Just over a year ago, Nick Stroupe made his Pro Challenge Series debut at Hickory Motor Speedway. Stroupe stuck around the top-five all day long in a stout field of Pro Challenge three-quarter-scale stock cars before finishing sixth in his first series start. Since then, Stroupe has racked up three series victories at tracks in three different states and entered Saturday's Pro Challenge Series event at Lanier National Speedway as one of the biggest threats for the 2008 series National Championship.

Stroupe's BDI Racing teammate Meghan Dillner made her first-ever Pro Challenge start on Saturday in the BEC 30 in Braselton, GA. Dillner had tested her #151 machine several times and had qualified in the top-five in her previous event before the feature was rained out; she had yet to see a feature event green flag.

Saturday, Stroupe proved that over the course of his first full year in the series, he has become the driver to beat wherever he brings his #51 BDI Racing Pro Challenge car. Stroupe won his heat race, started the 30-lap feature on the outside pole and took the lead on lap 13, and then never looked back for his fourth Pro Challenge victory of his career.

Behind him, Dillner made the most of her Pro Challenge debut, scoring an impressive fifth-place finish. Having both drivers in the top five, made for a special Georgia evening for the entire BDI Racing team.

“It feels good to be back in victory lane,” said 12-year-old Nick Stroupe. “We've had a couple wild weeks with the weather lately and we've had a few rainouts, so it feels good to be able to get back to racing and to get my first win since Orlando in the Denny's, Little Italy Pizzeria, Dandelion Inn #51.

“I'm also really happy for Meghan. She did a great job this weekend. To come out and finish fifth in your first race is not easy to do, especially with as many good cars as there were at Lanier. She did a great job, and hopefully she'll pull off one of these wins here soon too.”

“I was very happy with the way we ran at Lanier,” added Dillner. “I feel like since I switched from the Bandolero to the Pro Challenge car, I've improved a lot. The Pro Challenge machine has a lot more power, and it just feels really good to be driving one of these Chevy Silverados. I really like it a lot. Plus, Nick's my best friend so I was really happy for him to win; he has helped teach me a lot about these cars.”

Both drivers had to work hard for their top-notch finishes. Stroupe had a mechanical issue in his eight-lap heat race that robbed him of power, but he was still able to take the #51 Chev-Stang to the heat victory. In the race, Stroupe had patiently worked around the leader after starting on the outside pole and made the winning move on lap 13 cleanly.

“I was just riding for the first couple of laps,” said Stroupe. “I knew we had a good car and I could see him getting tighter and tighter. I was able to get a good run on him and he ran me clean. Once I got by him I just pulled away.”

The victory came at a perfect time and place for Stroupe. Several recent rainouts kept the young driver from making gains in his hunt for the 2008 Pro Challenge National Championship, but Stroupe got back at Mother Nature and the track with Saturday's win.

“It was great to get some redemption at Lanier,” added Stroupe. “Last time we were there we were gunning for the lead before we got a flat tire. Now it's just good to finally have some good luck and to finally pull out a win there.

“Winning is always good, but this win means a lot for the points. We're going after the National Championship, and since I can't go to Bristol (due to a track-implemented age restriction), this race counted for National Points; so to come down here to Georgia and win is awesome.”

Like Stroupe, Dillner had to earn her top-five finish. Being her first race situation in the series after graduating from the Bandolero ranks, Dillner learned how to deal with the beating and banging of short track racing that the Pro Challenge Series is known for.

“It makes me feel really good to finish in the top-five in my first race,” said Dillner. “When I went out for practice, I was hoping to just be pretty quick. To come out and finish top-five makes me feel even better because it was my first race and I beat a lot of guys that have been running Pro Challenge for a while.

“I almost did get turned at one point, but I was able to save it and come back up through the field. It was good experience for me to be able to pick off some cars like that because I've never actually raced one of these cars before. I did a lot of learning in the heat race because I was able to pick cars off one by one and that was my goal. Then I worked all race long just trying to pass cars one by one and I ended up in the top-five.”

Next up for both Stroupe and Dillner will be a chance to showcase their skills in front of a NASCAR audience. Stroupe will run his #51 Legends Semi-Pro entry for BDI Racing in Lowe's Motor Speedway's NASCAR Sprint Cup Pole Night event on May 22nd. Dillner will make her final career Bandolero start the same night in her #51 Young Guns machine before turning to Pro Challenge racing full-time thereafter.

Marketing opportunities for the BDI Racing team and its driver development program in Super Late Models, Pro Challenge, Legends Cars and Bandoleros are still available for the 2008 season. For more information on how partnering with BDI Racing can provide a multitude of benefits for companies of all sizes, contact the team at (704) 788-2134 ext: 7.