Photos © Dwight Drum
Web work by Gary Larsen

USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series

Series slogan:

Where racing's past, present and future collide!

We understand the Hooters approach to racing. It's promotional and exciting. Sponsorship in stock car racing these days almost have to have big reasons and big pockets. The United Speed Alliance Racing Hooters Pro Cup series is supported by the Hooters organization and other sponsors with proper payout and prime coverage. They bring a TV eye, the Speed channel, to their races and they bring their support groups including many Hooters girls to beautify and promote the racing environment. Mostly, it's just fun.

Drivers of all ages and stages in their racing careers vie for the checkered flag in USAR. Some have raced in the NASCAR Busch series and Craftsman Truck series, some aspire to race to the top. Zoomster.com attended a Hooters Pro Cup event at USA International Speedway in Lakeland. Dwight Drum interviewed several drivers- some young, some not-so-young and some older. That mix fits the slogan, where racing's past, present and future collide.

Our next interview is with young driver Matt Carter

"It's friendly competition sometimes and sometimes it's mean competition, but I like it and I like to go fast."

Dwight asked Matt Carter:

"I guess I like to go fast and I like the competition about racing. It's friendly competition sometimes and sometimes it's mean competition, but I like it and I like to go fast."

"You could call it that. I don't really have a job. I mess around at the shop once in a while. I fiddle with my late model car. That's about it."

"Definitely. I'd like to get somewhere someday move up. I guess that's everybody's goal and desire to get to Nextel Cup or Busch or trucks. Keep going as far as I can go, I guess."

"We won the track championship last year at my home track, Hickory Motor Speedway. That was a big deal for me. There have been a lot of famous names to come out of Hickory. That was cool to get my name up on the board outside the racetrack with all those guys.

"My goals for this year are to win a race and finish in the top ten or get in the top five and win rookie of the year in points in this series. A short term goal right now would be to win the championship, of course, that's what everybody wants to do. That's one of my goals. That's probably the farthest away right now, but that would be one goal."

"I really don't know. I guess I'm kind of a patient driver. I don't like to use my car up. I like to save something for the end. I think sometimes that might hurt me. I'm not aggressive enough. That's what I'm trying to get better at. Just be a little more aggressive. That's about all."

Do you have a strategy to bring out the best in yourself or do you just race?

"I just race. I just do whatever needs to be done."

"Yeah, I love water sports. We live on Lake Norman. I play golf and I'm terrible at golf. I played baseball, basketball and football growing up all through high school. I like video games. "

"Somewhere at the next level wherever that might be, NASCAR, Busch or Craftsman trucks. Right now I'm not looking at Nextel Cup. I'm trying to get through what I'm doing now and get better at this. Five years from now hopefully I get that done and move on to the Busch series."

"I like the Hooters girls. I get to see the Hooters girls every week. This is a good fan friendly series and sort of home town series. They do a good job of promoting that with the restaurants. Most of the restaurants are at smaller towns usually. I just like being around all the Hooters girls and being around the other guys, other drivers. It's like a big family traveling around."