Craftsman Truck Series Cintas Rookie Race: Irwin Holds Lead Despite 31st Place Finish

8 October 1997

               ILL-FATED IRWIN STILL CONTROLS CINTAS ROOKIE RACE 
 ENGINE TROUBLE, 31ST PLACE FINISH IN KRAGEN/EXIDE 151 DON'T DIMINISH HIS LEAD


CHARLOTTE, NC - Despite bouts of engine trouble that kept him from
finishing Sunday's Kragen/Exide 151 at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma,
Kenny Irwin lost no ground in the race to become the 1997 Cintas
Rookie-of-the-Year.  Officially listed as the 31st place finisher in a
field of 34 drivers, Irwin maintained his 17-point advantage over
second place rookie Kick Crawford, who crossed the finish line 25th in
the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 60-lap event this past weekend.

With four races remaining on the 1997 schedule, Irwin (206 points)
leads Crawford (189) and Stacy Compton, who garnered Cintas
Rookie-of-the-Race honors for being the highest-finishing first year
driver at Sonoma. Compton, posting his second top-10 finish in as many
weeks, now has 182 points after his 10th-place finish on Sunday.

Irwin, the only Cintas rookie to win on more than one occasion this
year, was forced out on lap 33 of the season's final road course
event. After his crew worked to repair a bent push rod on the
Raybestos #98 Ford F-150 during the mandatory break, Irwin returned to
the track for three laps until he was done for the day. Irwin knows he
was fortunate to maintain his stranglehold on the number one
position. And he looks forward to the possibility of taking home the
sport's highest rookie honor.

"Winning the Cintas Rookie-of-the-Year would be one of the highlights
of our season. We've had some big moments. Winning races is
great. Being in the top 10 in the points is great. But I have never
lost sight of the fact that I'm a rookie and this is my one chance to
win the Cintas Rookie-of-the-Year Award."

The rookies take to the Mesa Marin Raceway, a half-mile asphalt oval
located just east of Bakersfield, for the running of the Dodge
California Truckstop 300 on Sunday, Oct. 12. Tony Raines, who stands
in fourth place in the Cintas rookie standings with 175 points, is one
of only five drivers on the truck circuit to win a short track race
this season.

This weekend's running of the Dodge California Truckstop 300, the
final short track race of the 1997 season, can be seen live on TNN
starting at 4:30 p.m.  (EDT).

                CINTAS ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR POINT STANDINGS

    1. Kenny Irwin    206                      6. Tony Roper       136
    2. Rick Crawford  189                      7. Tammy Jo Kirk    121
    3. Stacy Compton  182                      8. Rob Rizzo         67
    4. Tony Raines    175                      9. Terry Cook        65
    5. Boris Said     158                     10. Lonnie Rush       45
 

By Muhleman Marketing