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Schrader wins again at California

FONTANA, Calif. -- Ken Schrader got his weekend off to a
good start Saturday, winning the NASCAR Grand National West race at
California Speedway.

"I hope I didn't use up my luck today," said Schrader, an
occasional starter in the series formerly known as Winston West and
a full-time racer in the Nextel Cup series.

"I like this place," Schrader added. "My Cup record here is
terrible and that's why we keep bringing the West car, thinking it
will help the Cup car."

The longtime NASCAR star will start 32nd in the 43-car field for
Sunday's Auto Club 500. And he's right about his Cup record here.

In seven previous Cup starts on the 2-mile oval, Schrader has
finished no better than 14th and hasn't been higher than 30th the
last three tries.

Schrader does have four Cup wins, but none since June 1991 at
Dover, a span of 416 races.

In the West series, though, he is a force. Saturday's victory
was his third at the California track and 10th overall. He also has
been the runner-up here three times in seven tries.

Saturday, Schrader led 29 of the 100 laps, including the final
27 after passing Clint Bowyer on a restart. Bowyer finished second,
followed by Scott Lynch.<

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BEAUTIFUL FEELING: Nextel Cup points leader and fan favorite
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was recently named one of People Magazine's
"Most Beautiful People."

The 29-year-old racer is flattered and amused by the honor.

"I don't know how I made the list," Earnhardt said, laughing.
"They must not be just looking at looks alone. Maybe I got it on
personality."

Junior said his team had had a good laugh over the magazine
article, "picking on me and everything."

"But that's great. It really means a lot to my mom, I'll tell
you that. She was really thrilled over it."<

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BIRTHDAY BOY: Elliott Sadler got a birthday surprise from his
sponsor.

"M&M's flew my parents out here to surprise me at the little
birthday party they threw for me on Thursday," said the Virginia
native, who turned 29 on Friday.

"It was the first time I got to spend my birthday with my
parents in probably six or seven years, so that was pretty special
for them to do."

His older brother, Hermie, also was out here to drive in
Saturday's Busch Series race and in Sunday's Cup event.

"His birthday was just last week, too, so that was pretty
cool," Elliott said.<

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LIGHTING IT UP: NASCAR got a brief preview of California
Speedway's newly installed lights Friday night.

Speedway president Bill Miller flipped the switch to turn on the
lights for a dedication ceremony. They were installed after NASCAR
awarded the track a second Cup race, which will be finished under
the lights on Sept. 5.

"With the second race, it was important for us to have the
flexibility to light the speedway for weather, marketing and other
opportunities," Miller said.

Ron Johnson, representing Musco Lighting, said the system is not
quite ready for racing yet, although the installation was completed
30 days early.

"We will go in now, using a computer to fine tune and realign
the lights to hit the precise point they were designed for,"
Johnson explained.

The speedway lighting system will use 3 million watts per hour,
generating enough power to light 20,000 blocks of residential
streets. That's enough to light a street running from Fontana to
Oklahoma City.<

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SPARK PLUGS: Robert Pressley, whose father, Bob, died earlier
this week in North Carolina, made it back to the track in time to
drive in Saturday's Busch Series race. ... Best Western Hotels
presented Richard Petty with a check for $150,000 Saturday for the
Victory Junction Gang Camp, scheduled to open June 20 in Randleman,
N.C. ... Rookie Kasey Kahne is the eighth different pole winner in
eight Cup races at California Speedway. ... Defending race winner
Kurt Busch also finished second here in 2002. ... Earnhardt, who
leads the series with six top 10 finishes in nine races, has also
led a series-high 391 of 3,000 laps. He has led at least once in
seven of the nine races.

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