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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 29, 2004) – NASCAR racing is returning to Shasta Raceway Park. The track, a 1/3-mile asphalt oval located at the Shasta District Fairgrounds in Anderson, Calif., has re-joined the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series for the 2004 season. Shasta was a charter member of the series in 1982 and was sanctioned by NASCAR as recently as 1996.
“We are thrilled to have this historic racing facility return to the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series,” said Chris Boals, director of the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series. “The teams, drivers, fans and sponsors at Shasta Raceway Park will be a welcome addition to this series and we look forward to a great partnership in 2004 and beyond.”
As part of the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series, which includes nearly 70 weekly short tracks across the country, Shasta Raceway Park competitors will be eligible for many special awards and regional championship contests. Drivers in the track’s Late Model division will compete for NASCAR’s regional and national championships, which can reward a driver up to $170,000 in post-season prize money. Modified competitors will participate in the NASCAR ShorTrack Division, a regional and national championship program for support division racers. In total, NASCAR awards $1.7 million to NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series competitors annually.
Shasta Raceway Park General Manager George Wade, a former track manager at Evergreen Speedway, a NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series facility in Monroe, Wash., says the addition of NASCAR to the track will bring increased recognition and rewards to local teams and drivers.
“This is an exciting day for Shasta Raceway Park, the Fairgrounds and the entire community,” said Wade. “The racing heritage here is strong and we are proud to once again fly the NASCAR banner over our track.”
Shasta Raceway Park was the home track for 1994 NASCAR regional champion Paul Peeples Jr., of McKinleyville, Calif. Roger Gannon, of Redding, Calif., won five NASCAR track championships competing at Shasta during the 1980s and the track was also an early racing home to 2001 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series champion Craig Raudman, who continues to campaign on the Southwest Series.
As the leading short track racing series in the U.S., the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series includes nearly 1,600 events each year. For more than 20 years, the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series has provided a strong foundation for the future of NASCAR racing. Many of today’s top NASCAR stars began their careers in this series, including Greg Biffle, Jeff and Ward Burton, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray and Elliott Sadler.