By Lou Lauer, USARfans.com

With a change as big as this – ownership and management of the series, there is bound to be a lot of skepticism from teams and drivers. We asked the new owners how the racing community - drivers, teams, tracks owners, etc. has reacted to their decision to buy the series and keep it operating? Have there been more supporters or more critics? Their answers did not surprise me. Being team owners themselves, McNelly and Lofton may have a better feel for the mindset of the rest of their competitors.

McNelly said, "The track owners have been very good to work with. South Boston, Myrtle Beach, Concord, Hickory, they couldn't be nicer. They are thrilled to death that we're back. They're working with us. As far as teams, car owners - some are fine, some we haven't heard from. It could just be a sign of the times. I know for a fact that there are a couple of teams that just can't afford to race this year. As the year goes on and people, teams, owners have a little bit of a chance to recover, the economy turns around a bit, they see that we're there to stay and have a good program, maybe by mid year it will pick back up a little bit. I think the first year is going to be a little short [car count], but we know that. I will say that of the teams that are signed up as of now, we've got some heavy hitters. There will still be good racing. It's just a human nature thing. I believe that people are just afraid, for lack of a better word, of change. We knew that going forward and we're expecting skepticism. We're going to be under a microscope. There were certainly lots of things going against us but we're slowly but surely getting things together and we're making some great strides."

By Lou Lauer, USARfans.com

The best short track racing series in the country for at least the past 10 years was the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, but with the departure of Hooters as a series sponsor at the end of the 2008 season, the future of the series was a complete mystery. The new owners hope the mystery will be solved with the fast-approaching April 4th opener at Concord Speedway in Concord, NC.

"We're coming, we're here, let's go racing. Don't wait for the second race, come out for the first. We're supporting you. You support us just a little bit," that's what one of the new owners told us last week.

Barely two months ago, fans drivers, teams, sponsors and vendors could see their hopes of racing again under the Pro Cup banner slowly fading away. On January 16, 2009, a group of businessmen finalized a deal to purchase the series from Hooters of America and the lights began to come back on. Suddenly there was hope that this very popular racing series would once again put on great shows, entertain fans, and provide a home for some great racecar drivers. But who was this new group of owners?

Comprised of four partners, Interstate Investment Group (IIG), didn't even exist until shortly before Christmas of 2008. Three of the members have prior Pro Cup participation, operating teams during previous seasons. Jack McNelly, Chip Lofton, and Gary Kale joined with Larry Camp and have been working to accomplish in two months what should take 6-8 months under normal conditions.

Racing is full of characters and our next spotlight is shining on one from the Northern Division. It's always fun when we're at the track to make sure we locate Jason. It's mandatory for a complete and full Pro Cup weekend. He's always got something 'wise' to say, crack a joke, harass me about why his fantasy league team is not winning, or quiz us on the series gossip. Of course his teammates all say he's just goofing off.

As the cousin of driver Sam Fullone, Jason and Sam are so similar, you'd think they were brothers, except for the fact that one has the "driver gets the cute girls" job and the other gets the "crewman gets the tires ready" work. It's been our pleasure to have met Jason and get to check in with him at the track over the years. I'm guessing that if you've met him, you probably would agree. Take a peek into what makes him tick.

http://www.usarfans.com/staticpages/index.php/CC_Fullone

In today's business world of racing, just being the best wheelman doesn't always get the job done. Getting and keeping sponsors and marketing yourself and your team are more important than they ever have been. As an 'observer' of the sport, it's pretty easy to see the big difference in approaches between a veteran driver and the newer crops of young drivers when it comes to this "new" approach to racing. The younger drivers and teams coming into the Pro Cup Series almost always have a media rep handling the basics such as getting the regular news releases out to media outlets, keeping their online presence updated via a website, coordinating driver appearances, and putting forth the best professional looking team they can.

It still takes the driver getting behind the wheel for the 'put up or shut up' factor which shows up once the car hits the track, but having a great support group behind the driver certainly gives them an edge on their competition. One such member of a driver's behind the scenes team is the focus of this week's Crew Corner Spotlight. Justin is going have a very fruitful career as his association with Trevor Bayne has seen them both grown and advance throughout their racing careers.

http://www.usarfans.com/staticpages/index.php/CC_Pelizza

Racing is a passionate sport. Drivers, crew, and fans always have an opinion on the sport and aren't afraid to tell you. I can't speak for any of you, but this passion is THE reason we love racing so much. There is no sport comparable to the enjoyment and sense of 'ownership' that racing provides us all. Whether we're driving the car, changing lugnuts, writing our opinions on a website, or just sitting in the stands yelling at and for the things we see on the track - we all take this very personally and nobody can tell us otherwise.

We started this little series of spotlight articles to help broaden your knowledge and interest in the Pro Cup Series. Most everyone knows the drivers, but without the crew behind them, we'd all be sitting home watching poker on tv instead of racing. It's been great to hear that people really like these brief insights into the hard working folks keeping the cars on the track.

Charley Dressel is one of those hard workers. When his driver from last year, Mike Herman, Jr., chose to end his Pro Cup career after the 2007 season, it meant that Charley, a full-time employee, would need to look for another opportunity racing. Like most crew working in Pro Cup, they could look at 'other series' in which to practice their trade. I'm happy that he wants to stay with USAR! We don't want to turn the site into a 'job seeker' location, but since he's in our spotlight anyway, maybe someone reading about him will be able to help him out and in the process - help out the series!

http://www.usarfans.com/staticpages/index.php/CC_Dressel

Once again we are happy to be able to provide you with a little bit of insight on another USAR crew member. Without them we'd all be watching golf! Having been working in the Pro Cup Series for a few season, Dink Torbett is probably no stranger to fellow crew members, but it's time for the rest of us to see what makes him tick!

http://www.usarfans.com/staticpages/index.php/CC_Torbett

We try to keep ourselves pretty neutral when we cover the Pro Cup Series - we like most everybody and every team that we've had the privilege of meeting. But we're only human and are really just racefans when it comes down to it. Just like my Mom told me that she loved each of her 5 children equally, I'm sure that at least one of us was really her true favorite (me of course!). Just like parents with a whole bunch of kids, we too have a few real favorites.

One of them has always been the team of Jeff Agnew. Their quiet style and sense of non-urgency are just a ruse to fool their competitors into thinking they didn't need to worry about them being serious about racing. Truth is, they are a team to be reckoned with each and every race. You've heard the expression "beware of the quiet ones", well this spotlight article focuses on Tracy "Tater" Thompson, one of the quieter ones on the team. For years, we'd say hello at the track. Tater would politely say hello back but not much more. Over time, Tater became more used to Cheryl and I hanging around and we're happy to say that he even trusted us enough to subject himself to an interview at Lakeland! Thanks Tater!

http://www.usarfans.com/staticpages/index.php/CC_Thompson

It's been a bit slow for the Pro Cup news area of the site hasn't it? With the banquet coming up in one week, maybe we'll hear some news from there that we can post. In the meanwhile, we'll keep the crew spotlights coming and continue to work on other areas behind the scenes that will hopefully help feed your need for USAR info!

The spotlight articles seem to be pretty popular and we'll have another added this weekend.

This week's crew member is not someone whom we have personally met. We have probably seen him around the track many times and most likely we have gotten in his way as he tried to work during the day! John Gunther gets the nod today thanks to a recommendation from a friend of his who also works in the Pro Cup Series.

http://www.usarfans.com/staticpages/index.php/CC_Gunther

Now we have to look him up next season! Thanks for being willing to tell folks about yourself John.