MANSFIELD, OH (Aug. 2, 2004) - Every successful athlete and team can mark a turning point in their career where they knew that they were going to reach their dreams of success. Saturday night was that turning point for Logan Dernoshek and the unsponsored No. 10 Pontiac team, despite their deceptive 15th place finish in the USAR Hooters ProCup Series Pepsi 250 presented by Bullet Motorsports.

The rains fell early at Mansfield Speedway, but the morning dampness didn't dampen the spirits of the Logan Dernoshek Racing organization. During practice, Dernoshek spent a lot of time feeling out a new setup theory that was under the car. After fighting a bad tight condition all year at every racetrack, the car was much freer at Mansfield. Though not perfect, the team knew what was wrong and how to fix it when Dernoshek came in and reported the car was a “little tight” through the center and off. The “fix” led to a 20th place starting spot after the team was stuck on the bottom of the practice chart all day.

"We we're really happy with practice,” said the 25-year old rookie from Canonsburg, Pa. “We had a car that was close for once and we weren't trying to find a full second. We only needed a couple tenths. We had a much better car than where we qualified. The sprint cars put down some fluid and their tire rubber made the track totally different than it was in practice. We had the unfortunate opportunity to go out fifth and the track picked up a lot as qualifying progressed."

As the race began, Dernoshek quickly moved up to challenge for a top fifteen running spot, but then settled in to running on the lead lap in the top twenty. As the track cooled, the No. 10 unsponsored Pontiac got tighter, and the team decided to come in and make a wedge adjustment to the racecar to help it turn. After the restart, the Pennsylvania driver began moving his way back up through the field until the pit stop around halfway.

"We were happy the first part of the race,” said Dernoshek. “The car was good enough to stay on the lead lap and the adjustment helped. We were still a little tight in the middle and off so we made another adjustment during the stop. The crew guys did a great job on the stop."

After changing two tires and refueling the car, the team was penalized one lap for the catch can man not wearing a flame retardant headsock. Other teams penalized for the same infraction protested after the event with little to no success as the penalty listed in the USAR rulebook is deemed to be a stop and go versus a one lap penalty.

"Our good pit stop was unfortunately tainted by a penalty and I'll take the blame for it,” Dernoshek admitted after the event. “After the race, I was informed that earlier in the year an edict was sent out to inform the teams that the catch can man was required to also wear a headsock. I evidently overlooked this. Others must have also due to the number of teams penalized for the same thing."

After leaving the pit lane, Dernoshek drove the wheels off of his machine, avoiding disaster numerous times in the second half of the event as all the action seemed to happen around the nuclear green No. 10. Nonetheless, Dernoshek persevered to what the entire team thought had the potential to be a top ten finish were it not for the penalty.

"We made a lot of progress during the race and the whole day,” said Dernoshek with a large grin on his face. “There was plenty of trouble to get in during the race and we were able to stay out of it. Our finish is definitely not indicative of how well we ran during the race. Several of the southern division front runners were here, so the field was very stout. Some of the guys had trouble and that helped, but I finally think we have a solid baseline to build off of. That's what has been missing all year. We were kind of a year behind on our setups and now I think we are only a month or two. If we had some money to test we might be able to catch up that much more. I'm hopeful we can improve on this performance at Illiana."

The next scheduled event for Logan Dernoshek Racing will be the Illiana event on August 21 as the team concentrates on making the USAR Championship Series with only three events remaining in the northern division regular season. Saturday’s finish moved them into 24th in points (top 25 qualify) after four starts of a required six.

Logan Dernoshek Racing, Inc. is actively seeking sponsors and marketing partners for the best value in motorsports. Interested parties can contact the team through USAR or through team marketing rep Tony Stevens at (412) 225-0348 for more information. More information about Logan Dernoshek and the team can be found online at www.logandernoshek.com.

The Pepsi 250 presented by Bullet Motorsports at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Mansfield, Oh., will be broadcast on Speed Channel at 8pm ET on August 5 and at noon on August 6 in conjunction with the "Lunch at Hooters" promotion.