Fw: ENGINE TROUBLE SIDELINES COX

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim Southers" <usar@bellsouth.net>
To: "Tim Southers" <usar@bellsouth.net>
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2002 2:14 PM
Subject: Fw: ENGINE TROUBLE SIDELINES COX


> USAR Team Press Release #3
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "global media" <globalmedia@mail.sopwithmotorsports.com>
> To: <globalmedia@sopwithmotorsports.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 22, 2002 12:27 AM
> Subject: ENGINE TROUBLE SIDELINES COX
>
>
> > MOTORSPORTS NEWS
> > For immediate release
> > July 21, 2002
> > Contact: Nelson Skinner, 317-590-4111
> >
> > ENGINE TROUBLES SIDELINE COX
> >
> > Radford, VA - "For 170 laps things went exactly as planned... but from
> there it was all downhill," said Stephen Cox after climbing out of his
Small
> Team Sponsorship Guide No. 16 Ford Taurus in Saturday night's Kroger 250
at
> New River Valley Speedway.
> >
> > Facing perhaps the strongest field of the year in ProCup racing, Cox put
> in a workman-like effort and was poised for another top 15 finish when,
late
> in the race, the first of several disasters struck. "The engine started
> missing around lap 150 or so, and that slowed us up considerably," Stephen
> said. "Then (Roger) Blackstock bumped me in the corner and spun me around.
> He raced me clean for the rest of the night... it was purely accidental."
> When the green flag came back out Cox's front left tire began to lose air
> pressure, causing him to spin again. Stephen tried to make a stop under
the
> next caution flag, but the pit board wasn't out and he missed his pit
stall
> entirely and had to come in a second time. The new tire caused the car's
> handling to deteriorate, the engine started missing again, the driver's
> radio went out, and he was finally forced to retire when a rocker arm
broke
> and the engine quit completely.
> >
> > "For three quarters of the race I drove the car hard and felt like we
had
> an effort to be proud of," Cox continued. "We would have come out with a
top
> 15 finish in an incredibly tough field and I would have been really happy
> with that. But late in the show we just had one disaster after another.
> Wasn't meant to be, I guess."
> >
> > Engine failure forced Cox out of the race after 231 laps and led to an
> eventual 21st place finish. Stephen returns to open wheel racing next
> weekend when he pilots the Stephen's Brothers Toyota World Sports Racer in
> the COMMA Challenge in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he scored a fourth place
> finish in late May.
> >
> > --
> > www.sopwithmotorsports.com
> > Creators of the Small Team Sponsorship Guide
> > --
> >
>
>