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NASCAR BGN: Tony Roper Gateway International Preview

30 July 1999

The Carquest 250 is the 21st event of the 32-race 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division schedule. For Tony Roper, driver of the No. 61 IWX Motor Freight Pontiac, it will be his 16th start of the year.

The 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway is the track that is closest to Roper's hometown of Fair Grove, Mo. Gateway is also the home track for IWX Motor Freight, the Springfield, Mo.-based sponsor of the team.

"This is a very important race to all of us," said Roper, 34. "We tested at the track in June and it was a decent test. When you add what we've learned at that test to what we've been doing at the race tracks since the test, I think we could be really good at Gateway.

"We are a brand new team this year and we're learning so much at each race," he continued. "We have made a lot of head-way here in the past month. Our car was great at Pikes Peak last week and that was no accident. We had an electrical problem ruin what could have been a good day for us. Dave Fuge (crew chief) and I understand each other better. We're both starting to understand these cars much better too.

"We just need to go to Gateway and race for a good finish," he concluded.

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