April 14, 2003 Bullring/Las Vegas Motor Speedway NWWS News Recap For Immediate Release LAS VEGAS WIN GIVES INGLEBRIGHT FIRST VICTORY IN NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, WINSTON WEST SERIES LAS VEGAS (April 12, 2003) – Competing on a track called The Bullring, Jim Inglebright knew that out front would be the best place to be to avoid an incident. Starting up front and staying up front paid off with a win for the veteran West Coast driver in the Orleans 222 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday. Making only his second start in the NASCAR Grand National Division, Winston West Series with his new Jelly Belly-sponsored team, Inglebright captured the Bud Pole Award and set the pace for most of the event. Out front proved to be the place to be, as those in pursuit dodged the numerous incidents that produced 11 cautions. For some competitors, the 222 laps around the 3/8-mile paved oval ended up being a struggle just to survive. Inglebright set the pace in qualifying with a lap of 87.097 mph to win his first career Bud Pole Award. The 41-year-old driver from Fairfield, Calif., quickly dashed out front and opened up a sizeable lead early in the race. Scott Gaylord and C.T. Hellmund, who started second and third on the grid respectively, kept pace with the leader as the rest of the field began to string out. Inglebright’s teammate and the winner of last year’s event, Austin Cameron, steadily worked his way forward from sixth at the start. Cameron was in his backup car after his primary car suffered major damage in an incident earlier in the day during practice. Cameron climbed to fourth by lap 20 and third by lap 60. He was in the runner-up spot by the midway point of the race. While Inglebright continued to set the pace in the second half – contact took place between the cars of Cameron and series rookie Scott Lynch, who had also been running in the top five. When the dust settled, Cameron was done for the night and Lynch was restarting the race from the rear of the pack and off the lead lap. Inglebright encountered trouble of his own, meanwhile, while trying to get by a lapped car on lap 150. Mike Duncan, who had made his way to the front after starting 15th, slipped by for the lead and pulled away. Inglebright’s bid for a win appeared to be sidetracked as he faded, with Mark Reed moving by to take the second spot. Inglebright soon recovered, however, as he began to move back to the front. He charged by Reed and began to close in on Duncan. Duncan saw his margin quickly dwindle away as Inglebright closed the gap. Contact between the two on lap 200 left Inglebright back in the lead and Duncan spinning and collecting several other cars in turn 4. Although Inglebright pulled away at the restart, Hellmund was able to close in to make a charge for the lead at the finish. Inglebright crossed the line in his Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolet with a margin of victory of .420 of a second at an average speed of 62.178 mph. He took home $7,800 in team prize money and posted awards, including the Bud Pole Award and the Clevite Engine Builder Award. Hellmund of Austin, Texas, finished second in the Suzuki Motorcycle & ATV Pontiac. Third went to Reed of Bakersfield, Calif., in the Royal Bath & Body Products Pontiac. Steve Portenga of Sparks, Nev., was fourth in the Smart & Final/King Taco Ford – while Gene Woods of Ontario, Calif., notched his first career top-five finish in the Auto Trader Magazine/CNWB.com Dodge and also won the POWERade Power Move of the Race Award for advancing the most positions. Rounding out the top 10 were Duncan, Gaylord, Brett Thompson, Lynch and Scott Schmidt. Inglebright’s victory moved him into the early lead in the chase for the 2003 championship in the Winston West Series. He leads with 350 points over Hellmund with 316. Portenga is close behind in third with 315. Lynch is fourth at 313, while Gaylord is fifth with 284. Completing the top 10 are Woods at 273, Cameron at 272, Kevin Richards at 268, Thompson at 266 and Schmidt at 261. Hellmund has moved into the lead in the chase for this year’s Raybestos Brakes Rookie of the Year Award. He tops the freshman class with 19 points over Lynch with 18, Schmidt with 14, Woods with 14, David Eshleman with 11, Daryl Harr with nine, Clint Vahsholtz with eight, Carl Harr with eight, and Takuma Koga with five. The next event on the Winston West Series schedule is the Pontiac Wide Track Grand Prix 200 at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on April 26. For Further Information Contact: Kevin W. Green, NASCAR Winston West Series Jeremy Davidson, NASCAR Public Relations