June 14, 1999                                              -John Matthews

                        Hooters Pro Cup Notes

Mario Gosselin captured the pole with a fast lap of 22.066 seconds.  28 cars
in the field were within one second of that time.

Toby Porter had the third fastest time in qualifying but had to start the
feature from the rear, 33rd spot.  He put on a show for the fans picking his
way into the top ten through the first 100 laps.  Porter later ran into
mechanical problems that slowed him down, although he still worked through
the pack again to finish 6th.

Michael Ritch is insane!  He has no fear.  He started 3rd and lead briefly
after lap 100, before pitting.  But the real excitement came after his pit
stop.  In classic hard-charger style, Ritch went 3 wide several times to
pass lapped traffic and make passes for position while on his return to the
front.  His charge stalled when he reached third place and he eventually
finished fourth.  Ritch definitely put on a show for the fans.  Props to
him!

Jay Fogleman, series point leader entering the race, had an average night
until lap 250.  He was running in fifth place when his right front tire
blew.  He lost several positions finishing last on the lead lap.

Mike Laughlin Jr also put on a show Saturday.  He took the lead on the
opening green and lead the first 105 laps.  Then, he spun trying to avoid a
lapped car which brought out a caution.  Sitting stalled on the front
straight, he lost a lap.  Laughlin gained his lap later in the race and got
a caution allowing him to catch up to the field.  He charged through the
field finishing second, Passing Bobby Gill in the last 10 laps.

Laughlin did spin out #07 Tim Clayton on his charge to the front while
battling for fourth place.  Clayton was not too happy about this, spinning
Laughlin's car out on pit road after the race.  A series of small scuffles
ensued between the two drivers and their crews.

Gosselin captured the $1000 half way bonus.  He inherited the lead from
Derrick Kelley during pit stops.  Super Mario lead the rest of the way and
was never seriously challenged.  Compared to the action in the pack,
Gosselin was on an early Sunday drive.  It was Gosselin's second straight
Hooters Pro Cup win.  He also captured the points lead in the race, making
it a clean sweep.  Win the pole.  Lead at half way.  Lead the most laps.
Win the race.  Take the points lead.  I'd call that a great night!

Former NFL coach Jerry Glanville had a rough night.  He crashed in turn two
and came to rest on the back straight with a fire under the hood.  Glanville
was not injured in the crash, which was the hardest crash of the night.

Running in his first Hooter Pro Cup race, Dave Pletcher has a solid night.
The Pinellas Park, FL resident worked his way up from an 18th qualifying
spot to run in the top 5 for much of the race.  He slowed late in the race
but did finsh on the lead lap.

There was a better crowd in attendance Saturday than for the March 6 race at
Lakeland.  However, it was smaller than the crowd for the NASCAR Slim Jim
Race held at Lakeland in April.

There were 11 cautions in the race, most of them minor.  This is down from
the 14 during the March race at Lakeland.  There were no red flags.

Mario Gosselin, Mike Laughlin Jr, Michael Ritch, and Derrick Kelley all lead
laps.

The State Brand Corn Dogs 250 will air on Speedvision Sunday, June 20 at
8pm.

The next Hooters race is Saturday June 26 at Lonesome Pine Speedway in
Virginia.

The next Hooters race at USA International will be on Saturday September 4.

More on the Hooters ProCup Report.
                                                          John Matthews