Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Friday’s New Hampshire race meaningful after all

Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001 | 11:09 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

For all the talk about running a meaningless race in the cold weather on the day after Thanksgiving, a lot of NASCAR Winston Cup drivers are taking Friday's rescheduled New Hampshire 300 very seriously.

The race, originally scheduled for Sept. 16, was postponed following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. In the weeks after NASCAR announced the race would be run on Nov. 23, there was talk in the Winston Cup garage about some drivers boycotting the race. There was no such talk Sunday following the NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Although Jeff Gordon already has clinched the season championship, 23 of the top 25 drivers can change positions in the standings after Friday's race. A one-position change can be worth as little as $65,000 (25th to 26th place) and as much as $358,000 (second to third place) when the Winston bonuses are passed out Nov. 30 in New York.

With one race remaining, nine of the top 10 drivers are separated by 88 points or less. Gordon is the only driver in the top 10 who cannot change positions in the final race, but none of the top 10 drivers can drop below 10th in the final standings.

"Forget all of the talk about the weather and the schedule -- all we need to do is to look at where we are in the points," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is eighth in points. "We can jump two spots to sixth or we can fall to 10th depending on how well we do Friday.

"Because we start by points position, all of the guys we're battling in the points are all starting together so it's a fight from the first lap to the last."

Friday's race will be a one-day show. A 45-minute practice session will be held prior to the 9 a.m. (PST) race.

The Shootout is a 70-lap race that is open only to pole winners from the previous season and past Shootout champions. Drivers who won their first Bud Pole this season and will be competing in their first Shootout are Kurt Busch, Jeff Green, Stacy Compton, Casey Atwood, Jason Leffler and Ryan Newman.

Busch, a Las Vegas native, qualified for his first Budweiser Shootout by capturing the pole for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in August.

The ride-alongs at LVMS are part of a nationwide fundraising campaign by the Richard Petty Driving Experience. In addition to LVMS, similar programs will be offered at Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Walt Disney World Speedway. All proceeds will benefit families affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

All firefighters, police and emergency medical technicians are invited to participate in the day for free.

Wallace's car also featured an Elvis paint scheme for the inaugural Winston Cup race at LVMS in 1998. As was the case that year, Action Performance Companies will produce souvenir die-casts of the car, which will commemorate the 25th anniversary of Presley's death.