By Ryan Delph,
Delph Communications

BRASSTOWN, N.C. -January 27, 2009- Brasstown, North Carolina native Ray Cook, fresh off an 'Ice Bowl' victory a few weeks ago at the Talladega (AL) Short Track, continued his hot start to the 2009 season on Saturday night, January 24 at the historic Boyd's Speedway in Ringgold, Georgia. Ray, aboard his D&R Motorsports / Hicks & Ingle Co. / A+ Moving & Storage / Real Racing Wheels / PRC Racing / K&N Filters / PPM Racing Products / Star Grafix / VP Racing Fuels #53 MasterSbilt / Race Engine Design sponsored entry, blistered the 1/3-mile oval during qualifying to take fast time honors on the chilly evening. The driver known as the "Tarheel Tiger" then finished a strong second in the dash to earn the outside front row starting position for the 'Midnite Oil Racing Fuels 50.'

From the outset of the 50-lap main event, Ray proved to have the car to beat. He took the lead at the drop of the green flag and never looked back in leading all fifty circuits of the unsanctioned event. As the checkers fell over the stout field of Super Late Models, Ray claimed the $5,000 triumph over Ronnie Johnson, Anthony White, Eric Turner, and Tony Knowles. You can view complete results from the 'Midnite Oil Racing Fuels 50' online at www.dirtondirt.com!

"It feels great to start off the 2009 season with a pair of back-to-back wins and the good Lord has really blessed us," exclaimed Cook earlier this evening. "Everything has gelled so well between myself, the D&R Motorsports team, and Keith and Tader Masters. This new car that MasterSbilt has provided us with has been very good in its first two outings and hopefully that will remain the case at East Bay. Not to say the competition wasn't stout at Talladega or Boyd's, but East Bay will be packed full of good cars and we will see how the car performs in all types of different track conditions."

Ray and the D&R Motorsports team will next be in action during the annual 'Winternationals' extravaganza at the East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Florida. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction six straight nights of wheel-to-wheel Dirt Late Model action from Monday, February 2 through Saturday, February 7. The first three nights will pay $5,000 to the winner, while the final three races at the "Clay by the Bay" will pay $10,000, $10,000, and $12,000 to win respectively. The East Bay finale on Saturday evening will be taped by the cameras of the SPEED Channel for broadcast later in the year. You can view additional information concerning the 'Winternationals' program online at www.lucasdirt.com.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
February 2 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $5,000 to win
February 3 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $5,000 to win
February 4 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $5,000 to win
February 5 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $10,000 to win
February 6 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $10,000 to win
February 7 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil (TV) | $12,000 to win
February 13 | Winchester (TN) Speedway, King of the Hill | $1,000 to win
February 14 | Winchester (TN) Speedway, Winterfest | $3,000 to win
February 21-22 | Green Valley (AL) Speedway, Bama Bash | $7,500 to win

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