FAYETTEVILLE, GA - Ready or not the USAR Hooters ProCup Series is making its first venture into beautiful Jenerstown Speedway this Saturday night for the running of the Naturally Fresh Dressings 200 presented by Rolling Rock.
Over 40 drivers are expected to attempt to start in this history-making event at the fast one-half mile facility located in western Pennsylvania. The race will be the first on the northern division Hooters ProCup Series schedule. While the southern division drivers have already competed in four events, the end of April marks the beginning of racing in the Pennsylvania mountains.
Several drivers who previously competed in the Series have decided to challenge for the championship via the northern division. Among those drivers is 1998 Hooters ProCup Series champion Jeff Agnew. Agnew will drive the NGA/Hooters Golf Tour Chevrolet. The Copper Hill, VA driver is excited about his chances and his partnership with the NGA/Hooters Tour.
We are definitely looking forward to Jennerstown, said Agnew. The track reminds me a lot of Montgomery Motor Speedway on the southern schedule. It has wide turns and the transition in and out of them is a little like Montgomery.
We tested up there and despite rain cutting our practice short ran really well.
With NGA/Hooters joining the team Agnew is really excited about the possibilities of the new partnership. The deal enabled the team to move into the northern division.
We were planning on running the southern division races, said Agnew. I thought it would be neat to go to some new tracks, but we couldnt have done that without a sponsor. The NGA/Hooters Tour made that possible.
As for learning how to get around the new tracks, Agnew feels his experience can help solve that problem.
You have to pay attention to your surroundings and be ready to make adjustments as you go to accommodate yourself, said Agnew. It is like the competitors in the NGA/Hooters Tour. They have to make adjustments at each course they play on because no two courses are the same; neither are the tracks we will race on this year.
Hooters ProCup Series veteran Bill Plemons, Jr. is another southern driver who made the switch to the northern division and is also pumped up for this weekend.
We really liked the track when we tested there recently, said Plemons, Jr. This track is a racers race track. Drivers including myself will have to be patient to get around the track. We feel we have a great car and we cant wait to get there this weekend.
Another driver looking forward to Jennerstown Speedway is Regan Smith. As this young New York native prepares to begin competition, he looks forward to comparing his abilities and his team to northern-based drivers.
We tested up there last week and had a great test, said Smith. Everyone is very friendly and the track is beautiful. We cant wait to get there.
While several drivers from the south have decided to make the jaunt up north, there are also many great drivers entered this weekend that have teams based in the area around of Jennerstown Speedway. Among those northern-based drivers is Bobby Gegetskas.
Gegetskas, known to many in the modified racing circles of the northeast, looks forward to his first Hooters ProCup Series start.
We shook the car down at Thompson last week and are ready to make the trip to Jennerstown, said Gegetskas. The track is very forgiving. There are two grooves and you can pass on the track. I expect a couple of long green flag runs, not too many cautions.
While Gegetskas has never raced against any of the Hooters ProCup Series drivers, he hopes his experience in modifieds at the track will help.
I have raced modified cars at Jennerstown and we have been fortunate enough to finish in the top-10 every time.
Hopefully we can get our Aarons Rents car in contention this Saturday night.
The race will begin at 7 p.m. with an autograph session scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The Late Models will run immediately after the Naturally Fresh Dresings 200 presented by Rolling Rock. A fireworks show will follow the Late Model race on Saturday night. For more information about this event please visit the official website of USAR at www.usarprocup.com or Jennerstown Speedway at www.jennerstown.com.