September 1, 2003

Bill Lester No. 8 Strauss Auto Parts/The Club Dodge Race Notes: RICHMOND

NCTS 200
September 4, 2003
Richmond International Speedway
TV: SPEED (Live) 8:00 PM-Eastern Time
Radio: MRN (Live) 8:00 PM-Eastern Time

2003 points standing after 16 of 25 races
Position Driver Points
1st Travis Kvapil 2488
2nd Brendan Gaughan 2480
3rd Ted Musgrave 2417
4th Dennis Setzer 2365
7th Bobby Hamilton 2290
11th Chad Chaffin 2036
13th Bill Lester 1851

Bill Lester Profile
Birthdate - February 6, 1961
Wife - Cheryl
Children - Alex
Residence - Atlanta, Georgia
Education - BS in E.E./C.S.
U.C. Berkeley

NASCAR Truck Series Career Statistics Year-By-Year
Years Starts Wins Top 5's Top 10's Money
2000 1 0 0 0 $ 7,770
2001 5 0 0 0 35,700
2002 22 0 0 0 264,766
2003 16 0 0 1 175,595
Totals 44 0 0 1 $482,831

Career Best Start: 1st @ Lowes Motor Speedway 5-16-03
Best Finish: 10th @ Kansas Speedway 7-5-03
Biggest Purse: $ 15,165 @ Daytona Intl. Speedway 3-14-03

Topics of Interest

Bill Lester Performance Record at: Richmond International Speedway
Date Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
9-5-02 18 36 5 of 200 Accident $ 5,215
Totals 5 of 200 (2.5%) $ 5,215

No. 8 Team History: Year Start Finish Driver
2002 18 36 Bill Lester
2001 33 20 Willy T. Ribbs

Last Year: Richmond International Speedway has not been very kind to Bill Lester and the No. 8 Strauss Auto Parts/The Club Dodge Team. Last year, they completed five laps before contact from another truck sent Lester into the outside wall and out of the race in 36th position.

"We had a tough race here last year," said Lester. "I got taken out early in the race and at the end of the race; BHR lost their other two trucks in a final lap accident. So to say the whole race was bad for the team would have been an understatement. It was also in that last lap crash that Bobby (Hamilton) got hurt. This is a whole new year this year though. I think last year at this time we had fallen out of four races. This year it's just two. So we've improved. We've also finished more laps and have led a few laps."

New York City: Lester spent two days last week in New York City. He was a guest of NASCAR and the National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Lester took place in a ceremony honoring African-American trailblazers such as Wendell Scott.
While in New York City, Lester was also a guest on "Today in New York" and Black Entertainment Television.
"It was an honor to part of this ceremony," said Lester. "The entire trip was a great success. We spent some time with the folks at BET, NASCAR, and did the morning show for the city. It was a very rewarding trip for both the diversity program and me."

Earnings: Lester is inching ever closer to the $ 500,000 mark in career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series earnings. Currently, Lester needs to earn $ 17,169 to surpass the half million dollar mark.

Starts: This will be Lester's 45th career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 44 of which have been in a BHR Team entry.

Championship Contenders: With nine races remaining in the 2003 season, there are 19 drivers that can still mathematically win the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.

This Week's Truck: Lester and the No. 8 Team will be racing "Curley" at Richmond International Speedway this week. It will be the eighth time Lester has raced Curley this year.

Performance Chart: Curley
Date Location S/F Driver
2003
3-14-03 Darlington 14/12 Bill Lester
3-23-03 Bakersfield 23/13 Bill Lester
4-12-03 Martinsville 17/19 Bill Lester
6-6-03 Texas 13/12 Bill Lester
6-21-03 Memphis 14/26 Bill Lester
5-19-03 St. Louis 14/22 Bill Lester
7-1-03 IRP 23/28 Bill Lester

Lester's 2003 Craftsman Truck Series Event Results
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money
Daytona 8 18 97 of 106 Accident $ 15,165
Darlington 15 12 144 of 147 Running 9,465
Bakersfield 23 13 255 of 255 Running 8,190
Martinsville 17 19 250 of 250 Running 9,315
Charlotte 1 15 135 of 136 Running 11,890
Dover 15 11 198 of 200 Running 13,750
Texas 13 12 146 of 146 Running 13,165
Memphis 14 26 125 of 200 Running 8,990
Milwaukee 23 12 198 of 200 Running 10,215
Kansas 2 10 167 of 167 Running 14,000
Kentucky 9 12 150 of 150 Running 14,940
St. Louis 14 22 141 of 160 Accident 9,190
Michigan 5 11 100 of 100 Running 12,275
Indy 23 28 191 of 200 Running 7,090
Nashville 7 16 148 of 150 Running 8,640
Bristol 18 19 195 of 200 Running 9,315
Richmond (Next Event)

2003 Totals
Starts - 16
Poles - 1
Wins - 0
Top fives - 0
Top tens - 1
Earnings -$ 175,595
Laps Completed - 2666 of 2788 (95.6%)
Laps Led - 17 of 2788
Races Led - 2 of 16
DNF's - 2

Lester Quotes  "We've had a little bad luck lately, but we're not too upset about it. Everything that has gone wrong the last few races has just been bad racing luck or things in general that we can fix. If we felt like we could not get back in the top 15 in the running and finishing order, then I would be questioning what we are doing. But that's not the case. This a strong team, and we can start finishing these races again on the lead lap."

"Well, this past weekend was the last one for a while with the family. It's back to racing week in and week out for the next six weeks. We even have a West Coast trip that will keep us out in California and Las Vegas for ten days. It's good though. We've got a few of the super speedway races to end the season with, and those are the kinds of tracks that I excel at so the team and I are looking forward to a strong finish to the 2003 season."

"We are pretty solidly in the 13th position in the points standings, but we do have a shot at moving up one or two positions before the season is over. But we'll need to run in the top ten each week to accomplish this goal. We can do it though; we just have to have a little luck on our side."