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NASCAR BGN: Andy Petree Racing Reviewing Busch Series Program

4 October 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Flat Rock, N.C. - Andy Petree Racing announced today it may not field a NASCAR Busch Series team in 2001, instead focusing all efforts on its two Winston Cup teams.

APR is currently running a limited Busch Series schedule with two part-time sponsors. It will field the No. 15 car with sponsors Albertson's and Hot Tamales in a total of 20 races in 2000. To date, the team has one top-10 finish this season and won the pole at Dover two weeks ago.

"We really want to turn our focus to our Winston Cup program and get our teams running as well as we can," said team owner Andy Petree. "We have worked diligently to develop a top Winston Cup program, and we don't want to detract from our efforts with those two teams."

APR currently fields the No. 33 Oakwood Homes car and the No. 55 Square D/Cooper Lighting car in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

"We have told our two Busch series sponsors, Albertson's and Hot Tamales, that they should look for other opportunities for next season," Petree said. "We have enjoyed working with these two sponsors, but we need to examine what is the best solution for the entire APR organization at this point."

There is still a possibility that APR organization will field a Busch team next season, but that decision will be made only after APR has evaluated all their options for 2001.

"Right now, we're evaluating everything possible," said Vice President/General Manager Steve Barkdoll. "We're not looking at a full-time Busch team for 2001, but there is a chance we may end up back in the Busch series.

"We also aren't ruling out starting a third Winston Cup team for 5 -15 races next year, but it would have to be under the best of circumstances. If a sponsor comes to us and would like to run a limited schedule in the Winston Cup, we would entertain the idea. We just want to consider all our options before making a decision."

Text Provided By Steve Barkdoll

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