Denver, NC.  05/24/00 -- "Suck it up and hold it wide open through 1 and 2!" That was the most common advice Mike Stefanik got from the veteran drivers about getting around Lowe's Motor Speedway. The Coyne Textile Services Team tested there two weeks ago to prepare for the CARQUEST 300 to be held this Saturday. This will be the first of two races to be held this year at the famous 1.5-mile track and is one of the most prestigious events of the year. The Coyne Textile Services Team has been working hard to get their brand new car -- GTS 12 "Shulz" -- ready to race and are eager to get it on the track and get down to some serious racing.

During the test two weeks ago, Mike Stefanik took it easy for the first couple of laps. It has been a couple of years since he had been to Lowe's and he also had a brand new race car. But after those first couple of laps it was time to get down to business and start looking for some speed. During the first day of the test Mike’s times steadily improved. He felt more comfortable in the car but they were still looking for some more speed. He then sought the advice of some of the veteran drivers there and they told him he needed to be able to go through turns one and two without letting off the gas. Mike discussed this strategy with Crew Chief Corrie Stott. With the information Corrie had about the car and how Mike told him the car was handling, Corrie told Mike there should be no problem "flat footin" the car through one and two with new tires. Mike had this to say about the experience. " I was a little nervous but if that was what is was gonna take lets try it. It seemed a little unnatural, but I held the pedal down, the car stuck and I was hooked. I got so excited on the radio Corrie had to remind me turn three was coming up." After this and some more adjustments on the car, the times improved significantly for the Coyne Textile Services Team. The test was successful and the team learned a lot about the new car and came up with some good information to improve the car for qualifying this Thursday and Friday.

Crew Chief Corrie Stott was very pleased with the test and is anxious to get on the track and try out some of the changes made to the car. "Thursday is going to be a big day for us. We’ll finally get a chance to test some of the improvements we made and test out some of theories during practice. We have made changes in several different areas of the car and we expect the combined effect will pick up our times enough to put us in the front of the field."

Coyne Textile Services is the largest independently owned industrial laundry operation in the United States, with 44 locations serving nearly 50,000 customers in 26 states including the District of Columbia. CTS processes more than one million work garments, seven million shop and printer towels and several hundred thousand gloves, mats and mops each week.

Racing Contact: Dave Spaw, GTS Motorsports, Phone: 704.489.1950, Fax: 704.489.1951

Sponsor Contact: Walt Rath, Crawford Advertising Agency, Phone: 315.466.4811, Fax: 315.466.7710