MIKE HANSEN GAINS GROUND ON LEADERS IN DIVISION II OF NASCAR DODGE WEEKLY SERIES

By Jeremy Davidson, NASCAR Public Relations

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 9, 2005) – Fueled by a win on his home track, Mike Hansen gained ground this week on the leaders in Division II of the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series.

The win was Hansen’s third victory of the season in the NASCAR Modified class at Park Jefferson Speedway in Jefferson, S.D. The Alton, Iowa, driver closed to within 110 points of the lead – while remaining third in the point standings for the division.

Chris Spieker, of Massena, Iowa, remains atop the standings for the 15th consecutive week. He has 1,070 points – after finishing fifth on his home track of Adams County Speedway on Saturday and taking home a runner-up finish at I-80 Speedway at Nebraska Raceway Park in Greenwood, Neb., on Sunday.

Joe Kosiski of Omaha, Neb., continues to shadow Spieker in the standings – trailing by 72 markers with 998 points. The former national champion was credited with a 22nd-place finish at I-80 Speedway on Sunday, after dropping out of competition with mechanical trouble.

Jeff Strunk of Bethel, Pa., retained fourth in the standings this week with 872 points, after finishing fifth at Grandview Speedway on Saturday. Moving back into the top five of the division standings is Eric Richardson of Bakersfield, Calif., with 822 points. Richardson won the second of twin 40-lap feature races for the Late Model class at Mesa Marin Raceway on Saturday.

Rounding out the top 10 of the standings are Jonathan Bouvrette of St. Therese, Quebec; Travis Sharpe of North, S.C.; Pete Anderson Jr., of Stockton, Calif.; Stacey Gerken of LaGrange, Ohio; and Robert Barker of Boerne, Texas.

Under NASCAR’s new points format for the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series, a driver’s best 16 finishes are counted towards the divisional title. If a driver races more than 16 times, their poorer finishes are not counted in the NDWS point standings.

This Week’s Division II Leaders (Driver, Home Track, Points)

1. Chris Spieker, Adams County Speedway (Corning, Iowa), 1,070
2. Joe Kosiski, I-80 Speedway (Greenwood, Neb.), 998
3. Mike Hansen, Park Jefferson Speedway (Jefferson, S.D.), 960
4. Jeff Strunk, Grandview Speedway (Bechtelsville, Pa.), 872
5. Eric Richardson, Mesa Marin Raceway (Bakersfield, Calif.), 822
6. Jonathan Bouvrette, Autodrome St. Eustache (St. Eustache, Quebec), 770
7. Travis Sharpe, Concord Motorsport Park (Concord, N.C.), 750
8. Pete Anderson Jr., Stockton 99 Speedway (Stockton, Calif.), 740
9. Stacey Gerken, Lorain Speedway (South Amherst, Ohio), 690
10. Robert Barker, San Antonio Speedway (San Antonio, Tex.), 688
11. Scott Bonney, Lee USA Speedway (Lee, N.H.), 628
12. Jeremy Lapainis, Edmonton International Raceway (Edmonton, Alberta), 600
13. Jamey Lee, Myrtle Beach Speedway (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), 594
14. Bill Hebing Jr., Spencer Speedway (Williamson, N.Y.), 534
15. Scott Lindsay, Delaware Speedway (Delaware, Ontario), 526
16. Dennis Pelphrey, Watsonville Speedway (Watsonville, Calif.), 520
17. Mark Bliss, Holland International Speedway (Holland, N.Y.), 500
18. Alan Pyszora, Shasta Raceway Park (Anderson, Calif.), 488