Daytona Beach, FL — Since the opening days of NASCAR, Bowman Gray Stadium has been synonymous with the best in short-track racing. As NASCAR celebrates its 60th season, the track will likewise commemorate the milestone as the longest running track in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
Bowman Gray will kick off racing April 26 with the Tucson 200 – 200 laps of racing for the track’s Modifieds, which also happen to be NASCAR’s oldest division of racing. The track’s tight, ¼-mile oval produces an exciting blend of speed and close-quarters fighting for position.
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As the impending Spring thaws the ground and erases thoughts of a long offseason, the drivers, promoters, sponsor and fans across North America involved with the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series get ready for another year of racing. This weekend, three historic Southeastern tracks with long-time NASCAR ties will take the green flag. By the end of the month, eight others will join them as NASCAR’s national program for short tracks gets off to a roaring start.
“We’re definitely excited about it,” said Kirk Leone, owner of Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, N.C. “It doesn’t matter with a racer: If you take a month off, it’s almost too long. Everybody is pretty antsy to get going.
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Daytona Beach, FL — Some of the most historic tracks in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series have gotten a head start on the coming season by already signing sanction agreements for 2008.The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is NASCAR’s national championship program featuring North America’s leading local short tracks.
The modern era of organized NASCAR weekly short track racing enters its 27th season next year and Barbara and Jim Cromarty of Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, N.Y., has been a mainstay from the beginning. They were the first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track to officially sign their 2008 NASCAR sanction.
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Las Vegas, NV — Steve Carlson already has a handful of NASCAR championship rings – five to be exact – but it was the one he received Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay that really provided a crowning moment from the 50-year-old driver from West Salem, Wisc.
“Each NASCAR championship is special to me,” Carlson said. “But this is, by far, the biggest one yet.”
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Las Vegas, NV — Steve Carlson leaned back against the seat and exhaled.“Man, I feel like I just finished a 300-lap race,” Carlson said.
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion spent Friday morning at Nellis Air Force Base as a guest of the U.S. Air Force. Carlson was treated to a ride in an F-16 that is part of the Air Force’s world-famous Thunderbirds.
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Las Vegas, NV — Philip Morris’ hopes for back-to-back championships were dashed by early-season misfortune. But that wasn’t enough to keep the Ruckersville, Va. driver from earning a trip back to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship festivities this weekend at the Mandalay Bay Resort.
A year after winning a regional championship, Woody Pitkat improved to second in the nation. While he missed out on the championship by just six points, the Stafford, Conn. driver is as proud as Morris is that he is making a return trip to Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas, NV — Tim Jacobs walked through the Mandalay Bay Resort and took note of the changes since he had been here last year. In just his third year as a car owner, Jacobs has already become a fixture at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship banquet.
This year, Jacobs’ driver Steve Carlson will be in the spotlight as he is officially crowned the 2007 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion during Saturday’s banquet.
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Daytona Beach, FL — All the hard work, tension and driving is over for Steve Carlson. Now the 2007 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion gets to sit back and enjoy the celebration of his success. The 50-year-old Lacrosse, Wisc., driver will be in the spotlight this week in Las Vegas.
“I’m really looking forward to this,” Carlson said. “This whole year has just been great. And to be able to celebrate in Las Vegas really makes all those hours in the shop and on the track worthwhile.”
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Daytona Beach, FL — Steve Carlson was pretty sure that he was in good shape. After all, he had been tracking the standings for the past several weeks. But it wasn’t until he got the call Wednesday afternoon from George Silbermann, NASCAR’s managing director of racing operations, that it became a reality.
Carlson is the 2007 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion.
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