Tony Roper Leaving Xpress Motorsports

Tony Roper, 34, will no longer be driving the No. 61 IWX Motor Freight Pontiac in NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division events.

"The entire program was not working for me," said Roper. "I just didn't want to get any further in the deal and end up missing another opportunity. I feel like I did a very good job for everyone involved with Xpress Motorsports, but the uncertainty of the future of the team forced me to this decision.

"This lets me work on my future and lets Xpress Motorsports decide what is in its future," he continued. "I've got a couple of nice opportunities that are starting to develop for later this year and beyond. I felt that it was time to commit my efforts into those rather than continue to struggle with what was not working for me over there."

Roper had three top-10 finishes this season in 16 starts with the Xpress team. Prior to joining Xpress, Roper competed for two seasons on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series gaining 8 top-10 finishes. Roper is a successful graduate of the NASCAR Winston Racing Series and the American Speed Association (ASA), prior to joining the truck series.