NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series Announces 1998 Schedule
20 December 1997
DAYTONA BEACH, FL-Two tracks new to the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series highlight a 19 event schedule that will take drivers to a total of 10 states over the course of NASCAR's 50th Anniversary year.Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth, Pa. and Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis, Tenn. will each host series events for the first time. The NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series drivers will share track time with the racers on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at both tracks. The Slim Jim All Pro race will be contested on Sunday, July 12, and the Craftsman Truck Series race will get the green flag immediately following the touring late models at the one mile Nazareth facility. At Memphis, both races will take place on the new .75 mile oval on Sunday, September 13.
"The NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series is a showcase for the finest asphalt short- track racing talent in America, and its fan base has grown measurably as a result of a very competitive 1997 campaign," said Dennis Huth, NASCAR's Vice President for Administration. Due to the increased excitement for fans and competitors when pairing up the Slim Jim All Pro Series with the Craftsman Truck Series, the Busch Series- Grand National Division, and the Goody's Dash Series, we will continue to offer multiple series events on a single weekend in 1998. These selected events, coupled with the continued success of series events at NASCAR Winston Racing Series facilities, will serve as a springboard for further growth in '98.
The 1998 campaign will kickoff during SpeedWeeks on Sunday, February 8 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. The first event of the season will be contested on the newly paved .375 mile oval. In actuality, this will be the first time that series drivers will race on this track. The facility has undergone a dramatic facelift over the off season with the half mile oval being converted from asphalt to dirt while the former dirt oval will now serve as the paved battleground of the two track facility. The series will return to South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Va. on April 11 after a one year hiatus from the .375 mile oval. The series will then move on to tracks which hosted events on last year's schedule. Events will be contested at St. Augustine, Greenville-Pickens, Southern National, I-70, Myrtle Beach and Lanier National Speedways before the teams roll into Nazareth for the first time. Once an inaugural winner is crowned at Nazareth the teams will return to Caraway, Greenville- Pickens, Louisville Motor and Lanier National Speedways before their maiden voyage to Memphis.
The season will wind up with a parallel to the 1997 schedule. Drivers will return to the high banks of Winchester Speedway in Winchester, In. for the Winchester 400, followed by a 200 lap race at Concord Motorsport Park and the All American 400 at Nashville Speedway, U.S.A. The season finale will once again be contested at Metro- Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex in Homestead, Fla.
In addition to the Nazareth and Memphis events, the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series participants will join the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers at Homestead, Fla. on April 4, at Odessa, Mo. on May 22-23 and at Louisville, Ky. on August 28-29. The season finale will once again serve as a season ending colossus with the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series and NASCAR Busch Series-Grand National Division also racing at the 1.5 mile Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex on November 14-15.
As always, a generous sampling of NASCAR Winston Racing Series tracks dot the schedule. South Boston (Va.) Speedway, Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway, I- 70 (Mo.) Speedway, Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway, Lanier National (Ga.) Speedway, Caraway (N.C.) Speedway, Louisville (Ky.) Motor Speedway, Concord (N.C.) Motorsport Park and Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway, USA serve as an anchor for NASCAR racing in their respective markets all season long.
Darlington, S.C.'s Hal Goodson is the two-time and defending 1997 NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series Champion.
