Pete Rondeau had the weight of the racing world on his shoulders this weekend. After an unbelievably dominant feat by the #8 Budweiser team in last year's Daytona 500, everyone was expecting Rondeau's debut as crew chief to bring Dale Earnhardt Jr. a repeat performance. Although it looked bleak for Rondeau in the beginning stages of the race, he took a car that was barely running in the top-20 and transformed it into a top-five finisher. For his efforts, Rodeau was voted the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. The panel voting for the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race consisted of Buddy Shacklette of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Robbie Resier and a WYPALL Wipers Representative. All three members of the panel agreed Rondeau was the top pick.
Winds of Change
Steve Bechtel
Posted Monday, February 14, 2005
NASCAR has established a new method for determining the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series championship, and has reallocated its annual point fund to provide more awards for more drivers in the series. For the first time in 15 years, a traditional NASCAR championship points system will replace the Competition Performance Index (CPI), which ranked the drivers by a statistical index and was used to determine the series champion each year from 1990-2004.
Beginning in 2005, drivers in each tracks top NASCAR class will be awarded championship points at each race. The driver with the highest total based on their best 16 finishes of the season will win a championship in one of NASCARs four newly-designated divisions: Division I, Division II, Division III and Division IV. Each division includes a group of randomly-assigned tracks and is not based on geography or types of cars. Point fund awards will be distributed equally to all four divisions. The divisional champion with the highest point total overall will be crowned as the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series national champion.
This new championship points system marks a new era for the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series, said NASCAR President Mike Helton. Since it was founded in 1982, this series has grown to become the premier short track series in North America and this new format will continue to create excitement for teams, tracks, drivers and fans, while ensuring a fair and competitive race for the championship. NASCAR is going to strengthen this series and provide greater support to the true foundation of our sport.
The divisional and national championships are open to drivers competing in the top class at each NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series track including Late Model Stock Cars, Modifieds, Dirt Modifieds, Dirt Late Models, Late Model Sportsman, Super Late Models, Super Stocks and other styles of cars.
Highlights of the new format include:
Ψ A simple points system Championship points will be awarded as follows: 50 points to the winner of each race, 48 points for second place, 46 points for third place, 44 points for fourth place, and so on. The driver with the highest points total within each division will win that divisional title.
Ψ Bonus points for higher car counts Bonus points will be awarded based on the number of cars competing at each track. Ten bonus points will be awarded per driver, per finish, at each race with between 15-20 cars in the field. Twenty bonus points will be awarded per driver, per finish, at each race with 21 or more cars in the field. If a track has fewer than 15 cars in the field, no bonus points will be awarded in that race.
Ψ Drivers can earn points at any NASCAR track Drivers can collect points toward a NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series divisional or national title at more than one NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series track, provided they are competing in the top NASCAR-sanctioned class at that track.
Ψ Best 16 finishes decide championships A drivers best 16 finishes between January 1-September 18, 2005 will be counted towards the divisional and national championships. There is no minimum or maximum number of races a driver must compete in to be eligible.
In the event of a tie in the point standings, ties will be broken per the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series rule book, which breaks the tie by determining which driver has more victories. If the drivers remain tied after comparing the number of race victories, the number of second-place finishes (and so on) will be compared until the tie is broken.
Ψ New point fund format rewards more competitors NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series competitors will continue to receive a championship point fund of nearly $1.7 million the largest point fund of any short track racing series in North America. The top finishing drivers in each of NASCARs four championship divisions will share approximately $150,000 in point fund awards a total prize offering of nearly $600,000 among the top divisional finishers in the series. The top 10 drivers in the top class at each track will share an additional $8,900 in point fund and contingency sponsor awards.
Drivers in support classes will receive greater point fund payouts than ever before. In each tracks second-tier racing division, which includes Street Stocks, Trucks, Sportsman, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and other classes, the top 10 drivers will share $3,000 while drivers in each tracks third-tier, or Charger class, will share $2,000 in post-season prize money. NASCAR has discontinued its ShorTrack Division, which provided prizes for second-tier drivers only, in favor of a wider distribution of point fund awards to the top 10 competitors in each of these three classes.
The four championship divisions include the following tracks: *
Division I
Ace Speedway Altamahaw, N.C.
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway Scarborough, Maine
Bowman Gray Stadium Winston-Salem, N.C.
Big Diamond Raceway Minersville, Pa.
Caraway Speedway Asheboro, N.C.
Evergreen Speedway Monroe, Wash.
Greenville-Pickens Speedway Greenville, S.C.
JAX Raceways Jacksonville, Fla.
Lakeside Speedway Kansas City, Kan.
Langley Speedway Hampton, Va.
Lanier National Speedway Braselton, Ga.
Lonesome Pine International Raceway Coeburn, Va.
Motor Mile Speedway Radford, Va.
Rockford Speedway Rockford, Ill.
Rocky Mountain Raceways West Valley City, Utah
South Boston Speedway South Boston, Va.
Division II
Adams County Speedway Corning, Iowa
Autodrome St. Eustache St. Eustache, Quebec, Canada
Concord Motorsport Park Concord, N.C.
Delaware Speedway Delaware, Ontario, Canada
Grandview Speedway Bechtelsville, Pa.
Holland International Speedway Holland, N.Y.
I-80 Speedway Greenwood, Neb.
Lee USA Speedway Lee, N.H.
Lorain Speedway South Amherst, Ohio
Mesa Marin Raceway Bakersfield, Calif.
Myrtle Beach Speedway Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Park Jefferson Speedway Jefferson, S.D.
San Antonio Speedway San Antonio, Tex.
Shasta Raceway Park Anderson, Calif.
Spencer Speedway Williamson, N.Y.
Stockton 99 Speedway Stockton, Calif.
Watsonville Speedway Watsonville, Calif.
Division III
Cajon Speedway El Cajon, Calif.
Colorado National Speedway Erie, Colo.
Columbus Motor Speedway Columbus, Ohio
Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway Dubuque, Iowa
Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory, N.C.
Kalamazoo Speedway Kalamazoo, Mich.
Kil Kare Speedway Xenia, Ohio
LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway LaCrosse, Wis.
Lake Erie Speedway North East, Pa.
Magic Valley Speedway Twin Falls, Idaho
Old Dominion Speedway Manassas, Va.
Peoria Speedway Peoria, Ill.
Riverhead Raceway Riverhead, N.Y.
Seekonk Speedway Seekonk, Mass.
The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nev.
