Tyler Jet Ready to Run with Number 10

Tyler Jet Motorsports owner Tim Beverley said Wednesday that his team is preparing "without the slightest hint of hesitation" for a full run in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition for 2000.

With driver Johnny Benson secured to drive the Tyler Jet Pontiacs for 2000, Beverley said the team continues to ride the wave of positive momentum generated when it won its first-ever Bud Pole at last month's Winston Cup event at Homestead, Fla. Benson signed on the following weekend at Atlanta.

In other team news, Tyler Jet Motorsports, which last week relinquished the #45 it paraded during the 1999 season, was today assigned the #10 by NASCAR. Tyler Jet was forced to begin immediate, concentrated marketing efforts to find a primary sponsor replacement in the proverbial "11th-hour" due to the unavoidable lateness of being notified that its '99 sponsor would not return for a second year.

As a result, the team decided last week to temporarily suspend Busch Series plans until its 2000 Winston Cup program was in place. Tyler Jet released 20-year-old former World of Outlaws ace Tyler Walker on December 10th so he could pursue other options in NASCAR racing.

Beverley emphasized he still plans to field an eventual multi-car operation. Once the season begins, the team likely will begin the slow yet meticulous process of forming a possible second Winston Cup program with the intent of running select events in late 2000. A driver for such a program has not been selected as of this date