NASCAR WCUP: Pressley Gaining Ground on Consistency
5 January 1999
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The 1999 campaign will mark Pressley's second full season with the 77 team, which showed signs of marked improvement. No race proved that more than Texas, where Pressley qualified eighth and rode around in the top 10 all day before finishing a career-best third. That proved to be his only top-10 effort of the year, but he still earned nearly $1 million ($996,721) in the 30 races he qualified.
Prior to his association with car owner Doug Bawel, Pressley drove for parts of three seasons with Leo Jackson and Andy Petree (1994-96) and then signed on with Gary Bechtel and Diamond Ridge Motorsports. He ran the final three races of '96 and the first seven of '97 with that team before finishing out the year with Jasper.
While Pressley continues to climb the ladder in NASCAR Winston Cup, he has been a major threat in the Busch Grand National Series since 1989 when he started 19 races and won once as a rookie. His best season came in 1992 when he won five times, posted 16 top-10 finishes in 31 races, and finished fifth in the final point standings. Overall, Pressley has 10 Busch Series victories to his credit.
Racing is something that is part of the Pressley family tradition. Robert's father, Bob, dominated throughout the Carolinas at various short tracks and got a great deal of help from his four sons. Robert followed in his father's footsteps by racing at New Asheville (N.C.) Speedway and Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway and winning track championships at both. Robert's brother, Charley, is recognized as one of the top mechanics in the NASCAR Winston Cup garage area and currently works for McClure Motorsports.
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