SportsCar Road Atlanta fact sheet

ROAD ATLANTA FACT SHEET

12 April, 1997

FACT SHEET

WHAT: NAPA AUTO PARTS Grand Prix of Atlanta Presented by Royal Purple Motor Oil- 2-hour race for Exxon World SportsCar Championship; 2- hour Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive for GTS-1, GTS-2 and GTS-3 cars; a 3-hour SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars race for Grand Sports, Sports, Touring and Compact cars; a 30-minute Advance Auto Atlanta Challenge race for the Black Magic Pro Series.

WHERE: 2.52-mile, 12-turn, Road Course Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA

WHEN: April 19-21, 1996

CONTACTS: Road Atlanta David Fulmer (770) 967-6143 Professional SportsCar Racing, Inc. Sid Priddle, Ed Nicholls (813) 877-4672 Exxon World SportsCar Championship & Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive Marty Fiolka (714) 436-9900 SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars Dave Arnold (330) 673-4405 Black Magic Pro Series Beth Walters (704) 455-8666

VIDEO NEWS SERVICE: Pre-race and post-race video is available from Apex Communications. Description of feed: Tape will come with NATSOT only for re-editing. Video highlights from the Exxon World SportsCar Championship and Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive will be fed prior to the race conclusion. If problems occur during transmission contact UPSOUTH at (404) 325-0818. 4/20/97, 5:45 pm- 6:00 pm, ET, SBS 6, Transponder 15, Downlink Frequency 12068H, Audio 6.2-6.8. Contact Karen Gordon, (219) 477-3997 or (219) 241-2368, weekend only.

TELEVISION: NAPA AUTO PARTS Grand Prix of Atlanta Presented by Royal Purple Motor Oil Speedvision 4/21 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm, ET Speedvision 4/22 1:00 am - 3:00 am, ET Speedvision 4/25 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, ET Speedvision 5/5 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, ET Speedvision 5/11 1:00 am - 3:00 am, ET Prime Network 4/30 The Motorsports Hour by Chevrolet Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive Speedvision 4/26 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm, ET Speedvision 4/26 11:00 pm - 12:00 am, ET Prime Network 5/14 The Motorsports Hour by Chevrolet SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars Speedvision 4/26 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm, ET Speedvision 4/27 2:00 am - 4:00 am, ET Speedvision 4/27 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm, ET

RADIO: Radio stations -- for radio feeds, contact Announcer, Jim Martyn at (905) 206-1304 or at the track.

1996 WINNERS: Exxon World SportsCar: Gianpiero Moretti, Max Papis/Ferrari 333 SP Exxon Supreme GTS-1: Irv Hoerr, Darin Brassfield/Oldsmobile Aurora Exxon Supreme GTS-3: Henry Taleb/Nissan 240SX Grand Sports: Joe Varde, Sylvain Tremblay/Mazda RX-7 Turbo Sports: Barry Waddell, Kyle Chura/BMW 325is Touring: Kelly Collins, Randy Pobst/Honda Prelude Si Compact: Peter Tonelli, Jason Engel/Nissan 240SX World Sports Racer: Mike Davies/Toyota

SPORTSCAR® ON THE INTERNET: The NAPA AUTO PARTS Grand Prix of Atlanta Presented by Royal Purple Motor Oil will feature a broadcast over the web site, www.professionalsportscar.com.

Event coverage will feature: Sat., April 19th: 2:45 pm EDT 3 hour SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars Race Sun., April 20th: 9:15 am EDT 30 minute Black Magic Pro Series Race 12 Noon EDT 2 hour Exxon Supreme GT Series Presented by Virgin Interactive Race 2:50 pm EDT 2 hour NAPA AUTO PARTS Grand Prix of Atlanta Presented by Royal Purple Motor Oil Race

This coverage will be an "audio" broadcast and requires downloading the "Real Audio Player," http://www.realaudio.com/products/player. A link to this download site is available from www.professionalsportscar.com

NAPA AUTO PARTS GRAND PRIX OF ATLANTA PRESENTED BY ROYAL PURPLE MOTOR OIL RACE NOTES

EXXON WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Defending Exxon World SportsCar Champion Wayne Taylor and co-driver Eric van de Poele have a brand new Riley & Scott MK III chassis for the Road Atlanta race. According to team manager Mark Scott, the chassis is essentially the same as the one raced at the Daytona 24-hour and Sebring 12-hour, except for lighter and newer components.

Gianpiero Moretti, winner at last season¹s Grand Prix of Atlanta, will be making his 17th visit to Road Atlanta in 1997. His first race at the track was in 1978 where he finished fourth in a Porsche 935. His first win at Road Atlanta came in 1980, also in a Porsche 935. His most recent win came last season behind the wheel of his #30 MOMO Ferrari 333SP. Moretti is the founder of the MOMO organization, the world-famous maker of racing/automotive road wheels, steering wheels and other performance accessories.

The fastest qualifier for Sunday¹s 2-hour race for the Exxon World SportsCar Championship receives a bonus on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The fastest qualifier receives $1,000 and $4,000 check goes to the local Make-A-Wish Chapter.

EXXON SUPREME GT PRESENTED BY VIRGIN INTERACTIVE

The Rock Valley Oil & Chemical team with drivers Roger Schramm and Stu Hayner are debuting a new Chevrolet Camaro in the Exxon Supreme GTS-1 division. The team has been a regular in the series for the past two years, and won the 1996 season finale at Daytona in their ³old² Camaro.

The Prototype Technology Group team that enters the three BMWs (#6, #7 & #10 in the Exxon Supreme GTS-3 division, has won six consecutive GTS-3 races and is tied for second in all-time win streaks for the class. A win at Road Atlanta will time the team for first consecutive wins in the class.

SPEEDVISION CUP FOR STOCK SPORTSCARS

Derek Hill, son of 1961 World Champion Phil Hill, returns to the SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars series Saturday in the J.J. Crisps BMW 328is co-driven by owner Jeff McMillin. McMillin leads the Sports class points after two races; he and Hill finished second at Sebring -- the only one of three races that weekend which Hill did not win.

Marietta's Jack Baldwin returns to the SPEEDVISION Cup series as new lead driver in the #12 Wheel To Wheel Racing Pontiac Firebird Formula. Baldwin shares the ride with new Marietta driver, Jimmy Chamberlin, who debuted at Sebring in a Porsche. Baldwin drove Camaros in the series from 1986-89 with a best finish of second here in 89.

The 1997 BMW Z-3 roadster which debuted at Sebring returns to a race closer to home. The car is owned by Mark Hughes of Spartanburg, SC, and is sponsored by the BMW Manufacturing plant in Spartanburg where the Z-3 is built. A bus load of BMW employees are here this weekend to watch Hughes and co-driver, Wayne Lockhart.

Gainesville's Terry Earwood, the 1996 Touring class champion and winningest driver in the history of the series, now has a full-time ride for the season with B-P Racing in a Honda Prelude Si. Earwood will drive alongside one of his Skip Barber Racing School graduates, Paul Arnold of Franklin, TN. This is the weekend where Earwood annually moves all his belongings ("A jar of mustard and a loaf of bread.") to his summer home in Gainesville from his winter home in Sebring, FL.

Andy Pilgrim, the 1995 Grand Sports class champion, has joined Beverly Hills 90210 actor Jason Priestley in the Triple Caution Racing Ford SVT Mustang Cobra R. Pilgrim will try to extend his all-time SportsCar record of 91 consecutive race finishes in six SportsCar series. The major portion of that record is 42 consecutive finishes in Endurance Championship races. Pilgrim's last failure to finish in any SportsCar race was at the 1992 Watkins Glen 24-hour. Pilgrim shares the Grand Sports class points lead with Priestley, and the Exxon Supreme GTS-1 points lead with car owner and co-driver Jochen Rohr.

The Grand Sports class entry is 39 cars strong. The 7-manufacturer field includes 15 Pontiac Firebirds. 13 Ford Mustang Cobras, 5 Mazda RX7 Turbos, 3 Toyota Supra Turbos, and 1 each BMW M-3, Chevrolet Camaro SLP Z- 28 and Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo.

The Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo makes its first appearance in the Grand Sports class. The Nissan is owned by and prepared by 1994 Touring class champion David Daughtery. Drivers are 1995 Compact champion Kris Skavnes and 1996 Compact co-champ Peter Tonelli.

Daughtery has a non-turbo Nissan 300ZX in the Sports class for Atlanta's Hugh Johnson with Kris Wilson. Two Nissan 200SX's are in the Compact class, one for Daughtery with John Phillips, the other for 1986 Grand Sports champion Buddy Norton, teamed with Ed Magner.

Nissan is now the first manufacturer to compete in all four SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars series classes in the same race. Daughtery's 1996 Compact class championship-winning Nissan 240SX is now in the Touring class where it is owned by Dono Soeharto, with a driving lineup that includes veteran John Norris, who shares the points lead with Craig Stanton, and Marc Jones, brother of 1986-87 Road Atlanta Endurance race winner Max Jones.

Multi-car teams are the norm in the SPEEDVISION Cup for Stock SportsCars series., unlike in other SportsCar series. Joe Aquilante, Sylvain Tremblay, Joe Nonnamaker and David Daughtery lead the list with (respectively) four each Phoenix-American Motorsports Pontiac Firebird Formulas, SpeedSource Mazda RX-7 Turbos , Planet Earth Mazda MX-6's and D.R.S. Nissans. Three cars come from Burnell Cochran, Blake Pridgen, Joe Safina, Chris Thompson and Shawn Passen, and a wealth of teams are two-car entries.