NASCAR WWEST: Woodside and REF Motorsports Part Ways
30 November 2000
November 30, 2000 (Palmdale, Calif.) - Following a year filled with everything from celebrations in victory circle to the inevitable hard luck days, Sean Woodside and REF Motorsports today announced that they are parting ways, and moving on to other opportunities for the 2001 season. A high point for the team came early in the 2000 season with a win at Mesa Marin Raceway, REF's first. Throughout the season, the team also added four top-five and eight top-ten finishes to its list of accomplishments. REF Motorsports matched its previous best year-end finish of sixth place in the championship standings for the 2000 season. "Overall, we had some great runs, and we did raise the bar a little bit for ourselves. Our team's first-ever win earlier this season at Mesa Marin was a thrill for all of us," said REF team owner, Bob Farmer. "We were all disappointed to see a top-five finish in the standings slip away from us, even though Sean and the crew worked hard and did a good job. We had a good time, and, I believe, we all learned a lot." Farmer is actively searching for a driver and marketing partners for his Southwest Series team for the 2001 season. Meanwhile, Woodside is working with Team Walker Motorsports, with whom he ran selected Winston West events late in the 2000 season, and hopes to find his way into a few Truck Series races. "I'd like to thank Bob Farmer for giving me the opportunity to drive for his Featherlite Southwest Series team this year," Woodside said. "It was a great opportunity to run in a series that I knew had an extremely high level of competition. It's easy to see how the drivers who have used the Southwest Series as a springboard into the national series have come by their skills." Woodside continued, "The REF team is a great bunch, and I thank them all for their hard work and the good times." Bob Farmer, owner of REF Motorsports, owns and operates the No. 4 Stick Only Transmissions, Maropulos Racing Engines, Speedway Engineering, Hoosier Pontiac in the Featherlite Southwest Series, NASCAR Touring. Sean Woodside, REF's driver for the 2000 season, won the 1999 NASCAR Winston West series championship after finishing second in the point standings in the series in 1997 and 1998. REF Motorsports finished 6th in the Southwest Series points standings in 1999, with six top five and seven top ten finishes during the season. The team finished sixth in the point standings for the 2000 season, with one win, four top five and eight top ten finishes.