WHAT: NASCAR Busch Series race at Richmond International Raceway. Race 11 of the 34-race schedule.
WHEN: Friday, May 14, 2004; Green Flag will be approximately 8:10 p.m. EDT “Under the Lights.”
WHERE: Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, VA.
TV/RADIO: Live on FX and on the MRN Radio Network: WRNL 910 AM Richmond; WKAV 1400 AM, Charlottesville; WKCY AM 1300, Harrisonburg; WBYM 1490 AM, Hampton.
NBC12 POLE QUALIFYING: Thursday, May 13, 4:00 p.m.
RACE LENGTH: 250 laps (187.50 miles).
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Kevin Harvick
DEFENDING POLE SITTER: Michael Waltrip
QUALIFYING RECORD: Dale Earnhardt Jr., 126.868 mph, (21.282 seconds) 9/6/02
(This is the track record for the spring and fall races).
RACE RECORD: Dale Jarrett, 1 hr. 47 minutes, 13 seconds; 104.928 mph 9/8/95
(This is the track record for the spring and fall races).
TICKETS: Renewable, reserved tickets to the FUNAI 250 are only $40 and general admission tickets are $35,with kids free in the G.A. sections with a ticketed adult. Race ticket also includes practice and Wawa Pole Qualifying for sold out Chevy American Revolution 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on Saturday. Contact the Richmond International Raceway at 866-455-RACE (7223) or to purchase tickets on line, visit www.rir.com.
PARKING: Free on Richmond International Raceway property.
NOTES OF INTEREST: Moving Over: Among the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series regulars scheduled to race in the FUNAI 250 are defending race winner Kevin Harvick along with Joe Nemechek, Robby Gordon, Michael Waltrip and a trio of drivers pulling season long duty in both series: Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne and Johnny Sauter.
Close racing: Sixteen of the 30 NASCAR Busch Series races at Richmond have been decided by less than one second since the track was reconfigured to a .75-mile in 1988.
Governor Warner and Track to Team Up: Virginia Governor Mark Warner will visit the track on Thursday, May 13 at 11:00 a.m. to announce a partnership with Richmond International Raceway and the “Race to GED” program. The program is designed to help young adults obtain their high school equivalency diploma. The track will serve as an official GED testing site and host graduation ceremonies for students who complete the program. As an incentive, all students who complete the course by September will receive a free pair of tickets to the Crown Royal IROC Series/NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series doubleheader on Thursday, September 9.
Race Sponsor: FUNAI Corporation, which has sponsored the last two fall NASCAR Busch Series events at the track, is the new sponsor of this race. The company has also agreed to continue sponsoring the fall race and the new name of that race will be announced during the upcoming race weekend. FUNAI is the world’s largest volume manufacturer of DVD/VCR players, DVD Players and TV/DVD/VCR combination units.
Testing One, Two, Three Testing: Drivers who tested their NASCAR Busch Series cars on Richmond’s new surface prior to race weekend were Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., Eric McClure, Justin Labonte, Kyle Busch, David Stremme, Mike Bliss, Paul Menard, Jay Sauter and J.J. Yeley.
Cool Stuff for Pole and Race winner: The pole and race winners for the race will each receive a Sylvania 27″ triple combo tv/dvd/vcr player courtesy of Funai.(RIR PR)(5-11-2004)
