Tires and Untimely Pit Stops Hurt Lavender in Iowa

Mooresville, NC (September 18, 2006) - The first Hooters Pro Cup race at Iowa Speedway should have provided a level playing field for all drivers since this was a new 7/8 mile facility and no driver had ever raced on it.  The facility was great, but an unexpected tire problem caused problems for all the drivers.  Jody’s crew chief, Steve Bird (Birdie), thought they were better prepared than most other competitors and it appeared that they were for the first 60 laps.  Jody started 23rd and quickly moved into the lead on the first set of tires but the second set of tires only lasted a few laps, forcing Jody to make a green flag pit stop and loosing 3 laps.  Jody was able to make up one lap but the same tire problems and green flag pit stops dropped Jody back to finish 25th.

After the race Jody said, “We had a good car and a good race plan but when we went three laps down, we had to change plans and tried to “catch-up”.  Luck was not in our favor.  Luck was not in our favor at Lakeland either when we cut a tire from debris on the race track.  We had good cars at both races capable of running up front and possibly winning.  But this team won’t give up – we’ll be at Jennerstown and expect to be up front at the end.”
 

Jody would like to thank the following sponsors that have helped him this year: H & R Block, Heritage Community Bank, Hartsville Mini-Storage, and Jo-Jo Enterprises, a real estate investment company.

For more information on Jody and the Hooters Pro Cup Series, go to www.jodylavender.com, www.usarprocup.com, and www.usarfans.com

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