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Source: NASCAR
Public Relations
Date: 09/05/2004
WEST RICHLAND, Washington -- Jeff Jefferson continued his march
to his second straight NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Northwest
Series title with his fourth win of the season in the Ranch &
Home 125 at TriCity Raceway in West Richland, Wash.
Jefferson worked his way past Matt Hall on lap 15 and led the
rest of the way. He started fourth and had enough in his Sunfair
Chevrolet/LeMay Car Museum Chevrolet to collect the win. On the
way, he faced challenges from both Brandon Riehl and Pete
Harding, but was able to pull away eventually crossing the
finish line one second ahead of second-place Harding.
Steven Howard posted his best Northwest Series career finish
with a third-place effort. Wes Rhodes came home in fourth
followed by Travis Bennett in fifth.
John Bender, Tom Sweatman, Joe Benedetti, Riehl and Gary Lewis
rounded out the top 10.
Riehl won his second Bud Pole Award of the season with a speed
of 99.773 mph.
Garrett Evans and Jason Jefferson, Jeff’s younger brother, came
into the race in the top two spots in the season points race,
but both experienced problems finishing 17th and 18th,
respectively. With just two races remaining in the 2004 season,
the race for the championship tightened. Evans held on to the
lead, but saw his lead shrink to just six points over Bennett.
Defending champion Jeff Jefferson moved into third place with
the win, just 15 points off Evans’ pace.
The next race for the Northwest Series will be the Big O Tires
125 on September 18 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash. This
is a race that was originally schedule to be run in late March,
but was postponed due to inclement weather in the Seattle area
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