Team PR Releases from USAR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (April 14, 2002): Media Contact/Further Information: Tony "Tex" Stevens Tex Motorsports Promotions Phone: 724.223.0965 Cell: 412.225.0348 Email: TStevens@OnlineRacin.com Forrest Urban Takes New Sponsors to Third Place Finish at Jennerstown JENNERSTOWN, PA (April 14, 2002) - Starting from the 19th position, Forrest "Bubba" Urban, Jr., dodged 24 caution flags to finish the Pro Cup 250 presented by Lucas Oil in third position Saturday. The rookie driver of the Insurance Doctor/OnlineRacin.com Chevrolet from Midlothian, Va., also won "Rookie of the Race" honors and collected $4,500 for his efforts. Urban also stands third in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Northern Division standings.. Urban Racing's day started out with difficulty, as the four-member pit crew was unable to get the car to turn properly in the corners at Jennerstown. After increasing the stagger split on the rear of the car, the team nearly alleviated the problem and was prepared to make the car even faster when the rains came at 10:30 am. The deluge of precipitation caused qualifying to be cancelled, and the 10th fastest team in practice was forced to draw for their starting position. Once the rains subsided at approximately 3:15, track drying began, and the race was postponed until 7 pm. With only ten minutes of "scuff time" to break in the new tires and finalize the car's setup, the No. 46 team made the final decisions regarding car setup with some uncertainty. The green flag had not been tucked away when the first caution of the race came for an incident in turn one, setting the tone for the evening. Later in the run on lap 75, Urban received minor cosmetic damage to his right front fender and hood when he caught a piece of another competitor and the wall when the No. 83 car of Lonnie Rush spun in turn one. "When qualifying got rained out, we were really scared because they said we'd start by points. We only ran one race last year, so we didn't have many points," remarked Urban, a former South Boston Speedway track champion. "Luckily, we drew a good number and got a pretty good starting spot. There were quite a few spins we had to dodge, and when the 83 spun off two, we had to avoid him and got into the wall a little bit and did some damage to the right side, but it was nothing major." Pitting soon after the altercation, near lap 100, the No. 46 and No. 14 teams combined to pit Urban since the No. 46 team only had three available members on pit road for the day. During the ensuing cautions, the No. 46 cycled his way back into the top ten and ran there for the remainder of the event, despite some close calls. In the second half of the race, Urban was concerned that his shocks were going away. The failing shocks made it difficult for the 30-year old driver to enter and exit the bumpy corners at the Jennerstown Speedway while maintaining control. Hanging on until the last 20 laps, Urban had Lady Luck on his side when the cars of Eric Delozier, Jeff Agnew, and Jason McLellan got tangled up on the back side of the racetrack and allowed him to move up to fourth spot. "I had to worry about the pit stop because of how the guys were wrecking behind us. We didn't want to pit because of how everyone was wrecking, but it was something we had to do," explained Urban. "After the pit stop, we came out behind Mardy Lindley, who eventually won the race, and I sort of followed him through most of the traffic. That's about the time the shocks started going away. We had some shocks we ran on the late model, which is a lighter car, and they ran good for shorter lap races. But with the Hooters car, it's a couple hundred pounds heavier and a much longer race." On the next to last green flag run, Urban powered around the No. 75 car of Eric Corbett on the outside groove with less than twenty laps to go and set his sights on the No. 4 of Jay Fogleman. The pass, however, bent up the nose of the No. 46 even more but was still minor enough to allow him to continue. Another late race caution and subsequent red flag prevented Urban from making a charge on Fogleman for second, but Urban was still able to maintain his heading and come across the line in the third position ahead of Brian Ross and Eric Corbett. "With that restart with less than 20 to go, we were in fourth behind the 75 car," recalled the second generation driver. "He got some damage from the earlier wreck (with Agnew) that he didn't know about. When we went back to green, and we went down to turn three, his car didn't turn like it had before. I got in the back of him pretty good, messed the hood and the nose up pretty bad, but I knew he'd be slow and try to keep it on the bottom. I went to the outside thinking he wouldn't expect it in turn one. That's when I was able to pass him on the outside." "We were real disappointed that we didn't get to have qualifying because of the rain. We were 10th quick in practice," Urban continued. "I think we had the car even better than that for qualifying. But I am really excited to have a top-five finish in the first race of the year for both Insurance Doctor and OnlineRacin.com. We worked our tails off over the winter trying to get this car ready. My dad does the motors and my brother and I worked all winter on the car. Some of our friends help, too, and it's just a great accomplishment for us." Urban Racing will be racing again in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series when the series visits Illiana Motor Speedway in Illinois in two weeks. Urban will be attempting to maintain his position in the points and set his sights on the "Rookie of the Year" title for 2002. Sponsorship opportunities are also available with Urban Racing in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, one of the fastest growing short track series around. Urban's stellar performance in the No. 46 Insurance Doctor/OnlineRacin.com Chevrolet can be seen on SPEED Channel on Thursday, April 18, 2002 at 9 pm EDT. A total of two subsequent re-airings will follow; consult listings for times. -30- ------------------- Team Concept Alumni Learn to Win by Cynthia Davis When Kurt Busch rolled into Victory Lane at the Food City 500, Ben Warner, Body Technician for the Roush Racing #97 Team, experienced a certain closure for all the long hours of training and hard work it takes to be a winning Winston Cup crew member. The amount of work, knowledge and commitment wasn't a total surprise to Ben because he is Alumni, and past Crew Chief, of the Team Concept Training Program. The Team Concept Program is a hands-on racing program designed to give first hand experience designing, building, and repairing a USAR ProCup Car for a full season. Each student takes a series of 11 classes at the Carolina Motorsports Tech Center then applies that knowledge to gain valuable experience at the race track. Students walk into the racing environment from day one. No automotive classes just straight Motorsports classes. Classes include Motorsports Fabrication, Motorsports Welding, Assembly, Chassis Design, Metal Shaping, Metal Body Design, Graphics, Race Team Operation and Fab Machine. Team Concept members learn to deal with the day to day operation of a team from logistics to pit crew responsibilities. Team Concept Alumni, 30 strong, have secured positions with Roush Racing, Addington Racing, P.P.I., Evernham Motorsports, Petty Enterprises, Action Performance, along with USAR ProCup and many already know the winning feeling. "I am in my second year with Roush Racing and the experience I gained with Team Concept applies each day, going to the race track for a full season makes everything that you learn easy to put in context. When Jimmy and the race track guys encounter something at the track it is easy to understand because I've been there." States Ben Warner. "Teams look to us for trained entry level technicians. Our instructors spend 48 months with each student we know their work habits, personalities, and focus, many students can handle the rigorous disciplines that are needed to be on a team, some need to apply their talents in support facilities, but we work hard to meet the industry need by supplying quality personnel for all Motorsports businesses. Team Concept gives these individuals' race track experience." Adds Mark Davis, Motorsports Director at Carolina Motorsports Tech Center. For more information on team members and classes; check out www.carolinateamconcept.com . www.carolinateamconcept.com Carolina Motorsports Tech Center 1232 Fed Ex Drive SW Conover, NC 28613 PH: (828)695-8445 FX: (828)695-8435