REED LOOKING OVER SHOULDER.Byline: TIM TIM Timothy TIM Technical Interchange Meeting TIM Transient Intermodulation Distortion TIM Time Is Money TIM The Invisible Man (movie) TIM Telecom Italia Mobile (Italian cellular provider) HADDOCK MOTOR SPORTS NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Winston West Series points leader Mark Reed calls Saturday's Food 4 Less 250 at Irwindale Speedway ``pivotal.'' Reed, a rookie from Bakersfield, holds a three-point lead in the championship points race over Brendan Gaughan, the defending champion from Las Vegas. ``We almost can't finish behind Brendan to keep the points lead,'' said Reed, driver of the No. 4 Food 4 Less Pontiac. ``We're pulling out all the stops to try and win.'' With a five-week break following the Irwindale race, Reed looks to Saturday as the time in which he either can build a comfortable lead or spend the rest of the season trying to play catch-up. Of course, Reed didn't expect to be leading the series in his rookie season. On the contrary, he thought he could contend for rookie of the year Rookie of the Year may refer to:
``It's not a goal we had set out to accomplish,'' Reed said. ``With (five) races left, we've nailed every goal we set out for us.'' Those goals included winning a race and being top rookie. He won the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas, is a 1,200 acre (4.9 km²) complex of four different tracks for automobile racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. event in February, the second race of the season and his seventh career Winston West start. He holds an 11-point lead in the rookie points race. Add to the accomplishments his series-leading four poles and Reed will tell you his season has been a success. Gaughan compares Reed's team to the New York Knicks with Patrick Ewing, having all the talent to win a championship. But Gaughan compared his team to Michael Jordan's Bulls, a team with just a tad more talent and a winning tradition. ``Mark has done what he needs to do to win the championship,'' said Gaughan, who added that his NAPA team is challenging for its third consecutive Winston West championship. Two years ago the team won with Sean Woodside of Saugus as its driver, and followed that with Gaughan's title in 2000. But now that Reed has a chance to win the championship in his rookie season, he is ready to give it his best shot. ``Ever since Vegas, we've been in a position to do whatever we have to do to protect the lead,'' Reed said. ``Now, I don't know if that was the right position to take.'' Reed points to Gaughan's recent surge - a streak of seven consecutive top-five finishes - and aggressive tactics as reasons he has moved into contention. Reed is left wondering if he should have been more aggressive in keeping his lead. ``For the last three or four weeks, he just chiseled chis·eled or chis·elled adj. Made or shaped with or as if with a chisel: a finely chiseled nose. Adj. 1. away at our points lead,'' Reed said. ``We definitely haven't taken a step back. I think what happened is he found a groove. He has nothing to lose and he has taken some chances late in races.'' Gaughan has won three races this year in defense of his title and is coming off a second-place finish at Colorado National Speedway. On Saturday, he will be driving the same car he won with at Irwindale in May. It was a new car built by his team this year. ``We've been forced into (building new race cars) because Mark's been doing so well,'' said Gaughan, driver of the No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy. Irwindale is a track at which both drivers feel comfortable. Reed has three top 10s in four races. In May's race, he had a chance to win but ended up chasing Gaughan to the checkered flag. ``It's a good track for me,'' Reed said. ``But it's a bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. track.'' Gaughan has a string of four consecutive top-five finishes at Irwindale, including his May victory and a pole position he won last year. Gates at Irwindale Speedway open at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Food 4 Less 250 starts at 7 p.m. --Winston West notes: Kids 12 and under accompanied by a paying adult will be admitted free to Saturday night's Food 4 Less 250. ... Irwindale Speedway is holding an autograph session with past Winston West champions from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. ... Irwindale Speedway also is participating in the Spark of Love toy drive in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Fire Department Not to be confused with Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La and KABC KABC Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children Channel 7. Fans can receive a $5 ticket discount for Saturday's admission by donating a new and unwrapped toy. The toys will be distributed during Christmas. --More Winston West notes: Joe Bean is the defending champion of the Food 4 Less 250. He passed Gaughan with 48 laps to go and held on for the win last year. Former Winston West champion Bill Sedgwick of Acton was second in last year's race. Troy Cline of Santa Clarita was 10th. Entering the Irwindale Speedway race, former Winston West champion Woodside is sixth in points. He has won two poles this year, including at the Colorado National Speedway on July 14. Sedgwick, who is ninth in points, led the most laps at Colorado - 135 of the 250 - and won the Gatorade Front Runner Award. THIS WEEKEND'S EVENTS NASCAR WINSTON CUP New England 300 Site: Loudon, N.H. Schedule: Today, qualifying, 11:15 a.m.; Sunday, race (TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. , 11 a.m.) Track: New Hampshire International Speedway New Hampshire International Speedway is a 1.058 mile (1703 m) oval track which has hosted NASCAR racing since the 1990s. It is commonly referred to by its location, Loudon. (oval, 1.058 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns) Race distance: 317.4 miles, 300 laps BUSCH Carquest Auto Parts 250 Site: Madison, Ill. Schedule: Today, qualifying, 4 p.m.; Saturday, race (TNT, 5 p.m.) Track: Gateway International Raceway Gateway International Raceway is a race track in Madison, Illinois, USA, just minutes from Downtown St. Louis, Mo. It hosts a NASCAR Busch Series event and a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on a 1. (egg-shaped oval, 1.25 miles, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees in turns 3-4) Race distance: 250 miles, 200 laps CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS New England 200 Site: Loudon, N.H. Schedule: Today, qualifying, 10:05 a.m.; Saturday, race (ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network , 9:30 a.m.) Track: New Hampshire International Speedway (oval, 1.058 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns) Race distance: 211.6 miles, 200 laps CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMS Michigan 500 Site: Brooklyn, Mich. Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 9 a.m. (ESPN2, 1:30 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , 10:30 a.m.) Track: Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile (3.22 km), moderate-banked, D shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than 1,400 acres [1] near Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. (d-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns) Race distance: 500 miles, 250 laps INDY RACING LEAGUE The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel racing series. The League consists of two series, the premiere IndyCar Series Harrah's Indy See Indigo. 200 Site: Gladeville, Tenn. Schedule: Today, qualifying, (ESPN, 2:30 p.m.); Saturday, race (ESPN, 5 p.m.) Track: Nashville Superspeedway (tri-oval 1.33 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns) Race distance: 266 miles, 200 laps NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals Site: Morrison, Colo. Schedule: Today, qualifying, 11:15 a.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 8:15 a.m. (ESPN2, 3 p.m., tape); Sunday, final eliminations, 8 a.m. (ESPN2, 2 p.m., tape) Track: Bandimere Speedway CAPTION(S): box Box: THE WEEK IN RACING (see text) |
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