---

NASCAR BGN: Roper Slow but Hopeful at Pikes Peak

23 July 1999

Fountain, Colo. - Tony Roper, driver of the No. 61 IWX Motor Freight Pontiac, qualified 25th-fastest in Thursdays first round of qualifying here at the Pikes Peak International Raceway. Roper toured the 1-mile facility in 27.162 seconds for an average speed of 132.538 miles per hour. The top 25 spots are locked in for Saturdays race.

"Thats not exactly what we were looking for," said Roper following the run. "We put a lot of our efforts today in our race setup. There are only 46 cars here meaning it would have been highly unlikely that we would have failed to make the race. Our qualifying has been pretty strong this year and were really working hard on getting a good feel of the car for Saturdays race.

"When I ran that lap, I thought that it wouldnt be in the top-25," he continued. "The car was a little tight and it just wasnt a lap that I thought was going to be good enough. But, weve got our starting spot and well be spending more time tomorrow practicing for the race. I think by Saturday well be in pretty good shape."

Dave Blaney won the pole for the race with a track-record lap of 132.538 miles per hour. The balance of the top five were Jason Keller, Tim Fedewa, Jeff Green and Jeff Fuller. While the top-25 are locked in the balance of the field will be determined in a second round of qualifying on Friday.

The NAPA Auto Care 250 gets the green flag on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MDT. ESPN will have live television coverage of the race while MRN Radio provides live radio coverage on its network of affiliates.

Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.