HUDSON, N.C.?As the USAC Carolina Ford Focus Midget Series headed to Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, N.C. Friday, May 6 for the series? third stop, Haus Motorsports and driver Lindsey Trausch were looking to kick-start their season with a strong showing but instead opted to watch the feature with engine problems.

?We tried firing the car before we headed to the track but nothing would happen,? commented Trausch who is contending for the series rookie of the year title. ?We figured it was just a dead battery but when we changed that at the track we learned that the starter was bad.?

With USAC rules requiring the Ford Focus Midgets to be self-starting, Trausch would be penalized for using a push truck which reduced her normal two qualifying laps to one and required her to start dead last in the feature. Unfortunately, this would not be the only set-back the team would experience as a backfire during push off for the feature caused unfixable damage to the Ford Focus power plant.

?When I pushed off for the feature the car had a huge backfire and the throttle hung wide open,? continued Trausch. ?Thinking it was just a problem with the throttle linkage Chris (Trausch) scrambled to fix it only to have it hang up again, that?s when we decided to call it a night.?

?Once we got back to the trailer and started looking things over we learned that the injection stacks had blown off-center during the backfire causing the throttle linkage to bind and hang open,? explained Chris Trausch, team owner/crew chief. ?Obviously we are very disappointed but its one of those things that is bound to happen in racing and we just have to move on. You can guarantee we will have a spare starter in our trailer for now on though.?

Haus Motorsports will be back in action this Saturday, May 14 at East Lincoln Speedway for the Carolina Ford Focus Midget Series? first dirt outing of the year.

Haus Motorsports, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. was founded in September 2003 by husband and wife duo, Chris and Lindsey Trausch who bring a vast Motorsports and marketing background to the USAC Carolina Ford Focus Series. Haus Motorsports may be found on the world wide web at www.hausmotorsports.com.

Haus Motorsports would like to thank the following sponsors: LunaseaMedia Productions, Impact Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Weld Wheels, Gale Trailer Sales, Calico Coatings, Hypercoil Springs, BMRS Professional Race Hose & Fittings and Chicago Pneumatic.