Northeast Region points summary

Big Diamond drivers staging memorable points battle in NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Presented By Dodge Northeast Region.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 12, 2002) - In every NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge region, a"points race within a race" takes place each week. While drivers challenge for the regional championship they simultaneously race for track points, and the results can be just as intriguing at both levels.

In the Northeast region, veteran drivers Keith Hoffman, Duane Howard and Meme Desantis are staging a three-way battle for the Big Diamond track title. Hoffman, of Whitehall, Pa., currently leads the track standings by fifteen points over Howard and is ranked eighth in the Northeast Region Competition Performance Index (CPI) standings. Desantis is third in the track standings, 10 points behind Howard. Hoffman and Howard have combined for six Big Diamond track championships with Hoffman taking the most recent honors in 2000 and 2001.

"This points battle will be around all year long," Howard said."We've all been around a long time, we have decent equipment and we all know what it takes to get around Big Diamond."

Hoffman, who finished third in last season's regional rankings, agrees.

"We're not going to know who'll win this championship until we get down to the last couple of races," Hoffman said.

A strong finish this weekend by any of these three will undoubtedly shake up the standings. Hoffman has recorded top-five finishes in each of the first six races but he has yet to win a feature race. Wins are an important factor in NASCAR's CPI computation. Howard, meanwhile, has two wins and three top-five finishes overall compared to Desantis' single feature victory and three top-five finishes.

NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge regional championship standings are determined by the CPI, a statistical formula that ranks each feature division driver based on a combination of starts, wins, top-five finishes, top-10 finishes and the car count in their respective division. A driver must be his/her track points leader in order to be eligible for the regional or national championship.

NEWS OF NOTE:

* Back on track... Of the drivers that earned track championships in 2001, 23 have already returned to the top of the standings. This list includes six of last year's regional champions - Ted Christopher, Vern Bliss, Brandon Butler, Ricky Bilderback, John O'Neal and Aaron Days.

* Hebing leads ShorTrack standings... Wilbur Hebing, of Ontario, N.Y., currently leads the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge ShorTrack Division standings in the Northeast Region. Hebing has three wins in three starts in the NWRS Modified division at Spencer (N.Y.) Speedway.

FROM THE ARCHIVES:

* Jason Keller posted a win on May 26, 1990 at Lanier National Speedway in Gainesville, Ga. Keller earned the win the day after he won at Anderson (S.C.) Speedway. Debbie Lunsford finished second to Keller at Lanier, followed by Mike Love. Keller, then a 20-year old Clemson University student, is currently ranked third in the NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division standings; Lunsford and Love are now married and still competing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge.

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