USAR: Fayetteville''s Ace Speedway readies for USAR

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (April 17, 2000) - It's history in the making again for the United Speed Alliance Racing Series. Over 45 drivers have entered to attempt to qualify for the inaugural running of the Naturally Fresh Foods® 250 presented by Johnsonville Bratwurst at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, NC on Friday, April 21. The four-tenths of a mile track located just north of Greensboro will be the third race for the Hooters ProCup Series in the 2000 schedule. Last weekend's race at Tri-County was rained out and has been tentatively rescheduled for October. "We are looking forward to visiting Ace Speedway," said USAR president Gene Cox. "USAR and the Hooters ProCup Series are continuing to grow and we are pleased to be racing at a new facility on our schedule." Ace Speedway originally opened in the mid 1950-s as a 1/3-mile dirt track and operated as one until 1989. The track was paved before the 1990 season and has been an asphalt arena ever since. Extensive renovations were completed in 1999 to make the track four-tenths-mile in length. The track surface was completely repaved. Additional lights and completely refurbished grandstands were a major part of the $600,000 renovation project. Current Hooters ProCup Series drivers such as Jay Fogleman, Johnny Rumley, Brian Vickers, Jon Wood and 1998 Hooters ProCup Series National Champion Jeff Agnew have all competed at the facility. The track will be the only stop on the current USAR Hooters ProCup Series scheduled for a Friday night. While several tracks on the schedule have been "home tracks" for many of the Hooters ProCup Series drivers, Fogleman feels Ace Speedway might prove to be one of the fairest tracks on the schedule because of the renovations. "While several drivers on the series, including myself, have quite a few laps on the track, many of us haven't competed since the renovations were completed," said Fogleman. "The track has very tight turns and they (track owners) went in and extended the straight-aways and kept the turns tight, which means you will now carry more speed into the corners." While the Hooters ProCup Series is known for side-by-side racing, Fogleman said Friday night's race could be tough on all competitors. "This could be an extremely rough race on everyone," added Fogleman. "I guarantee the fans will get their money's worth if we go into Ace Speedway and don't use caution, especially during the beginning of the race. The track will be difficult to pass on and a driver will have to be patient." A 250-lap race will bring pit strategy into play during the night and Fogleman feels that could be a factor in deciding who becomes the first driver to win a USAR Hooters ProCup race at Ace Speedway. "Qualifying and pit strategy will probably determine who has a chance to win the race," Fogleman said. "Of course, we went to Lonesome Pine Speedway last year for the first time and everyone thought it would be tight and difficult, but I think we had about a 100-lap stretch of green flag racing. It everyone does the same at Ace Speedway it could turn out to be another good show." The track is also hosting the Johnsonville Bratwursts traveling cooker. The cooker is approximately 64-ft. in length and will be on-site for everyone to see at the speedway. Johnsonville Bratwursts will be available in the concession areas at the track. For more information please contact the USAR office at (800) 852-7223 or Ace Speedway at (336) 585-1200.