September 16, 2003

California Speedway Like Home for Bill Lester

American Racing Wheels 200
September 20, 2003
California Speedway

TV: SPEED (Live) 4:00 PM-Eastern Time
Radio: MRN (Live) 4:00 PM-Eastern Time

2003 points standing after 18 of 25 races
Position Driver Points
1st Brendan Gaughan 2786
2nd Travis Kvapil 2777
3rd Ted Musgrave 2724
4th Dennis Setzer 2685
6th Bobby Hamilton 2602
10th Chad Chaffin 2316
13th Bill Lester 2048

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 18 0 0 1 192,000
Totals 46 0 0 1 $499,236

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

Career Highlights (1985-2003)
1. 1985 SCCA Northern California Region Rookie of the Year
2. 1986 SCCA GT-3 Regional Road Racing Champion
3. Entered three Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona between 1998 and 2000
4. One NASCAR Busch Series start at Watkins Glen Intl. Speedway in 1999

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

Topics of Interest

Bill Lester Performance Record at: California Speedway
Date Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
11-2-02 3 14 100 of 100 Running $ 12,715
Totals 100 of 100 (100%) $ 12,715

No. 8 Team History: Year Start Finish Driver
2002 3 14 Bill Lester
2001 19 18 Willy T. Ribbs


Home Racing: Bill Lester currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia but he will always consider himself a Californian. Even though Lester grew up in the San Francisco area, California Speedway is sort of like a home race track for him. Many of Lester's friends and family will be in attendance, and he will be looking to spend time with them and put on a good show.

"There are a couple of reasons that I can't wait to get to California Speedway," said Lester. "The first is obvious. It's a speedway and some of my best runs have come at the big one and two mile facilities, so I'm definitely looking forward to running there. We started third in this race last season, but faded at the end. Hopefully we won't have that problem this year. The second reason for being excited about racing at California Speedway is my family will be there, and it gives me a chance to see them and spend some time with them."

Appearances: Lester will be making an appearance at the Dodge Merchandise transporter in the midway area at the California Speedway on Saturday, September 20, 2003 at 10:00AM PST. He will be there for 30 minutes.

Sonoma Trip: Immediately after the running of the American Racing Wheels 200, Lester will be traveling with his BHR teammates, Chad Chaffin and Bobby Hamilton, to Sonoma, California to take part in an event called the "Challenge Bibendum." DiamlierChrysler participates in this event yearly that tests alternative vehicles on a closed race course. The test will take place on September 21st-24th at the Infineon Raceway just north of the San Francisco Bay Area. Following the event, the drivers will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event.

West Coast Swing: With the Las Vegas event next week BHR plans to keep all three of its teams on the West Coast, as opposed to traveling home and then right back to Las Vegas.

This Week's Truck: Lester will be racing "Trix" this week at California Speedway. It is the same truck that won the pole at Lowes Motor Speedway in May. It was also the truck that Lester recorded his career best finish of tenth place in, at Kansas Speedway.

Performance Chart: Trix
Date Location S/F Driver 2003
5-16-03 Charlotte 1/15 Bill Lester
7-5-03 Kansas 2/10 Bill Lester
5-12-03 Kentucky 9/12 Bill Lester
7-26-03 Michigan 5/11 Bill Lester
8-8-03 Nashville 7/16 Bill Lester


Championship Contenders: With seven races remaining in the 2003 season, there are 14 drivers that can still mathematically win the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.

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 14 30 143 of 200 Accident 6,365
Loudon 12 13 200 of 200 Running 10,040
California (Next Event)

2003 Totals
Starts - 18
Poles - 1
Wins - 0
Top fives - 0
Top tens - 1
Earnings -$ 192,000
Laps Completed - 3066 of 3188 (96.1%)
Laps Led - 17 of 3188
Races Led - 2 of 18
DNF's - 3
Lester Quotes

"Last week with Kip (McCord) as crew chief went well. Even with the bad break during Happy Hour practice, things never seemed that bad. The guys were upbeat and having fun it seemed like. I think we're going to be even better at California this week and then the next week at Las Vegas. Things are starting to turn around, but only time will tell."

"I feel like we can shine at several of the last few races. About half the races to end the year are on speedways, so I'm pretty excited about it. We have a great speedway program. We're fast every time we get to the track. The thing is we're fast right off the transporter, then we can tweak on the truck. That makes it so much easier than chasing the set for the entire practice session."

"I'm looking forward to the trip to Sears Point. It will give me a chance to get back to my old stomping ground and visit some friends and family. It's also going to be a lot of fun running around the Infineon Raceway. It's been awhile since I've been there."

For More Information see www.bobbyhamiltonracing.com