WOODSIDE'S BRIGHT SIDE RACER DONATES WINNINGS TO RED CROSS RELIEF EFFORTS.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

Saugus High graduate Sean Woodside was able to win $4,600 for the American Red Cross in two NASCAR races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Saturday.

Woodside, driver of the No. 45 Team Walker Chevrolet on the NASCAR Winston West Series, donated his winnings from last weekend's races to assist the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11. He also entered the Featherlite Southwest Series Nevada 100 at Las Vegas and donated those winnings as well.

Woodside finished seventh in the Winston West 24 Hour Fitness 150, but crashed in the Southwest Series race and finished 35th. Woodside, the 1999 Winston West champion, was uninjured in the crash.

``That was a big disappointment for the team after the hard work that went into that car,'' Woodside said. ``All we could do at that point was to turn our focus to doing as well as we could in the Winston West event.''

Brendan Gauguan of Las Vegas, the defending Winston West champ and series points leader, won the Las Vegas race. It was his fifth win of the season, which ends Nov. 10 at Irwindale Speedway.

Southwest Series points leader Craig Raudman of Redding won the Nevada 100, his fourth win of the season. He holds a 209-point lead over Auggie Vidovich Jr., who finished second at Las Vegas.

Former Saugus Speedway star Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills was eighth; Ben Walker of Canyon Country was 10th; Frank Maronski of Quartz Hill was 20th; and Bob Lyon of Agua Dulce was 25th in the Southwest Series race.

The next race on the Southwest Series will be the Big O Tires 150 tonight at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield.

--CART joins forces with Stars of Tomorrow: The North American Karting Association, featuring an expanded CART Stars of Tomorrow racing series originated by Valencia's Bryan Herta, will become a part of a developmental program for aspiring open-wheel drivers.

Herta, who drives for Forsythe Championship Racing on the CART FedEx Series and winner of two CART races in his eight-year career, started the Stars of Tomorrow karting program a year ago in Las Vegas.

``I am extremely excited about this announcement,'' Herta said. ``Along with my partner, Hollis Brown, we have worked very hard to create an environment that will move toward a true national championship in karting.''

The program will include six to eight NAKA-sanctioned races that will be conducted at CART venues during series events next season. NAKA also will conduct a National Karting Championship, which will be a program of regional events leading up to the championship event at the Las Vegas Karting center in November 2002.

CART also works with the Skip Barber Racing School, which awards four scholarships annually to aspiring drivers, to develop drivers.

``We are very excited about this program because it will provide additional opportunity at the introductory level of our development system,'' CART Chairman and CEO Joseph Heitzler said. ``We believe this program will result in more karting participants getting involved with Champ Car racing and our ladder system, and that is important for the growth of CART.''

--Drake takes USAC Sprint Car lead: Jay Drake of Val Verde finished second at South Boston Speedway in Virginia last Saturday and took over the points lead in the USAC Sprint Car standings.

Tracy Hines won the 50-lap Sprint Car feature, taking the lead on lap 47.

Drake, with his second-place finish, holds a 29-point lead over Dave Darland, who is out of action recovering from injuries he sustained in a crash earlier this year.

The next race in the USAC Sprint Car schedule is tonight in Terre Haute, Ind.

SCHEDULE

NASCAR

Featherlite Southwest Series

Big O Tires 150

Site: Bakersfield

Schedule: Race, tonight (9 p.m.)

Track: Mesa Marin Raceway (half-mile paved oval)

Race distance: 150laps/75 miles

Posted awards: $34,600

Qualifying record: Frank Adamo (Oct. 16, 1998; 100.903 mph, 17.839 seconds).

Race record (100 laps): Loren Kelly (June 30, 1990; 81.743 mph, 36 minutes, 44 seconds).

Last year: Craig Raudman won the pole with a lap of 18.422 seconds and started the event from the front. He led the first 31 laps, then lost the lead to Auggie Vidovich Jr. Vidovich held on for the remainder of the 150-lap race and won by 0.2 seconds over Darrell LaMoure.

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SCHEDULE (see text)