Andy Petree hasnt lost his focus on continuing his strong NASCAR Winston Cup stock car racing program. The winning veteran car owner will also continue his “hands-on” experience, and is driving in Sundays NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Mesa Marin Raceway. Monaco Coaches, which sponsored Petree in the Daytona 500 and has enjoyed a corporate relationship with the team for several years, will sponsor Petree in this race, as well as some additional Truck races this season. “Were still looking for sponsorship for the Winston Cup program, and were still working towards that every day,” Petree said. “But when that sponsorship comes about, we need to be ready to hit the ground running. Running these truck races gives our guys some time at the track and it gives us some information we can use for our car when we get back to racing.” Petree has run at the front in the Truck Series before. In his last outing as a driver – Indianapolis (Ind.) Raceway Park in August – he led a large portion of the middle of the race, and ran in the top five through most of the night before a last-lap crash collected him. He qualified third and ran as a top 10 through most of Aprils race at Martinsville. The last time the Monaco Coaches truck ran at all, Tony Stewart drove it to victory at Richmond, Va., in September. Petree said his organization was still fielding calls from potential Winston Cup sponsors. “Like I said, were talking to people every day, and were talking to anybody who wants to talk,” Petree said. “We didnt build what we had by giving up, and were moving forward. Were planning on continuing what weve built in Winston Cup, and continuing to build on a new Truck tradition too.” Monaco, a Coburg, Ore., based corporation has become one of the worlds leading RV manufacturer since it was founded in 1968, and remains one of the fastest-growing in the industry.( Williams Company PR )(3-18-2003)
