona Beach, Fla. - April 17, 2000 - Randy Gentry and Steven Howard are both very hungry to visit victory lane in Slim Jim All Pro Series, NASCAR Touring competition. And for either driver Greenville-Pickens Speedway would be a great place to do it. Both drivers earned their early racing lessons and honed their skills at the flat half mile oval, continuously whisking their race cars past the list of champions painted on the track's retaining walls. Now both will have a chance to etch their names into the track's record books if they can come up with a win in the B&B Pools 200 which takes place this Saturday night. In this race last year Easley, S.C.'s Gentry captured his first career Bud Pole Award, then proceeded to lead the first 10 laps of the race. Ultimately he wound up with a disappointing 21st place finish, completing 195 out of 200 laps in the process. The Carolina Painting/Milliken Cleaners Chevrolet driver was enroute to a top 10 finish when he was swept up in a lap 190 pileup that included nine other cars. Without a doubt he'll be heading to the track this weekend with a plan to erase that finish from his memory and replace it with his first career Slim Jim All Pro Series win. Like Gentry, Greer, S.C.'s Howard also nabbed a Bud Pole Award at his home track, with his coming in the Upper State Fair 200 which was held in August. He did manage to notch two top 10 finishes in series competition at the track last year but a series win in front of his hometown fans still eludes him. Now the Dick Brooks Automotive Chevrolet driver would like nothing more than to add a win to his list of racing successes at Greenville-Pickens. Gentry and Howard will have their hands full with 30 other Slim Jim All Pro Series drivers in search of the same winner's trophy. Points leader Billy Bigley, Jr. and second place points man Lee Tissot have both grabbed series wins at Greenville-Pickens. Last year's series champion, Wildwood, Fla.'s Wayne Anderson, owns a runnerup and a fourth place finish while Cincinnati, Oh.'s Jeff Fultz and Zephyrhills, Fla.'s David Reutimann each have multiple top five finishes on the tricky oval. These drivers, along with many others, should produce a thrilling night of racing excitement for the many upstate South Carolina race fans that turn out when the Slim Jim All Pro Series comes to town. Bud Pole Qualifying gets underway at 6:00 p.m. The green flag will wave on the B&B Pools 200 racing program at 8:00 p.m. Nine NASCAR Touring Series blanket the United States, bringing special events to many NASCAR Weekly Racing Series tracks and some NASCAR superspeedways and road courses. NASCAR Touring Series are extremely popular with fans and competitors. NASCAR Touring Series can provide a competitor with an entire career, or they can provide valuable experience to competitors moving through the NASCAR ranks. Corporate sponsors make significant contributions to NASCAR Touring Series point funds. These sponsors include Anheuser-Busch, Featherlite, Goody's Headache Powders, Raybestos Brakes, RE/MAX International, Inc., Slim Jim, and RJ Reynolds brand, Winston.