USA-Lakeland Press Release - Davis and other hopeful first time winners
Press Release For Immediate Release Contact: Gene Crane PR and Media Relations P.O. Box 90097 Lakeland, FL 33804-0097 863 984-RACE (7223) 800 984-RACE (7223) 863 984-2442 Fax genecrane@usaspeedway.com May 28, 2002 Potential First Time Winners Looking To Join the Veterans in USA’s Victory Lane Lakeland, FL – Kertus Davis, a tall somewhat lanky 21 year old young man from Gaffney South Carolina, has set his sights once again on Lakeland’s USA International Speedway as the place that he may be able to score a much sought after first ProCup win in this weekends USAR HOOTERS ProCup Series Jackaroo Sauces 250 presented by Discount Auto Parts. Heading into this seventh race of the Southern Division season, Davis looks back to just the race before for inspiration after posting a career best third while starting from the last spot on the field. “I missed the drivers meeting and I really hated that but we needed to get the car right, that track is real abrasive and you can lose a lap quick if your tires go away,” commented Davis about Peach State Speedway where the Southern Division last raced on May 10th. Davis realizes that to get to Lakeland’s Victory Circle that he must get by the black number 5 of 3 time series champion Bobby Gill, who has been racking up an impressive string of wins in 2002 with 6 wins in the first 6 races of the season. To make the mountain appear even more difficult, Gill has not lost a race at USA since February 2001 – a total of 4 straight! Davis has enjoyed bittersweet success at USA and takes an optimistic view of this weekend’s race. He cites his fifth place finish in 1999, which was the first time he had ever seen the high-banked ¾ mile, along with having led in several other races here only to have things go away in the closing stages as a sign that his streak of bad luck may be behind him “USA has great possibility – I’m excited – after 3 DNF’s earlier this season, I believe that this will be a good race for us. That 3rd place run really felt good.” Davis has also competed in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series this season racing at Richmond. “That race helped me a lot, more horsepower and seat time. Being behind the wheel every week keeps a driver physically and mentally prepared. At Peach State the car seemed slow but I got out of the car and my dad told me we were 4th quick.” When quizzed as to whether Bobby Gill could be beat, Davis’ response was hopefully confident yet 13 years of competition yielded a tempered understanding of just how tough the task would be. “A top 5 this weekend is realistic but oh yeah Bobby can be beat and I’m going to do it. It might be this weekend but he has been lucky and he could have some bad luck but I don’t want to beat him because of bad luck. I want race him and win.” Like several other teams in the series, Davis Motorsports does not enjoy the comfort of having major sponsorship on the side of the orange number 0 and Davis must rely on himself, his father Johnny and Keith Wilson, dubbed “the Wizard” to get the job done. Several associate sponsors help offset some of the expenses but Davis is hopeful that good runs will help him secure the sponsorship needed. Davis is just one of many similar stories across the pit area. Hard work, dedication and a goal to make it to Victory Lane are already working in the favor of many teams, all that is lacking is a little luck for Kertus as well as Jason Sarvis, John Kinder, Toby Robertson, Jon Kerley, rookies Andrew Medlin and Billy Mowery plus many others to celebrate their first win. Jason Sarvis has followed Gill to the checkers on 2 occasions this season and also is poised to collect his first win very soon. Capturing the pole at USA in February caught the attention of many, however fuel delivery problems sidelined the team early. Sarvis also became the only driver to take fast qualifier honors twice this season and has a second place run at USA to his credit while chasing Gill in last September’s USA event. Gill indicates that among others Jason’s car is going to be a car to watch in Saturday nights’ showdown. Late last season the pieces of the puzzle began to fit into the right places for Toby Robertson. The TWR team had clicked from time to time and won a pole early in the 2001 season, but it was during the championship series at Concord where a bold mid-race pass of race leader Gill that had even Robertson shaking his head in non-belief in post race interviews that marked their turn around. Like Davis, Sarvis and many of his fellow competitors, Robertson has been no stranger to on track success and brings a healthy resume to the ProCup series including a track championship at Hickory Motor Speedway. Primary sponsorship fell through for Robertson at the beginning of the season but he and his team continue to challenge for their place at the top of the series. California native, John Kinder arrived on the ProCup scene in full force for the 2000 season and is another driver who has wrestled to open the door to Victory Lane. Third has been the best that the former Winston West driver has been able to claw from the series veterans. This weekend John will have James & Tyler Byington of Roy, Utah, as honorary crewmembers. These special guests were among several winners of CBS SportsLine.com’s Fantasy Racing 2001 Challenge, which was held during the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Season. Rookie drivers Medlin and Mowery, both from Florida, have had a spirited battle for the division rookie honors with Medlin posting 2 top 5 finishes in just 6 outings. Medlin’s efforts have met a few bumps in the road while Mowery has finished in the top 10 three times with a pair of 13th place runs marking his low point. Mowery will rely on his previous experience at Lakeland to boost his efforts for the weekend. -30- For more information about USA International Speedway, including race day schedule and entry lists; please visit our web site at http://usaspeedway.com/.