SJAPS, NASCAR Touring, Kentucky Race Facts, Release
13 June 2000
2000 Slim Jim All Pro Series, NASCAR Touring Race Facts WHAT: Cincinnati Post/Cincinnati Enquirer 150 WHERE: Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky., 1.50-mile oval WHEN: Friday, June 16, 9:00 p.m. DISTANCE: 100 laps (150 miles) POSTED AWARDS: $95,050 (including $7,000 Slim Jim All Pro Series, NASCAR Touring Championship point fund money.) FIELD: 40 cars. Fastest 34 cars through time trials (2 laps). Five provisional starting positions, including either four or five based on the current Slim Jim All Pro Series, NASCAR Touring point standings and possibly one provisional position for a former champion of the series who will have also raced in a series points event in1999. One provisional starting position will be assigned to any of the top 20 drivers in the 2000 RE/MAX Challenge Series, NASCAR Touring Championship points, who has not qualified for one of the original 34 starting positions. SANCTION: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) PROMOTER: Kentucky Speedway, LLC CONTACTS: Jim Noltimier, NASCAR, (770) 486-3591 Tim Bray, Kentucky Speedway, (606) 647-4309 SCHEDULE: Thursday, June 15 Hauler Parking & Registration 12:00 p.m. Gates open & Inspections 1:00 p.m. Mandatory Drivers' Meeting 6:00 p.m. Practice 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. Friday, June 16 Registration & Inspection 9:00 a.m. Practice 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Bud Pole Qualifying, 1 lap, all positions 3:00 p.m. Mandatory Drivers' & Crew Chiefs' Meeting 5:30 p.m. Cincinnati Post/Cincinnati Enquirer 150 9:00 p.m. THE RACE: The Cincinnati Post/Cincinnati Enquirer 150 is the seventh race on the 17-race 2000 Slim Jim All Pro Series, NASCAR Touring schedule. This race is the first official race to be run at Kentucky Speedway and, obviously, is the first time for the Slim Jim All Pro Series, NASCAR Touring to race at the 1.500-mile oval. RECORDS Qualifying: To be determined on June 17, 2000 100 lap: To be determined on June 17, 2000 NOTES OF INTEREST · Cincinnati, Oh. area native Jeff Fultz enters this race third in Slim Jim All Pro Series, NASCAR Touring points. Fultz trails points leader Billy Bigley, Jr. by 43 points and David Reutimann by 19 points. · Homestead-Miami Speedway is the only other track on the 2000 series schedule that measures the same length as Kentucky Speedway, 1.5 miles. The tracks are dissimilar though, with Kentucky Speedway having a distinct tri-oval configuration while the Homestead track is a true oval. · This is the third and final race on the 2000 schedule where the Slim Jim All Pro Series will share the track with the teams of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. STAT OF THE WEEK: Based on tire tests performed in April, the expected pole speed is likely to be in the 145 to 150 mph range. POINT FUND SPONSORS: Slim Jim, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Gatorade, Hoosier Tires, Jasper Engines, Moroso Performance Products Rookie of the Year, 76 Race Gasoline QUALIFYING AND SPECIAL AWARD SPONSORS: Budweiser, Carrera Shocks, Eibach Springs, Ford Motor Company, Five Star Stock Car Bodies, Gatorade, Holley Carburetors, Hoosier Tires, Jasper Engines, Moroso Blue Max Ignition Wires, Moroso Oil Pans, Moroso Performance Products Rookie of the Race, MSD Ignitions, NGK Spark Plugs, Scott Performance Wire, Tilton Engineering, Wiseco Pistons DIRECTIONS TO TRACK: I-75 South to I-71 South, get off at Sparta (Exit 57), turn right into the Kentucky Speedway Who Says You Can't Go Home Again? Daytona Beach, Fla. - June 12, 2000 - Who ever uttered the axiom 'You can't go home again' doesn't know Milford, Oh.'s Jeff Fultz. The Cincinnati, Oh. native now resides near Charlotte, N.C. but he is looking forward to 'going home' for Friday night's Slim Jim All Pro Series, NASCAR Touring $95,050 Cincinnati Post/Cincinnati Enquirer 150 at Kentucky Speedway. Racing at the new 1.500-mile superspeedway is a long way from Fultz's early racing efforts in four cylinder cars. He'll be returning as a top driver in the Slim Jim All Pro Series, having finished as the series points runnerup in 1997. The driver of the C&C Boilers/Cleaver Brooks/Honeywell Chevrolet Monte Carlo would like nothing more than to wind up in victory lane after 150 miles of racing on Friday night. I'm really looking forward to running at the Kentucky Speedway. Growing up in Cincinnati, anytime we wanted to go to a race we had a minimum of an hour's drive to get to a track," Fultz stated. "We used to run at Kil-Kare in Xenia, Shady Bowl in DeGraff, as well as Winchester and Salem Speedways in Indiana. This is going to be really big for the people in the Cincinnati area, not only will they have a track close to home but it's a $150 million track at that," he added. "I've been receiving many calls from friends wishing me good luck and the whole C&C Boilers/Cleaver Brooks/Honeywell team is getting pumped up so that we can have a strong run. I'd love to win the first ever race run at Kentucky Speedway. I'll have a lot of friends there and it's not often that I get to race in front of so many folks that I know," added Fultz, a 31-year-old father of three. "We're currently third in the points so we need to continue to have good runs so that we can be in the hunt for the championship at the end of the season," he noted. It has been predicted that speeds for the Slim Jim All Pro Series cars will be in the to 150 to 153 mph range after testing took place in late April. As a result of the speeds attained the carburetors on the race cars will be fitted with restrictor plates for this race. Another Cincinnati resident, Spanks Overbeck, handled the testing chores at the wheel of his Aramark Uniforms Chevrolet. Overbeck said, "These cars were originally designed for short track racing so this is a big change of pace for us. So, running with restrictor plates will keep the speeds slower and the competition a lot tighter and its going to be a lot better for the fans." The test on the brand new track was a treat for Overbeck, who is about to finish his collegiate education at the University of Cincinnati. "The track is great!! The car was working real well. There's good visibility all the way around. I think where the grandstands are situated is going to be great for the fans because that's where I was feeling my most speed sensation. Coming out of turn four you almost get a downhill run and you can just accelerate. It's going to be exciting." The Slim Jim All Pro Series drivers and teams will get things rolling on Thursday night with a practice under the lights which will run from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. On Friday, practice will take place once again from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. while Bud Pole qualifying gets underway at 3:00 p.m. to set the 40-car starting field. The Cincinnati Post/Cincinnati Enquirer 150 will get the green flag at 9:00 p.m., after the completion of Bud Pole Qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The Kentucky Speedway, a 1,000 acre complex, is located 35 miles south of Cincinnati, Oh. in Sparta, Ky. 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. -30-