Team URC entry announced for B-ToC at Knoxville

Billy Brian, Dave Ely & Greg Coverdale to lead "Team URC" at Brodix ToC.

KNOXVILLE, IOWA (JULY 8, 2002) - United Racing Club (URC) point leader Bill Brian, Jr., of Lititz, Pennsylvania, will lead "Team URC" at Knoxville Raceway's Brodix Tournament of Champions (ToC) on Sunday, August 4. In addition to Brian, the other nine members of John Zimmerman's 'tough-ten' are, in order, Dave Ely of Pennsylvania, Knoxville '97 ToC champion Greg Coverdale and Chris Coyle of Delaware, Kevin Welsh and Scott Pursell of New Jersey, Pete Green, Trevor Lewis and Kramer Williamson of Pennsylvania, and Curt Michael of Delaware.

Brian has a .188 winning percentage with URC so far this season, having won three times at Delmar, Del., Middletown, N.Y., and Bechtelsville, Pa., aboard Cammy Brian's Big Johnson-sponsored HammerHead/Schnee sprinter. Ely earned one URC win at Delmar in Bill Gallagher's GEI-Valley Forge-DMI Ott-Kriner/Maxim car. Coverdale, the winner of the inaugural ToC at Knoxville in September of 1997, has two wins at Bridgeport, N.J., and Delmar in Sam Locuson's WinMore-powered Eagle sprinter.

The Brodix Tournament of Champions invitations will formally be issued to the top 360 stars tonight. According to Knoxville director of racing Ralph 'Cappy' Capitani, "Just when I thought ASCS was going to be tough to beat, URC's John Zimmerman and Bob Miller come up with ten heavy-hitters of their own to challenge for the Brodix ToC title. Knoxville fans know who Ely, Coverdale, Williamson and Michael are, but they're eager to see Billy Brian, Jr., and the others, too. In fact, back in '97, our announcers were calling him CLOVERDALE through half the race, but we now know who Greg is and how he likes the big, fast half-miles! And we sincerely hope Trevor Lewis and Curt Michael are both fully-recovered and up- to-speed from their early season injuries for the tournament."

URC will compete in the $4,000-to-win Brodix Tournament of Champions on equal footing with the Empire Super Sprints (ESS), Knoxville's own regulars, American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) and the "Best of the Midwest" team, consisting of the leaders from the Nebraska Sprint Car Association (NSCA), WISSOTA Promoters Association and the Winged Outlaw Warriors (WOW). Each of the five groups will have six cars in the 30-car ToC.

It should be noted that URC entrant Curt Michael did not meet the 60% eligibility rule for the ToC due to his racing-related injuries, although representatives of the seven sanctioning affiliates granted him an eligibility exception due to the extenuating nature of the circumstances. As recipient of the special waiver, he will be treated the same as an alternate and forced to start the fully-inverted URC heat in the rear.

It should also be noted that Kramer Williamson is seeking a top-notch 360 c.i. sprint car ride for the tournament, as he was subbing for Curt Michael in the championship-winning Palladino Motorsports entry.

General admission tickets for the Sunday-before-the-Nationals race are just ten dollars apiece. Those seeking more information on the Brodix Tournament of Champions are urged to call Knoxville Raceway at 641-842-5431, or consult their web-site at www.knoxvilleraceway.com.

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