Winston Cup drivers gearing up for 2002
By Staff
Amanda Vincent/NASCAR Columnist
Jan. 19, 2002
NASCAR teams continue to prepare for their season openers at Daytona in February.
This week the rest of the Winston Cup teams (teams finishing in
even-numbered positions in 2001 plus Kevin Harvick) are testing, with
Craftsman Truck Series teams testing Jan. 18 and 19.
The Busch Series teams will be divided in half, much like Winston Cup teams, with teams finishing in odd-numbered positions in 2001 testing Jan. 21 and 22 and even-numbered closing out testing preseason Daytona testing Jan. 24 and 25.
Testing didn't get off to such a great start for the second have of Winston Cup teams. Rain wiped out testing Monday, pushing everything back a day.Procrastinating NASCAR fans who just recently decided, "Hey, why not go to Daytona," it's not too late. Tickets are still available for the Daytona 500, as well as the rest of the Speedweek activities leading up to the 500.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.daytonaintlspeedway.com or by calling the Daytona ticket office at 1-904-253-7223.
This year's Speedweek lineup includes the International Race of Champions, the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series, ARCA, and NASCAR's Craftsman Truck, Busch Grand National, and Winston Cup series. The festivities begin Feb. 5 with IROC and Goody's Dash Practice and conclude on Feb. 17 with the 44th Daytona 500.
A complete schedule also can be found at the Daytona International Speedway website.
Busch Series
honors winners
The Busch Series finally closed the book on the 2001 season last week with its annual awards banquet in Beverly Hills. Of course, among those honored were Kevin Harvick as the 2001 champion and Greg Biffle as the 2001 Rookie of the Year.
Former Truck Series champion Biffle hopes to, in at least one way, follow in Harvick's footsteps. It was just a year ago that Harvick was crowned the 2000 Rookie of the Year in the Busch Series before being named the series champion the following year. Biffle hopes to repeat that feat by becoming the Busch Series Champion in 2002. Biffle is definitely one of the favorites to capture the 2002 title, with his toughest competitor probably being Jason Keller.
The Busch Series banquet can be seen later this month on TNT.
The 2002 Winston Cup schedule was printed here last week. Below is the 2002 Busch Series schedule.
Feb. 16 Daytona 300 at Daytona International Speedway.
Feb. 23 Rockingham 200 at North Carolina Speedway.
March 2 Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
March 16 Darlington Raceway.
March 23 Bristol Motor Speedway.
April 6 O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
April 13 Nashville 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.
April 20 Talladega Superspeedway.
April 27 Auto Club 300 at California Speedway.
May 3 Hardee's 250 at Richmond International Raceway.
May 11 Busch 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
May 19 Nazareth 200 at Nazareth Speedway.
May 25 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
June 1 MBNA Platinum 200 at Dover Downs International Speedway.
June 8 Nashville 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.
June 15 Kentucky Speedway.
June 30 GNC Live Well 250 at The Milwaukee Mile.
July 5 GNC Live Well/Stacker2 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
July 13 Hills Brothers Coffee 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
July 20 CARQUEST Auto Parts 250 at Gateway International Raceway.
July 27 Pikes Peak International Raceway.
Aug. 3 Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Aug. 17 Michigan International Speedway.
Aug. 23 Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Aug. 31 Darlington Raceway.
Sept. 6 Richmond 250 at Richmond International Raceway.
Sept. 21 MBNA America 200 at Dover Downs International Speedway.
Sept. 28 Mr. Goodcents 300 at Kansas Speedway.
Oct. 12 Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Oct. 19 TBA 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Oct. 26 Aaron's 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Nov. 2 Sam's Club 200 at North Carolina Speedway.
Nov. 9 Arizona 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Nov. 16 GNC Live Well 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule will be printed next week.
