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 a young achiever Clay Rogers. Age 23

"Then it's sit back and ride."

Dwight asked Clay Rogers:

"The speed. I don't know. Driving is a lot of fun, but I like the whole lifestyle that surrounds this sport. We work on the racecars full time and go to the racetrack and try to win races and I've got buddies to help me on the race team. So it's kind of a family deal. It's not just driving the car, but the whole sport in general has helped me grow up and help keep me out of trouble coming up through the years."

"I've run some races in the NASCAR Busch series in 2001 for Reiser Enterprises No. 17 car and got in some races there, but due to September 11th we weren't able to procure sponsorship for the following year. We're looking forward to get back up in that series and that's where every young short track racer wants to be, I know. I feel like with a lot of hard work and dedication we'll get that chance again some day."

"Probably my favorite moment was when I won a late model stock car race up at Concord Speedway in 1999 and won $65,000 in one night. It was the biggest payout in that series history so that was a lot of fun."

"Number one, we want to win this Hooters Cup championship this year. I've had several chances. We've been leading in the points with two races to go in 2002 and finished 13th in the points. We just want to stay consistent and win the Hooters championship. Our long term goal is to drive in the Busch series or Craftsman Truck series and eventually Nextel Cup, but you've got to take them as they come and right now we're concentrating on winning this championship."

"This is all I've ever done. I've worked in racecars since I was seven years old racing go-carts. I've always worked on them myself and it helps mew work on them now. Dad kind of sits back and pays the bills and this year I was able to procure a ride with somebody else and my little brother is driving for my father this year. I feel like I know a good bit about a racecar to be 23 years old. I understand how much this stuff works and I feel like that helps me make calls from in the seat to help adjust the car to where I want it. I know Matt Kenseth well and I was a teammate and that's exactly how he is and that's what makes him so good. If I can get that down pat a little bit better hopefully we'll be back up there racing with him one day."

"A lot of times it depends how the car is during the race. We'll sit out there and if we've got a really good car, I'll do my best to get the best race start possible and run five or six laps hard as we can and try to get a little gap and then it's sit back and ride. If the cars not there we'll ride till we can fix it. I've got confidence in myself and confidence in the guys behind the wall. We can fix it on the pit stop and just go get them the second half of the race. I say the biggest thing about me now verses where I was in 2000 is I'm a little more calculating about my actions and reactions to things that happen on the racetrack. I think it's shown a little bit in the performance of this team this year. "

"I like water sports. I live on Lake Norman in North Carolina and I like lake boarding ands swimming and hanging out on the boat. That's my favorite pastime, just sitting down on the pier and playing with the dogs, throwing a tennis ball around and stuff like that."

"Nextel Cup. (pause) That would be the short answer."

"I think it's outstanding how much Bob Brooks and everybody at USAR put into this series. When this deal started up several years ago a lot of people thought it wouldn't fly, especially the higher-ups of motorsports. The people at Hooters of America have really stepped up. It's amazing how much effort they put into making this series work. Now it's on the verge of becoming the biggest short track series in the United States. I think they ought to be proud of what they've accomplished in a short period of time."