Lakeville, MN- The Mars brothers have came a long way since opening the 1999 racing season in Florida during Speedweeks. The team opened the season in a brand new MasterSbilt chassis on the familiar clay surface. After winning the STARS finale at East Bay, the new black ParkerStores #1 dirt late model has not seen much action.

The brothers seem to be taking a serious liking to the paved racing surface. At one time they probably thought the only asphalt they would see, is the interstate between here and Kentucky, or Tennessee, or anywhere else the big money show happened to be at that weekend.

"We've had the dirt car out a few times this year, said Jimmy Mars, but there's been a lot more passing and excitement with the asphalt cars. The tracks we've been to, were not in the best shape. They just got to be one-lane follow the leader kind of races. If you didn't draw a good number for qualifying, the night was pretty much over. We should not have even pulled to a couple of these tracks."

The ParkerStores team has been focusing its efforts this season on the Nascar ReMax series. After 14 events the team is in the eighth position in overall points and third in the 'Rookie of the Year' points race. "We need to start qualifying a little better," said Jimmy. "The car is usually pretty fast for the race, but we need to be starting a little further up front."

Team owner, Scott LaFavre recently purchased an additional car, and the brothers will now be competing at four ASA shows this season. The team made their ASA debut at LaCrosse, WI on August 8th. Despite having mechanical problems with the brake system, the owner and crew were very happy with the performance of the team. Jimmy had worked his way through the pack and had been as high as the twelfth position before being sidelined for repairs. The team finished the day in the 22nd position.

"We're really concentrating on the ASA program right now. We're swapping motors and will be doing a lot of testing. People have told me that the State Fair Speedway is one of the most difficult tracks to set a car up for. We're really hoping to be dialed in for the fair race, we feel we can be as competitive as anyone out there."

The team was originally slated to run three ASA events this year, but Scott LaFavre just informed them that they need to get a car ready to run the Milwaukee Mile this weekend. This Sunday's event, August 29, will be televised live by TNN at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time).

Activities for the Minnesota State Fair Miller Lite 300 start September 6 at 8:30 a.m. with ASA practice. Qualifying starts at 10:30 a.m. and pre-race ceremonies are set for 12:30 P.M. The Miller Lite 300 is scheduled to take the green flag at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time). TNN Motorsports will also televise this race live.

Tickets for the 1999 Miller Lite 300 can be purchased through the Minnesota State Fair Speedway ticket office by calling at (651) 642-2227 or toll-free, (800) 333-6213.

(John Strand-August 23, 1999)