Huffaker/Qvale, Tommy Bahama & Curtis Neville look to get back to victory lane
28 August 1999
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (August 28, 1999) -- Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports, Tommy Bahama, and series points-leader Chris Neville are looking to capitalize on previous performances at Grand Rapids to score another podium finish as the BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series contests round nine of thirteen this weekend in at the Johnson Controls 100 on Sunday, August 29. "The key here is to have a car that's still strong at the end of the race," said Neville, who scored a podium finish here last year, en route to winning the Trans-Am Rookie of the Year award. "Joe and the guys have been giving me a great car all year, so I'm sure we'll be there when it counts." "This track is really tough on cars," said team vice president and technical director, Joe Huffaker. "But we feel we put together as good a car as anyone. Last year, when Bruce was driving for us here, he jumped to second in the last few laps and finished on the podium thanks to having taken care of his car all day. Chris has been doing an outstanding job of keeping his car together this year, so we feel confident we should do well." "This would be a great place for us to put Tommy Bahama back in the winner's circle," said Bruce Qvale, president of Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports. "Between Chris and myself, we've already finished second and third here. Since we've been here, done that, the only podium spot left we haven't covered at this track is the top spot. We know we have the right stuff to get there." Neville has been the series points leader since his breakthrough win at Road Atlanta earlier this year. Coincidentally, that was the first race for upscale lifestyle apparel company Tommy Bahama as team sponsor. Things clicked well enough that Huffaker/Qvale, Tommy Bahama and Neville announced at the Detroit round three weeks ago that they would continue their association through the end of next season. This weekend's race, set to take the green flag at 1:00 pm EDT on Sunday, August 29, will be carried on a same-day delay on The Nashville Network (TNN). The broadcast is due to air at 4:30 pm EDT on Sunday, with the rebroadcast slated to run on the Speedvision Network on Friday, September 3, at 9:00 pm EDT. # # #