USAR Season Opener at Lakeland USA Speedway

Hooters ProCup opener is March 6 at USA International Speedway SpeedFest '99 kicks off third USAR season

Lakeland, FL - USA International Speedway will host the United Speed Alliance Racing season opener Saturday, March 6 when the Hooters ProCup Series drivers take to the high-banked track for SpeedFest '99 and the Jackaroo Sauces 250 presented by Tampa Bay's Country Leader, 99.5 FM WQYK Radio.

Teams will be arriving at the track on Friday, March 5 when gates open at 9 a.m. Practice will be conducted between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. Pit gates will open at 8:00 a.m. on race day. An early morning practice session will be followed by the Discount Auto Parts/AC Delco Rapid Fire Pole Award qualifying time trials beginning at 12:30 p.m. Thirty-four drivers will make the race on their qualifying speeds. Four will be taken from qualifying races. Two provisionals will complete the field of 40 cars.

Racing is set to begin at 4:00 p.m.

Jeff Agnew, of Floyd, VA, is the current Series champion and will begin the defense of the $200,000 title at the 3/4-mile speedplant. Florida drivers Mario Gosselin, Brad May, David Pletcher, Bobby Gill, David Craddock, Doc McKinney, Derrick Kelley, Ronnie Burkett, Derrick Countryman, Brad Barkis and Jeremy Bowser are among the 111 drivers who have registered numbers to compete in the Series. These drivers are expected to compete in the Series opener.

Also expected at USA International are: Justin Labonte, Rick Hendrick, Jr., Michael Ritch, Scott Wimmer, Steven Christian, David Bonnett, David Hutto, Jay Fogleman, Jimmy Foster, Mike Laughlin, Jr., Bill Plemons, Jr., Andy Thurman, Clay Dale, Johnny Rumley, Mart Nesbitt, Randy Porter, Jerry Glanville, Toby Porter, Bob Schacht, Sammy Potashnick, Lee Tissot, Chris Diamond, Mardy Lindley, Jabe Jones, Don Satterfield, Ronnie Davidson and Karen Schulz.

The race will be aired (tape-delayed) on Sunday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m. on the Speedvision Network. A replay is scheduled at midnight the same evening and the following Monday at NOON.

Tampa Bay's Country Leader, 99.5 WQYK Radio has been designated the "official" radio station for the Speedfest '99 event. The 100,000-watt station features contemporary country music serving the Tampa/St. Pete area. WQYK has exclusive commercial radio rights with all facets of promotion surrounding the event.

The annual SpeedFest celebration ushers in the 1999 season at the state-of-the-art racing facility located just off exit 20 in Lakeland, FL. For information: 1-800-984-7223.