By Lou & Cheryl Lauer, USARfans.com & ProCupDigest.com

What a race we got to see at Hickory in the last Pro Cup outing. I'd bet money that every person who judged the success and health of the CARS series based purely on car count, did not actually come to the track and watch the race. Had they, it would have been clear that at times it is the quality of something and not the quantity that is more important. Would the series and the track have wanted more cars in the field than the 12 who were there, giving it their all? Of course! But I don't think that many fans watching the race gave much thought to the smaller field once they saw the fantastic racing that the drivers and teams displayed. Our hats are off to the series and drivers.

Did all of the teams with cars sitting idle in shops, opting to spend a lot of money they don't have switching to another series, suddenly reassess their racing plans and dust off the Pro Cup car for this weekend? Unfortunately no. The car count for Orange County Speedway looks to be slightly higher than Hickory but it won't be what it is going to be as the CARS Pro Cup year progresses. Still, we fully expect to see the series put on another professionally run operation and for the drivers and teams to perform as best as they can, battling for the lead and every spot on the track.

It's going to be a different Pro Cup race this weekend at Orange County Speedway than fans have ever seen in the 16 years of operation. In an effort to further reduce costs to teams and add a potential fun twist for fans, CARS has revamped it race procedure beginning with this race. There will now be a halfway break at which point teams can perform their pit stops at a more 'leisurely' pace and not necessarily need to hire professional pit crew to service the car. The race restart will also feature 3 potential options to realign the field. You can read all about the race procedure change on the series website.

Strutmasters 250 Marks First Pro Cup Event Held At Orange County Since 1997

By Adam Fenwick – adam@carsprocup.com, CARS Pro Cup Series Public Relations Director

AJ Frank and Gus Dean talk before the Anderson race.Rougemont, N.C. — A lot has changed since the last time the CARS Pro Cup Series raced at North Carolina’s Orange County Speedway in 1997.

In 1997, Bill Clinton was the President of the United States, Facebook and Twitter didn’t yet exist and 2012 CARS Pro Cup Series Rookie Gus Dean wasn’t even three years old.

Ironically, Dean may head into Saturday’s Strutmasters 250 with an advantage over series veterans like J.P. Morgan, A.J. Frank and Tyler Young. At young age of 17, Dean has raced at Orange County several times and knows the track very well.

“[Orange County] is a little rough in the corners and there are certain lines that’ll work and there are certain lines that you’ll have to work through,” Dean said. “It just really depends on the track temperature as to which of those lines might work.”

Mooresville, NC 5/2/12- After an impressive third place finish in his first career outing behind the wheel of Wes Gonder Racing’s CARS Pro Cup Series machine Trey Mitchell will be back behind the wheel once again this Saturday night for the Strutmasters 250 at the Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina. Unlike Hickory where Mitchell piloted the #56 machine for the team he will now be behind the wheel of the #33 Grafix Unlimited/Richard's Painting Company Chevy Impala at the high banked 3/8th mile oval.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the #33 for WGR at Orange County and having Grafix Unlimited on board this weekend,” stated an excited Mitchell. “I’ve ran a few PASS South races with my super late model there in 2010 and we ran alright. I want to say we finished fourteenth in the spring race and seventh in the Southern Sizzler race in late July. It should help having laps around the place no doubt, so I’m thinking we should have a good run especially with the way the new race format is.”

The format Mitchell speaks of is the recently announced decision of the CARS Pro Cup Series to do away with the live action pit stops in place of a ten minute break at lap 125. In addition to the break at the event’s halfway mark, a to-be-decided inversion could occur to start the second 125 lap segment. A drawing during the event’s break will decide one of the three fates for the inversion; a straight up start just as the cars finished the first 125 lap segment, a complete inversion of the top eight competitors, or a complete redraw of the first eight positions to decide starting order for the second segment. Just as normal competitors will race to lap 250 to be crowned the race winner and the remaining purse will be distributed according to each drivers final positioning.

Series PR

Mooresville, N.C. – Effective immediately, the CARS Pro Cup Series will abandon its live pit stop format in favor of a mid-race intermission at lap 125 during each event.

The decision is a cost-saving measure for teams currently involved in the series and in an effort to attract new teams. Beginning with the race at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C., on May 5, teams will no longer be required to provide full pit crews.

“It was a difficult decision for us to make, but I feel like this is the right decision for the future of the series,” said CARS Pro Cup Series Director Jack McNelly. “We have a few things in the works that will make the mid-race intermission just as interesting as live pit stops.”

By Elgin Traylor - Operations Manager - Speed51.com

Lost in all the complaining and second guessing of the individuals involved with the CARS Pro Cup Series is something special. The TV cameras are gone, the high dollar sponsorships are gone and all that remains is a rare breed of racing that is not seen elsewhere in the Southeast.

There were no overinflated egos among the drivers involved. No one was walking around profiling as a race car driver. Each of the 12 drivers that showed up to the track knew they had a task: put on a good show for the fans to help rebuilt a series that has found new life so far in 2012.

All night the 12 individuals who challenged North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway for 250 laps did what race car drivers are supposed to do - entertain the fans. When it was all said and done, Tyler Young finally got his first career win after several near misses, including one a year ago at Hickory. Read More

Mooresville, NC 4/23/12- Just as he did a few weeks prior behind the wheel of his own super late model in the PASS South Series Easter Bunny 150; Trey Mitchell finished third in his CARS Pro Cup Series debut driving for Wes Gonder Racing in the Catawba Valley 250 at the Hickory (NC) Motor Speedway. Mitchell was able to overcome a disappointing ninth place qualifying effort in order to score his second podium finish in as many races to kick off his 2012 racing season.

“I’m pleased on how everything went this weekend. I think it was a bigger learning curve than I anticipated, and looking back I think we had a lot better car than we did driver,” said Mitchell. “I wish we were able to challenge for the win at the end a little more than we did, but I’m here to learn and get the experience behind the wheel of one of these cars so hopefully we can go out and get Wes Gonder a win in this series. I really want to thank WGR for the opportunity, Richard’s Painting Company for coming on board this weekend, and Chris Ragle of Tex Motorsports Marketing for putting this whole deal together.”

The Wimberley, Texas native quickly settled in to the seventh position after the initial start logging laps behind the wheel of his #56 Richard’s Painting Chevy Impala. For the first ninety-five laps Mitchell hung just outside top five learning about racing his heavier CARS Pro Cup Series machine before a caution would bring the majority of the field to pit road for fuel. This allowed Mitchell to move up to the second position and battle for the lead briefly with series veterans AJ Frank and JP Morgan. With plenty of racing still left as the raced reached the halfway point Trey established himself into the fourth position.

By Adam Fenwick – adam@carsprocup.com , CARS Pro Cup Series Public Relations Director

Texas Native Scores First Pro Cup Win In 41st Attempt

HICKORY, N.C. — Tyler Young finally sealed the deal Saturday night, winning his first CARS Pro Cup Series race at Hickory Motor Speedway when he held off Allen Purkhiser to capture the Catawba Valley 250.

“My guys worked really, really hard for this,” said an ecstatic Young after his first Pro Cup win. “I’ve got to thank all of my sponsors, Randco Industries and Young’s Building Systems, they’ve really stood behind me for a long time.”

Young, driving the No. 02 Chevrolet, started from the pole after a blazing 15.939-second lap and led the first 32 laps before losing the lead on a restart to rookie Harrison Rhodes.

The two spent the next 60 laps battling before third-place A.J. Frank took the pair three-wide exiting turn two, resulting in contact between Rhodes and Young that sent Rhodes into the wall in turn three. Frank, meanwhile, found himself in the lead.

Frank, who earned his first Pro Cup win last October at Hickory, spent the middle portion of the event battling Purkhiser for the lead. Meanwhile, Young was lingering mid-pack, saving his stuff for the final run to the checkers.

When the caution flag waved on lap 180 Young got the opportunity he was looking for. When all the leaders came down pit road for new tires, Young’s crew got him out second behind Frank. Frank got the jump on the restart, but on lap 194 Young drove by Frank to retake the lead.

By Lou & Cheryl Lauer, USARfans.com/ProCupDigest.com

Welcome to the 2012 season! Well, at least it is for us! We didn't publish a pre-race article for the March race at Anderson Speedway, so this is our first of the season. It's exciting to have the Pro Cup Series back on track again for their 16th season of great short track racing! This will be the first full year under the new CARS Pro Cup banner and owner Jack McNelly. A lot of changes have taken place since last season, and they are all positive moves for the series, it's fans, and competitors. To refresh your memory, here are a few:

• All Pro Cup races will return to the traditional length of 250 laps! Over the last year or so, some experimenting was done with race length in an effort to reduce costs for teams, but the consensus was that the teams didn’t really save much with a reduction in laps . We love the 250 lap length races that Pro Cup has run over the years and are glad that they chose to resume that tradition. No other touring series offers drivers and fans such an option!
  
• Beginning this season, all restarts in Pro Cup will be double-file restarts. Admittedly we are a little less optimistic about this one as we think it could mean a few more bent fenders for teams to have to repair when budgets are tight, but apparently double-file restarts are the current trend, so we’ll reserve final judgment until we have a chance to witness a few races!
  
• CARS Pro Cup is switching from the BFGoodrich radial tire that has been in use since 2004 to a Goodyear Racing bias ply tire. This is being done as a cost savings move for teams with estimates of $800 savings per race weekend. I don't think the fans in the stands will notice any drop off in competition and if it can save teams money, then it's a good thing!
  

By Adam Fenwick – adam@carsprocup.com, CARS Pro Cup Series Public Relations Director

Tyler Young Looking For Redemption After Dominating At Hickory In October

Hickory, N.C. — For CARS Pro Cup Series veteran A.J. Frank, Saturday’s Catawba Valley 250 at Hickory Motor Speedway will likely be more important than any other race on the 2012 schedule.

Why? Because last October Frank earned his first CARS Pro Cup Series victory at the historic .363-mile asphalt oval. The South Carolina native is bursting with confidence as he prepares to return to the site of his first series victory.

“I’m feeling really confident about it for sure,” Frank said. “I haven’t been in a race car at all since Rockingham last year. I’m very anxious to get behind the wheel again.”

Frank, driving the No. 6 for Abold Motorsports, lead the final 16 laps last October to win the Catawba County United Way 200. He’ll be returning to Hickory with the same team and the same race car that brought him to victory lane that night.

As far as competition goes for Saturday’s race, Frank said that he has his eyes on Texas native Tyler Young. The driver of the No. 02 Chevrolet dominated at Hickory last October, leading 98 laps after starting on the pole before engines issues sidelined him late in the event.