Run For The 2002 Goody's Dash Series, Nascar Touring Championship Title

September 20, 2002

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Jake Hobgood, of Winnsboro, SC, is in control of his own destiny. With a 117-point lead over Robert Huffman, Hobgood will simply have to start the race at Atlanta to be declared the 2002 Series' Champion.

This will be the first Championship for Jake Hobgood. But it will be the second crown for the Hobgood family. Jake's father and mentor, Will Hobgood, won the Championship in 1994.

This will be the second time in Goody's Dash Series history that a father and son have shared the title of Series' Champion. Mike Swaim, Sr. (1984, 1985) and Mike Swaim, Jr. (1997) are the other pair.

Still up for grabs are the Mag Clip Rookie of the Year, Gatorade Front Runner Award, and Goody's Headache Powder Consistency Award.

Chuck Gafrarar has led the Mag Clip Rookie of the Year Award for the entire season. Brandon Ward has collected the top Rookie honor for two consecutive races, in which Gafrarar has weathered two poor finishes. Gafrarar's lead has dwindled to 6 points over Ward.

Considering how the points are awarded, Gafrarar is in a comfortable position for claiming the 2002 Mag Clip Rookie of the Year Title. In each event, the highest rookie receives ten points and each driver receives one less point in the order that they finish in that event. With the number of rookies entered in the program, Gafrarar will win the title by starting the race at Atlanta.

The Gatorade Front Runner Award recognizes those drivers who lead laps. The driver leading the most laps will win the yearend award. Justin Hobgood led 144 of the 152 laps at Motordrome Speedway. This catapulted him from third to first place. Both Jake Hobgood and Robert Huffman are still in the running. Should Justin lead at least one lap and either Huffman or Jake lead the most laps, there would be a tie. The tie would then be decided by who has the most wins or where they finished in the final points standings.

The Goody's Headache Powder Consistency Award recognizes the drivers who complete the most laps during the year. Jake Hobgood leads this category. Hobgood won the Halfway Challenge by being the only driver to complete 100% of the laps run through the halfway point in the season. To date, Hobgood has only missed one lap in competition. This occurred at Big Daddy's South Boston Speedway when his right front wheel assembly broke with just three laps remaining. Hobgood limped the car to the finish.

As of the race at Motordrome Speedway, these top five drivers have a mathematical chance to take the top honor. (Out of 1633 laps run) Jake Hobgood, 1632, 99.94%, Zach Brewer, 1624, 99.45%, Justin Hobgood, 1603, 98.16%, Robert Huffman, 1524, 93.33%, and Randy Humphrey, 1519, 93.02%.
The 2002 Season has been an exciting one. Currently three drivers have three wins each. Jake Hobgood, Robert Huffman, and Justin Hobgood.

History was made at Greenville-Pickens Speedway when for the first time in NASCAR history three women started the same event. Arlene Pittman, Kelly Sutton, and Angie Wilson accomplished this fete.

Jake Hobgood has had a stellar year. He has collected top ten finishes in eleven out of twelve events. He also has eight top fives.

Eighty-four different drivers have entered Goody's Dash Series events in 2002.

The Goody's Dash Series is in its 28th year. Goody's Headache Powders celebrated ten years as the Series' Title Sponsor. Through the event at Motordrome, the Goody's Dash Series has run 467 races since it originated in 1975. Dean Combs is the all-time winner with 60 career wins and five Series' Championships. Robert Huffman is second on the list with 38 career wins and four Championship Titles.

Jake Hobgood has eight career victories, a distinction he shares with the 1983 Series' Champion Michael Waltrip.

The final event is scheduled for Friday, October 25th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Goody's Dash Series will take to the quarter-mile track situated on the front stretch of the super speedway. This no doubt will be one of the most exciting, fender banging, paint swapping, adrenaline pumping short track events in Goody's Dash Series history. This 150-lap event will be held in conjunction with NASCAR Winston Cup Qualifying and NASCAR Busch Series Happy Hour.


For More Information Contact:
Randy Claypoole, Series Public Relations/Media Coordinator
(386)437-1560 or by email: [email protected]

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