The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series (originally NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour) was a late model

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

series sanctioned by NASCAR that was held in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

. The original NASCAR Southwest Tour began in 1985 and ran until NASCAR discontinued the Elite Division in 2006. The cars feature a perimeter frame chassis where rails of equal lengths must kick out, compared to the more modern offset chassis where one side is straight and one side kicks out. They weigh 2,900 pounds and have a fiberglass body. When NASCAR eliminated the Elite Division at the end of the 2006 season, several competitors joined former IRL driver Davey Hamilton's SRL Southwest Tour.

Champions

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series

* 2006: Rip Michels * 2005: Jim Pettit II * 2004: Jim Pettit II * 2003: Auggie Vidovich

NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour

* 2002: Eddy McKean * 2001:

Craig Raudman Craig Raudman (born August 6, 1961) is a former NASCAR driver from Redding, California. He won the 2001 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour championship. He only competed in one Busch Series event. It came in 2002, when he ran the event at Las Vega ...

* 2000: Matt Crafton * 1999:

Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...

* 1998:

Steve Portenga Steven Portenga is a retired NASCAR driver. He spent more than 2 decades racing in various national and regional support series to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and he won the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour championship for late models in 1994 ...

* 1997: Brian Germone * 1996: Chris Raudman * 1995: Lance Hooper * 1994: Steve Portenga * 1993: Ron Hornaday Jr. * 1992: Ron Hornaday Jr. * 1991: Rick Carelli * 1990: Doug George * 1989: Dan Press * 1988: Roman Calczynski * 1987: Mike Chase * 1986: Ron Esau

References

External links

NASCAR Southwest Series archive
at Racing-Reference
NASCAR Southwest Series archive
at The Third Turn NASCAR series Stock car racing series in the United States Sports in the Western United States {{NASCAR-stub