By GARY ARDREY Tribune Correspondent
Published: Sep 20, 2005

The Hooters Pro Cup Series began as a venue for top area short-track drivers to develop their racing skills on a variety of tracks in extra-distance events requiring pit stops in cars similar to those used in NASCAR's Busch Series.

Pinellas Park native David Pletcher, now living in Huntersville, N.C., probably has been the most successful of the Tampa Bay area drivers to compete in the series with one win and 23 top-10 finishes.

"It's an awesome steppingstone to get more experience with the bigger, heavier cars in case you get a chance to go to Busch or Truck NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series," Pletcher said. "The national TV package Speed Channel gives you something to pitch sponsors with. Now that we go to Bristol Motor Speedway, a mainstay NASCAR track you get a chance to race on a NASCAR track and get visibility before NASCAR teams and owners."

This season the series really attracted the attention of the NASCAR community with Nextel Cup drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip, Rusty Wallace and Jimmy Spencer forming teams for drivers Mark McFarland, Ken Butler III, Steve Wallace, and Jimmy Spencer Jr.

Earnhardt Jr. explained his rationale for forming a team.
"I respect the Hooters Pro Cup Series because of the talent and the experience it provides up-and-coming drivers," he said. "We had good success in the late-model stocks and I wanted to challenge Mark and my employees to see what we had here at JR Motorsports. … Mark has shown tremendous success in everything he has driven and I knew he could be an immediate success in the Pro Cup series. We are looking forward to finding out how good our organization can become and we are totally committed to racing in the Hooters Pro Cup Series for a long time."

His driver, McFarland, a former NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series national champion, scored one win and ten top-ten finishes in 14 starts in the Pro Cup Southern Division this season and will move to the Busch Series for Earnhardt Jr. in 2006.

McFarland believes the Pro Cup Series has prepared him for the step up.
"Pro Cup is such a great series," he said. "It's back to roots racing. It's the ideal series to learn in because the cars are similar to Busch cars. It's so competitive that you have to learn quick if you want to run up front. Plus, we run radial tires like NASCAR. We learn every time we go to the track and we use that knowledge to set the cars up better. We'll be able to use that knowledge next year."

Butler III echoes McFarland's thoughts about the Pro Cup Series.
"It's very competitive. The cars are just like a Busch car. It will give me a better feeling for what the cars are like and what I need in a race car in case I get to the Busch Series, he said.

Butler's father, Ken Butler Jr., President of Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership and sponsor of Waltrip's Busch Series and Limited Nextel Cup efforts and his son's team, likes the opportunities the Pro Cup Series offers.

"There is good exposure for a sponsor in the Hooters Pro Cup Series. These fans are our customers. Pro Cup is a great source to introduce people to our business. We can have an event at the races and make it fun for our customers. There may not be a better developmental series."