CANONSBURG, PA  (July 1, 2004) –  There’s an old saying that states “when it rains it pours,” and that has never been truer than it is now for Logan Dernoshek and the No. 10 unsponsored USAR Hooters ProCup team. After a lifter broke in practice at Lake Erie Speedway, the team was forced to withdraw from the race after what amounted to a two-hour test session.

Practice at Lake Erie was not completely worthless, however, as Dernoshek picked up some valuable information that will help him the future. Among other things, the 25-year old driver learned how certain types of setups react with the car and how the car reacts to various driving styles.

“We were getting the car better as practice progressed,” said the graduate of Gannon University. “We were on really old tires so I'm sure we could have picked up a couple tenths when we bolted on fresh skins and I figured out some important things about how I need to drive these cars. I was trying to finesse the car way too much but when I started man-handling the car I picked up a tenth or two. Anytime you learn new things it helps and we keep learning. This was only the seventh event we’ve attended and since we didn't make it through practice at Kil-Kare last year we really only have five main events under our belt. Without the luxury of testing every week or two I think we are progressing very well.”

Dernoshek has decided to skip Kil-Kare because of the crunch that getting ready for a Friday show would have put on him and his team. Given the fact that the cams in these cars are custom ground and that a Friday show takes a full day of work away from this all-volunteer organization, it only made sense for the Pennsylvania team to take a break and use four weeks to prepare for the next event in Radford, Va.

“Lake Erie was really disappointing for everyone on the team. I had a lot of friends from college coming to see us race and we really wanted to have a good showing,” Dernoshek said after the last event. “Things like this happen though and you just have to keep plugging along. We took the motor apart and found that the lifters on the number four broke, so we are going to put new lifters in it and a new cam and maybe we can pick up some more torque in the process. I’d like to make it through practice and the race at New River. If we can finish in the top ten, that would be a bonus. With all the bad luck we have had, I just want to finish with an intact race car and motor.”

Tickets are still available for the USAR Hooters ProCup 250 at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., by calling (540) 639-1700, or by visiting the track website at www.motormilespeedway.com. For those unable to attend, the Hooters ProCup 250 will be broadcast on Speed Channel at 8pm ET on July 22 and at noon on July 23 in conjunction with the "Lunch at Hooters" promotion.