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NASCAR WCUP: MacPherson Motorsports Breaking Ground at UAW-GM Quality 500

4 October 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

CHARLOTTE, N.C., - Wednesday night's first round qualifying session for the Oct. 8 UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series event at Lowe's Motor Speedway will mark the official debut of MacPherson Motorsports.

Rookie driver Jeff Fuller will pilot the white No. 98 Ford Taurus, with veteran crew chief Vic Kangas coordinating the team's qualifying attempt.

"We had a very productive test," said Kangas about the two days the team spent at Lowe's during the open test session Sept. 19-20. "We took two cars and worked mostly on race trim. We made a couple of qualifying runs and we were pretty happy with the numbers that we were able to put up. Jeff's a good qualifier, so we decided to focus on making some long, green flag runs. We felt that was the area we needed to work on."

In Fuller's six Winston Cup starts this season, he qualified within the top-25 four times. The Auburn, Mass., native is optimistic that he can add another top-25 starting spot to his stats in the No. 98 machine.

"Qualifying is a strong suit of mine," said Fuller. "Making the show is the first important step. Once we do that we can spend the rest of our practice time fine-tuning our race setup and not worry about having to make second round qualifying.

"After we accomplish that critical first step, our next goal will be to compete on the lead lap all day, stay out of trouble and finish the race. I think that would be a great statement on what this team is capable of doing and what people can look forward to seeing out of this team in 2001."

MacPherson Motorsports had planned on running the season-ending NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but decided to move up their timetable for two reasons.

"By running Lowe's, we gain two additional test sessions that we wouldn't have had if we waited to compete in Atlanta," said Kangas. "It was something in the rule book that we could use to our advantage. Plus, a good showing this weekend would go a long way in our efforts to secure a sponsor.

"We feel we have a lot to offer a sponsor," continued Kangas. "Jeff will still qualify to run for rookie honors next year, with this being his seventh start - the maximum number a rookie is allowed to have before he loses his rookie status. So, this team is fully capable of earning with Jeff the Rookie of the Year title next season. We just need a sponsor to be a partner in our effort."

MacPherson Motorsports, which is continuing its sponsor search with the help of the Charlotte-based sports marketing firm The Motorsports Decisions Group, also broke ground this week on a new 52,000 square-foot state-of-the-art race shop. The new racing complex, located across from Concord Regional Airport, will include complete chassis and body fabrication capabilities for the team's fleet of Ford Tauruses.

Text Provided By Mike Bauer

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