FMS: BNS: Touring series at Racearama, Mass. and Motorsports Expo, N.Y.

WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (Feb. 22, 2001) - NASCAR's two touring series based in the northeast, the Featherlite Modified Series and the Busch North Series, will be strongly represented at two major motorsports trade shows during the month of March. First comes the Racearama at the Eastern States Exposition Center in West Springfield, Mass., March 2-4, followed by the CarQuest Motorsports Expo at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, March 9-11.

The new 2001 colors of both Featherlite Modified Series champion Jerry Marquis' #44 MPH Racers Pontiac and Busch North Series champion Brad Leighton's #55 Grizco Racing Chevrolet will be unveiled Friday night, March 2, at the NASCAR booth at Racearama. Also featured will be the cars of the two series' 2000 rookies of the year, Michael Boehler from the Featherlite Modified Series and Mike Johnson from the Busch North Series. Many other cars from both divisions will be featured at individual track and sponsor displays throughout the Racearama complex.

On Saturday afternoon, March 3, over a dozen Busch North Series drivers are scheduled to appear t Racearama in an all-star autograph session next to the NASCAR booth from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Moving to the CarQuest Motorsports Expo in Syracuse the following week, NASCAR will be represented by the Featherlite Modified Series entry of Jan Leaty and the Vecchio Racing #1 Busch North Series Chevrolet driven by Jerry Marquis. Schedules for both the series will be available at each event.

Thr Featherlite Modified Series opens its 22-race 2001 schedule on Sunday, March 11, at South Boston (Va.) Speedway, while the Busch North Series kicks off its 20-race campaign at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H., on Sunday, April 22.

The NASCAR Touring division consists of nine regional series which blanket the nation, bringing major events to NASCAR Weekly Racing Series tracks like South Boston Speedway and Lee USA Speedway, as well as many superspeedways and road courses. NASCAR Touring series are regarded as the primary training ground for both drivers and technicians seeking to move up to NASCAR's national series- the Winston Cup Series, Busch Series` Grand National Division, and Craftsman Truck Series; while also providing professional careers for racers on the regional level. Corporations making major contributions to NASCAR Touring point funds include Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Featherlite Trailers, Goody's Headache Powders, Gatorade, RE/MAX International, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Raybestos Brakes, and R.J. Reynolds' Winston brand.

- Al Robinson