2007 Pro Cup Rookie Of The Year Raises The Bar For 2008

April 16, 2008

For Release:  Immediately

Big Payoff Expected From Off-season Effort By Team RHR

Just a couple of days before the 2007 season-opening USAR Pro Cup Northern Division race in South Boston, Brandon Ward got “the call” from Randy Humphrey to pilot RHR’s Fords.  Both Humphrey and RHR crew chief and team general manager Rob Huffman had raced with, and against, Ward in the NASCAR Dash Series and felt that Brandon was the right guy at the right time.

Hindsight, as they say, is a perfect 20-20, and in retrospect Humphrey and Huffman were spot on with their driver selection.   Ward earned RHR its first victory at Motor Mile Speedway. He also garnered a pole and a boatload of top five and top ten race results, captured both the Northern Division and Championship Series rookie titles, and finished third in the Northern Division point standings and fifth in the overall USAR Championship Series.

“Last year at this time, everything was new for me”, says Ward.  “I had a new team, new owner, lots of new tracks to visit, and these type race cars were also new to me.  But even though we got off to a rough start at South Boston, we just clicked as a team right away. From the next race on (at Shenandoah where Ward was running second when kayoed by a faulty radiator cap), we went to every track expecting to run in the top five or at least the top ten.”  And at the vast majority of the 2007 events, they did just that.

Fast forward a year.  RHR has added a brand new race car to its stable of Fords, and has made significant updates to the others.  “We knew if we wanted to be championship contenders in ’08 that we needed to focus on just a few things to make our cars and our program even better.  Our guys have worked really hard all winter, and we expect to unload strong at South Boston this weekend, and at every other track this year as well,”  says Huffman.  “Not only does Brandon have a great feel for what these cars need to make them better, he won’t be seeing these race tracks for the first time.”

The RHR game plan isn’t much different this year than it was for 2007.  “Last year I hoped to get RHR its first Pro Cup win and thought we had a good chance to finish in the top five in points and win the Rookie of the Year,” says Ward.  “Thanks to a team that gave 110% both in the shop and at the track, we were able to reach both of those goals.  This year we’ll go to every race believing that we can contend for a win.  But we also know that if we’re competitive and earn top fives everywhere, we’ll be in Championship contention when we get to Rockingham.”

Brandon realizes that the competition hasn’t been sitting idle over the winter.  “Guys like Benny Gordon, Gary St. Amant, Jeff Agnew and Jay Fogleman will definitely be tough, and there will be others who have been working hard getting ready for 2008.  But I don’t think any team will show up any better prepared than our RHR ‘Claremont posse’ will.” 

Though the team has yet to solidify a primary sponsor deal for 2008, Ward remains optimistic.  “Everybody is feeling the financial pressures in our economy right now.  We enjoyed a great relationship with SupplyOne last season, and though they haven’t committed anything yet for this year, we know that they’re working hard to find the resources to make it happen.  And if not, we know we have a lot to offer the right company.  We’re committed not only to getting results on the race track, but also to helping our sponsors get results in their competitive world as well.”  And with a year of significant successes under their belt, Brandon and his RHR team have a proven track record of results.

For More Information:

Rob Albright

competitive@msn.com

(704) 895-1384