IRP Fact Sheet & Pre-Race
2001 HOOTERS PROCUP SERIES RACE FACTS
WHAT: Naturally Fresh Dressings 200 presented by Lucas Oil Products
USAR Hooters ProCup Race #11 of 30 (Northern Division Race #4)
WHERE: Indianapolis Raceway Park - .686 mile, semi-banked asphalt oval
WHEN: Saturday, June 2, 2001 - 8:00 p.m. EST
DISTANCE: 200 Laps, 137 Miles
TV: Speedvision (Tape-Delayed, Thursday, June 7, 9:00 p.m.)
Speedvision (Tape-Delayed, Friday, June 8, 1:00 a.m. & 12 noon)
Sunshine Network (Tape-Delayed, Monday, June 11, 8:00 p.m.)
Sunshine Network (Tape-Delayed, Tuesday, June 12, 2:00 p.m.)
ComCast Sports Net (Tape-Delayed, Monday, June 11,1:00 a.m. & 8:00 p.m.)
ComCast Sports Southeast (Tape-Delayed, Saturday, June 9, 8:00 p.m.)
ComCast Sports Philadelphia (Tape-Delayed, Saturday, June 9, 4:00 p.m.)
ComCast Empire (Tape-Delayed, Tuesday, June 12, 7:30 p.m.)
Fox Sports South (TBA)
POSTED AWARDS: $110,985
FIELD: 40 cars possible. Fastest 36 cars through time trials. Four provisional starting
positions based on top 30 drivers' position in the 2001 points standings. One
provisional each may be added to the field for a former Hooters ProCup Series
champion, or a former USAR Hooters ProCup Series Rookie of the Year who
competed in 2000. (Starting Line-Up Format Could Change If Qualifying
Races Are Needed.)
CONTACT: Tim Southers, United Speed Alliance Racing, (770) 719-0204
SCHEDULE: Friday, June 1, 2001 (USAR Reserves the Right to Change Schedule)
5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Early Parking and Registration
Saturday, June 2, 2001
9:00 a.m. Pit Gates Open
9:30 a.m. Safety Tech Opens
10:00 a.m. Crew Chief Meeting
10:15 a.m. Rookie Meeting
11:30 a.m. ProCup Practice Begins
2:30 p.m. ProCup Practice Ends
3:00 p.m. ProCup Drivers Meeting
3:15 p.m. Chapel Service
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Baby Grand Practice and Qualifying
4:00 p.m. Grandstands Open
5:00 p.m. ProCup Qualifying Time Trials
6:00 p.m. Baby Grand Race
7:00 p.m. Autograph Session
7:40 p.m. Pre-Race Ceremonies
8:00 p.m. Naturally Fresh Dressings 200
presented by Lucas Oil Products
THE RACE: This is the USAR's first visit to this historic track. Expect many more exciting
races here!
RECORDS: Driver Date Speed Time
Qualifying:
BONUS / AWARDS SPONSORS:
Sunoco Fuel Pole Award - $1,000
Lucas Oil Products "Halfway Leader" Award - $1,000 W.J. Plemons "Hard Charger" Award - $500
Miller Lite "Rookie of the Race" Award - $1,000
PARTICIPATING CONTINGENCY SPONSORS:
Performance Fiberglass · Carolina Kit Car · 2-Qwik Performance Shocks · CV
Products · Charlotte Wheels Inc. · Earl's Performance · Eibach Springs
C&R Racing · Holley Ignitions · Isky Racing Cams · Manley Performance
MSD Ignitions · K&N Engineering · Spin Tech · Wiseco Pistons · BSR
Products · Quarter Master Industries · Racing Electronics · Rev. Inc. · Tri-
Star Racewear · Lowes Lug Nuts · Racechem · Stewart Components · Hess
Racing Products · Automotive Specialist · Edelbrock
HPCS Race Winners in 2001: Sunoco Fuel Pole Winners in 2001
1. Bobby Gill, USA International Speedway 1. Mario Gosselin, USA International
2. Jay Fogleman, St. Augustine Speedway 2. Steve Christian, St. Augustine
3. Bobby Gill, Five Flags Speedway 3. Shane Huffman, Five Flags Speedway
4. Hal Goodson, Ace Speedway 4. Jay Fogleman, Ace Speedway
5. Stacy Puryear, Jennerstown Speedway 5. Charlie Ford, Jennerstown Speedway
6. Shane Huffman, Coastal Plains Raceway 6. Toby Robertson, Coastal Plains Raceway
7. Bill Plemons, Jr., Thompson International Speedway 7. Charlie Ford, Thompson International
8. Shane Huffman, Peach State Speedway 8. Brian Vickers, Peach State Speedway
9. Sean Studer, Louisville Motor Speedway 9. Regan Smith, Louisville Mtr. Speedway
10. Bobby Gill, Hickory Motor Speedway 10.Hal Goodson, Hickory Motor Speedway
NORTHERN DIVISION STANDINGS:
Driver Hometown Car Make Points Wins
1. Mardy Lindley Taylors, SC Ford 410 0
2. Mike Herman, Jr. Kannapolis, NC Ford 392 0
3. Bill Plemons, Jr. Locust Grove, GA Ford 388 1
4. Charlie Ford Charles City, VA Chevrolet 359 0
5. Regan Smith Mooresville, NC Chevrolet 352 0
6. Brian Vickers Thomasville, NC Chevrolet 347 0
7. Jeff Agnew Floyd, VA Chevrolet 344 0
8. Lonnie Rush, Sr. (Rookie) Pickerington, OH Chevrolet 340 0
9. Jason McLellan Mt. Forest, Ont. Canada Pontiac 336 0
10. Dale Delozier (Rookie) Lorton, VA Chevrolet 335 0
MEDIA SERVICES
USAR Online, United Speed Alliance Racing's Official Internet Site on the
World Wide Web can be accessed at www.usarprocup.com and offers up to the
minute information on the USAR Hooters ProCup Series. USAR Official E-
mail Address is usar@bellsouth.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Timmy Hutson
USAR Media Relations
(770) 719-0204
usar@bellsouth.net
A Picture is Worth A Thousand Turns
Indianapolis, IN- As the USAR Hooters ProCup Northern Series heads to Indianapolis Raceway Park for the running of the Naturally Fresh Dressings 200 presented by Lucas Oil Products, teams and drivers are getting better at guessing what set-ups to throw at their cars. A case in point would be Regan Smith, driver of the #28 Chevrolet.
"A lot of these tracks I'm going to, I've never seen before. As a driver, I like to study an overhead picture of the track, that way I know where to brake, where to set the car up for the turn, and where to stomp on the gas." Smith said. This weekend will be his first visit to the famed .686 mile track.
"Going to these tracks that I've never seen before, has helped me a lot," admitted the Mooresville, NC native. "This team is not real excited about testing, which makes it better for me. During practice, I have to learn the track, where I have to be patient and that is something that I did not have last year."
Smith is currently fifth in the Northern Series points, and has won Sunoco pole awards at Thompson International Speedway and Louisville Motor Speedway.
Smith attributes his two pole awards to his patient practice style.
"During practice, I get a feel of the track, and know what to expect going into the turns. Also, you have got to throw a little bit of luck in to the picture somewhere."
Like Smith, Jeremiah Kuntz, driver of the #9 Jehavah Jireh/ Kuntz Chevrolet Oldsmobile, Cadillac Dealership Chevrolet, has never seen the birthplace of racing.
"The way that I set up for a track that I have not yet been to is pretty simple. I wait until I get there," Kuntz said jokingly. "I make a few phone calls to some drivers, and the track to kind of know what to expect. Once I get to the track, I walk around the track to get an image of the surface. Once practice begins, I take the first couple of laps slow to see how the track feels inside the racecar, and after my third slow lap, I let it hang loose."
Northern Series points leader, Mardy Lindley, driver of the #01 Aloe Lu Ya/ Big Fan Racing Ford, has been to IRP and expects some very fast laps.
"IRP is a good, smooth, wide track and it is definitely the fastest track I have run at yet. This track is even faster than Lakeland (USA International Speedway)."
Lindley does not expect to see many cautions, "but when there is a wreck, it is going to be a big one, with the high speed," said the resident of Taylors, SC. While Lindley was in the hometown of automobile racing, he had the opportunity to run a few laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of the famed Indy 500, in a street legal car.
"Indy Motor Speedway is a neat track. I got to see the garages and the track and the scenery is incredible. Also, the Indy Museum is definiently a great place to visit to see where racing started out at."
Currently, Lindley has a slim, eighteen-point lead over Mike Herman, Jr. who is second in Hooters ProCup Northern Series points.
Jeff Agnew, driver of the #73 NGA Hooters Golf Tour Chevrolet, also took the ride up to Indy with Lindley and had the opportunity to test his car at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
"I brought a new car to the track, and it ran great! This is the best race track that I have ever been to or probably will ever go to." Agnew, who resides in Floyd, VA, said that the average speed he turned around the track was 106 mph.
"The only trouble areas that I see are entering the turns. The entrance is kind of narrow if you are running two wide and the groove, even in the turns, is next to the outside retaining wall. This is definitely going to be an exciting race for both the fans and the drivers."
Practice for the USAR Hooters ProCup Northern division drivers starts at 11:30 a.m., with practice and qualifying for the Baby Grands beginning at 3:30 p.m. Grandstands open at 4 p.m. with ProCup qualifying starting at 5 p.m. The Baby Grand division will bump and run beginning at 6 p.m.. The ProCup Autograph Session will begin at 7 p.m. and the field of 40 Hooters ProCup Series drivers will receive the green flag for the start of the Naturally Fresh Dressings 200 presented by Lucas Oil Products at 8 p.m.
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