Portland Eric Norris Notes

Grainger Industrial Supply 200 August 14th, 1999 Portland, Oregon TV - Speedvision (taped) October 2nd 2:00 PM Eastern

Eric Norris/Jani-King Prolong Racing Notes

Topic of Interest

* Eric Norris and the Jani-King team are making their first start at the tight little half-mile Portland Speedway in Portland, Oregon. Last year the team elected not to attend the Portland race because of other commitments. This year the team enters the race eighth in points. The Jani-King team arrives at the Portland race looking to regain the racing form that produced three top ten finishes in a row, until the last race when Norris was forced out of a top ten finish due an unavoidable crash.

* Over the last month the Norris racing team has been very busy testing at the upcoming facilities. The team went to Irwindale Speedway in California and Rocky Mountain Raceway in Utah. Both tests went very well and Norris's speeds were among the fastest at each location.

* Eric Norris is one of only three drivers that have competed in every event in 1999 and been running at the finish of each of them. The other two drivers are Brandon Ash and Sean Woodside who are one and two in NASCAR Winston West points.

* Eric Norris is currently 172 points out of the lead in the Winston West Series standings. So to say the team is pumped up about the year is an understatement. With a good finish at Portland, Norris could move over the $100,000 mark in career earnings on the NASCAR West tour.

* The Jani-King team and driver Eric Norris are currently third in laps completed. Norris and his #32 Ford Taurus have finished 1244 laps of a possible 1300. The other two drivers that have finished more laps in 1999 than Norris are Brandon Ash and Sammy Potashnick.

Eric Norris Quotes for Portland Speedway

"I've never run at Portland so I really don't what to expect. Everyone I've talked to says it's a tight track with very little passing. They have also told me that it's hard on tires so I will have to take car of them. We'll be OK. I think this team is really starting to come together and the runs we've had the last four races are proof of that."

"It's been a good few weeks for us. We were out doing some testing and we really feel like we have found a few things. It also helps when we get to test because then I have more confidence in what kind of setup we take to a track."

"The thing I have to work on this week is getting use to the short tracks. Most of the guys we race against have a better time on the short tracks, but I'm a little different. I enjoy the mile or bigger tracks. So it makes it a bit strange when I talk to people about the speedways."

Eric Norris 1999 NASCAR Winston West Series Results

Location Start Finish Laps Status Money Won

Tucson 8 19 197 of 200 Running $ 1,261 Las Vegas 24 12 99 of 100 Running 3,419 Phoenix 16 18 99 of 100 Running 3,694 Fontana 16 12 100 of 100 Running 4,650 Pikes Peak 8 4 150 of 150 Running 13,675 Bakersfield 11 8 200 of 200 Running 3,316 Irwindale 22 10 247 of 250 Running 3,467 Monroe 10 18 152 of 200 Running 2,091 Totals 1244 of 1300 (95.6) $ 38,323

Best Start: 3rd @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1998) Best Finish: 4th @ Pikes Peak International Raceway (1999) Biggest Purse: $ 13,675 @ Pikes Peak International Raceway (1999)

Eric Norris NASCAR Winston West Series Career Results

Starts Poles Wins Top 5s Top 10s Money Won

21 0 0 2 6 $ 84,862

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Eric Norris's Career Results

Starts Poles Wins Top 5s Top 10s Money Won

6 0 0 0 0 $ 35,900

Best Start: 15th @New Hampshire International Raceway (1997) Best Finish: 13th@ Watkins Glen International (1997) Biggest Purse: $ 8,325 @Texas Motor Speedway (1999)