Pickup ace in Thunder stormer

"I got a phone call late on Friday from [team boss] John Mickel, and just turned up on Saturday morning in time for practice," said Willis. "I'm so lucky to get this chance because when I did rookie training for Pickups it was in a Days of Thunder car, and I knew that if a place like this came up I could get a run. The experience in Pickups helped me, and the car didn't feel too different to the truck."

Reigning Pickup champion Steve Dance is set to make his Days of Thunder debut for Torquespeed in the next round of the championship on August 1, and Pickup boss Sunny Howard believes that his championship is well on the way to establishing itself as the main feeder for the headline series.

Howard said: "The Pickups are only a bit slower than Days of Thunder, and most importantly you learn the racecraft and the right attitude for oval racing.
Drivers would benefit from six months or a year in this series
rather than going straight in. The move from Trucks to these cars works like that in America.

"Steve will do as well as Mark when he races, and hopefully we will maybe see four Pickup graduates stepping up in the near future."