Clay Rogers Earnds 3rd Straight Pole; Second Consecutive At Rockingham Speedway

                                         Clay Rogers Earns 3rd Straight Pole; 
                                Second Consecutive At Rockingham Speedway

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (May 14, 2010) – Clay Rogers and his USG Sheetrock team overcame several problems during Friday's final practice to earn their third straight pole this season in qualifying for this weekend's Carolina 200 presented by Black's Tire and Auto Service USAR Pro Cup Series race at Rockingham Speedway.

“We're getting so much load here because we're going so fast (that) we had a brace that cracked and broke free and we had to go back after practice and weld that up,�?? Rogers explained after earning his 29th career pole with a 146.258-mph, 24.614-second lap in his Ford Fusion. “We (also) had a distributor pick up (issue). That's actually the second week in a row we've had a distributor pick up foul out on us, so we changed it. 

“All the guys stuck together and we accomplished a lot of work. This is probably the shortest amount of time we've had between the end of practice and the start of qualifying this whole season. It was just unfortunate we had those two things happen today.�??

The final practice session ended at 1 p.m. Friday and qualifying began at 2:30 p.m. Initially, Rogers was slated to qualify fifth, but he ended up last due to the repairs his crew was forced to make.

By earning the pole, Rogers positioned himself to possibly walk off with the WIX Challenge award, which goes to the driver who claims the No. 1 starting position and then wins the race. The bonus increases by $1,000 each time it goes unclaimed. It is now worth $4,000. 

“I'm not going to talk too much about the WIX Challenge because I got myself in trouble trying to get it at New Smyrna (Fla.),�?? Rogers said with a smile. “If we can get it, that would be great, but if we can't, at least we made sure that nobody else gets it.�??

Rogers has history on his side for a successful Rockingham performance. The Mooresville, N.C., native has won both USAR Pro Cup Series races held at the 1-mile track since it reopened in 2008 and Friday's pole was his second straight at the facility.

Joining Rogers on the front row is Jeff Agnew, also in a Ford Fusion. His Team 7 Motorsports Ford was clocked at 144.173 mph, 24.970 seconds. It was the Floyd, Va., driver's best qualifying effort this season.

Rounding out the top five, respectively, were: point leader Caleb Holman, Food Country USA Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 144.017 mph; A.J. Frank, Heritage Truck Centers Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 143.529 mph; and Benny Gordon, Sanuel Metals Ford Fusion, 143.529 mph.

Chase Elliott, son of 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup champion Bill Elliott, qualified seventh for his USAR Pro Cup Series debut. He posted a 143.192-mph lap in his Aaron's Ford Fusion.

Johanna Long is also making her USAR Pro Cup Series debut in Saturday's race. The Pensacola, Fla., driver qualified 13th with a 141.127-mph lap in her Panhandle Grading & Paving Ford Fusion. 

Saturday's Carolina 200 presented by Black's Tire and Auto Service begins at  1 p.m. 

The USARacing Pro Cup Series, formerly Hooters Pro Cup, is owned by Interstate Investment Group and is based in Concord, N.C. IIG is comprised of Jack McNelly, Gary Kale, Carl Hubbard, Chip Lofton and Larry Camp, who serves as the managing partner. For more information on the USARacing Pro Cup Series, go to www.usarprocup.com.  

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