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NTB Trans-Am: Huffaker/Qvale Looking Forward to The Glen

8 August 1998

WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK-- After three street courses and an airport circuit in the last four events, NTB Trans-Am rookie Bruce Qvale and the Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports Ford Mustang Cobra crew are looking forward to getting back to a real road course as the NTB Trans-Am Series competes on the famed 2.45-mile, 10-Turn Watkins Glen International "short course," August 6-8, in the Bosch Trans-Am during the Bud at the Glen Weekend.

The race, Round Ten of the thirteen-race 1998 NTB Trans-Am Championship, will see a continuation of the fierce battle for Rookie-Of-The-Year honors between Qvale, Chris Neville, and Ross Thompson. At the moment, Neville has the edge, but Qvale has been gaining ground on him. In the past two races, Qvale has scored his first two runner-up finishes, as well as his second and third podium finishes of the year. Unfortunately, each time Qvale has finished second, Neville has finished third.

"It's really hard to close up the gap with Chris finishing right behind us!" exclaimed Qvale, who has none-the-less closed the gap to a mere nine points, with four races yet to run. Going into Watkins Glen, Neville is third in the overall points championship, behind Paul Gentilozzi and Bill Saunders, with 189 points. John Miller, IV, is fourth, with 183, while Qvale is fifth overall, second in rookie points, with 180. Thompson sits seventh overall, at 153 points. All of Qvale's podium finishes have come on the street circuits, which he credits to Joe Huffaker and the crew of the #44 Huffaker/Qvale machine.

"We've found some tricks which really seem to help on the street circuits," noted Qvale, "but Joe and the guys always give me a great car." The Huffaker/Qvale team, a rejoining of second-generation members of two well- known racing families, is looking forward to a stretch of events on proper road courses now, however. They have seen success together on that type of circuit before; Qvale drove a Joe Huffaker-prepared Jensen-Healey to the E- Production National Championship at the SCCA Valvoline Runoffs at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 1995.

Television coverage of the Bosch Trans-Am at Watkins Glen is scheduled for same-day, tape delay. It will be carried by the SpeedVision Network, and will be aired at 8:00 pm (EDT) on Saturday, August 8. FOX Sports Net will rebroadcast the race beginning Saturday, August 22, at 12:00 pm (EDT). The race itself, scheduled for 42 laps and 102.9 miles, is set to take the green flag at 3:30 pm (EDT).