CANONSBURG, PA (AUG. 19, 2004) -- The "Windy City" of Chicago isn't really known for its luck, it’s more known for its "windy" lawyer types. And nearby Gary, Ind., was a steel manufacturing hub for years after the industry declined in Pittsburgh. A resident of the greater Pittsburgh area, Logan Dernoshek and the unsponsored No. 10 team hope their showing this weekend in the USAR Hooters ProCup Series Walt’s 250 at Illiana Motor Speedway is just as strong as the steel that the two towns are known for.

Dernoshek is coming off of the two best runs of his Hooters ProCup Series career. At Motor Mile Speedway in Virginia, Dernoshek captured a career best finish of 13th and followed that finish up with an excellent showing at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway before a pit penalty took the team out of contention. The momentum is beginning to build within the No. 10 camp and it shows in the confidence of the driver and team.

"I'm pretty excited since we had a good run at Mansfield," said the 25-year old Canonsburg, Pa., resident. "With all of the southern guys that were there, to run as well as we did is pretty encouraging. We have more work to do, but we are getting there. As always, our first goal is to finish. We would however like to get our first top ten."

At this point one year ago, the highlight of Dernoshek's short ProCup career was a 10th place qualifying effort at his home track of Motordrome Speedway. That evening's event left the No. 10 team in 17th place, two laps behind the leaders after fighting a very ill-handling racecar all night long. Now, the team has caught up on their setups and is diagnosing where they fall short of the lead cars in the series.

"We aren't progressing as quickly as I would like, but for the budget that we run on, I think we are doing very well," Dernoshek said. "Our finishes haven't always been indicative of how we have run in the races. The big thing is getting into the top ten. The time I spent with Billy Hess over the winter was very helpful. There have been a few other people that have been great as far as sharing things with me. I really have to thank them.

"We had the opportunity to take the car to the chassis dyno last weekend to get a baseline run," Dernoshek continued. "It went well, but every dyno is different so it is hard to say how the overall horsepower and torque numbers are, but we know where we are now as far as where the motor makes peak torque and that will help with our gearing selection."

With the information in hand from the chassis dyno test, Dernoshek is prepared to tackle the Illiana Motor Speedway this weekend and compete for his first top ten finish in the series. Though the team is underfunded compared to most of their competition, effort makes up for much of their economic shortcomings.

"We need to continue to work on our chassis setups to try and get the car better and we need to find some more ponies under the hood, too," Dernoshek admitted. "The number one thing is that we need to find sponsorship. I'm spending every dollar I make to try and do this deal and it isn't even close to being enough. In this series, hard work only goes so far, and my guys have certainly put a lot of work towards it, but it takes a lot of greenbacks to do the rest."

Logan Dernoshek Racing, Inc. is actively seeking sponsors and marketing partners for the best value in motorsports for the 2004 season and beyond. Interested parties can contact the team through USAR or through team marketing rep Tony Stevens at (412) 225-0348 for more information. More information about Logan Dernoshek and the team can be found online at www.logandernoshek.com.

Tickets are still available for the Walt's 250 at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, Ind., by purchasing them at the gate or calling the speedway directly at (219) 322-5311. For those unable to attend, the event will be broadcast on Speed Channel at 8pm ET on August 26 and at noon on August 27 in conjunction with the "Lunch at Hooters" promotion.