SportsCarFax, VOL. 2, NO. 20

SportsCar News

SPORTSCARFAX, VOL. 2, NO. 20

COUNTDOWN TO SPORTSCAR GRAND PRIX PRESENTED BY FAO SCHWARZ AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

FAO SCHWARZ NAMED PRESENTING SPONSOR - FAO Schwarz has signed on as the presenting sponsor for the Las Vegas race and will be assisting with the promotion of the event. SportsCar representatives and banners were highly visible when FAO Schwarz opened its largest toy store - 56,000 square feet - this past Labor Day weekend at the Forum Shops in Las Vegas. An estimated 360,000 people went through the store during the grand opening. The store will continue to distribute ticket brochures and will be playing a SportsCar racing video on a video wall through September.

LIVE AUDIO COVERAGE -- All SportsCar races at the SPORTSCAR GRAND PRIX will be covered LIVE on the SportsCar website www.professionalsportscar.com. To listen in you must download the RealAudio player in advance, by visiting RealAudio's website at http://www.realaudio.com/products/player Fri., Sept. 19: 7:00 pm 3-hour SPEEDVISION Cup Sat., Sept. 20: 4:00 pm 30-min. Black Magic Pro Series Sat., Sept. 20: 5:00 pm 30-min. Ferrari Challenge Sat., Sept. 20: 6:00 pm 1-hour 45-min. Exxon Supreme GT Series Sat., Sept. 20: 8:30 pm 2-hour Exxon World SportsCar Championship All times shown are Pacific Daylight Time

ENTRY FORMS -- If you have not received a copy of the Las Vegas Entry Forms, you can obtain them one of two ways. 1.) Via SportsCar's Fax on Demand system, call (201) 947-7455 from the handset of your fax machine and request document 4660, or 2.) Call or fax the SportsCar office and request a copy be faxed or mailed to you. PH: (813) 877-4672 or FAX: (813) 876-4604.

SPORTSCAR HOSPITALITY -- Two different hospitality options are available for SportsCar teams' special guests and sponsors at Las Vegas: The Grand Prix Club offers first-class service and surroundings, including gourmet cuisine, beverage service and closed circuit TV. Also available is Private Motorhome Hospitality space, which is complete with full facility hook-ups. SportsCar entrants will be contacted by a SportsCar representative to fulfull your requests, or contact Jamie Parries at the SportsCar office for more details (813) 877-4672, ext. 241.

TEST DAY -- A SportsCar-sanctioned Test Day is scheduled for Wednesday, September 17, from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. Cost is $400.00 per car and payable at SportsCar registration at the track.

PADDOCK APPEARANCE CONTEST -Congratulations to the winners of the first Paddock Appearance Contest conducted at the Mosport Festival. Winners in each SportsCar series were: Team MSI/Exxon World SportsCar Championship, Panoz/Exxon Supreme GTS-1, Martin Snow Racing/GTS-2, Prototype Technology Group/GTS-3, Rehagen Racing/SPEEDVISION Cup, and RIOBI Racing/Black Magic Pro Series. Each team won a free test day at Las Vegas, a case of champagne, CD player and a selection of Warner Bros. CDs. The Paddock Appearance Contest will be held at each of the remaining races this season. Judges are looking at overall appearance of crew, rig, etc. and compliance with all required series identification.

STOCKCAR CHAMPIONSHIP CANCELLED -- IMSG cancelled the proposed American StockCar Championship and Las Vegas Invitational Race. "The stated objective of the American StockCar Championship was to serve the interests of entrants, manufacturers and sponsors wanting to participate in a professionally-run, tube-frame road racing series," said IMSG president Jack Long. "With the creation of the Trans-Am Council, one segment of that group looks like it is being addressed. I know the perception is that we were attempting to take advantage of the continuing problems in the Trans-Am series, but our interest was much broader and included our own tube-frame entrants, as well as those with ASA and ARCA-type cars who had an interest in road racing. We have always felt that uniting all segments of sports car racing would be best for the sport. However, at this time we don't think it is prudent or in the best interest of the sport to attempt to continue with our plans for the series."

EXXON WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS MILESTONES -- The Mosport win by Ron Fellows and Rob Morgan marked a couple of milestones: It was the first win by a Ferrari at Mosport since Pedro Rodriquez drove a Ferrari 330 P to victory in the 1964 Sportscar Grand Prix. And it was both Ron Fellows and Rob Morgan's first win in the Exxon World SportsCar Championship. Morgan had previously won in GTS-1 at Mosport in 1995.

EXXON SUPREME GT SERIES PRESENTED BY VIRGIN INTERACTIVE NEWS LISTER STORM -- The Surrey, England-based Lister Storm team is entered at Las Vegas with drivers Julian Bailey and 1995 Rolex 24-winner Christophe Bouchut. This will be the third race in North America for the team, having competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1996 and 1997. They finished fourth in GTS-1 in the 1997 season-opening Rolex 24.

SPEEDVISION CUP NEWS Planet Earth Motorsports has selected the Business Environmental Program (BEP) at the University of Nevada-Reno to receive the team's donation of 10% of the Las Vegas race winnings from the #41 Planet Earth Motorsports Mazda MX-6. The BEP was established as part of the Nevada Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of the University in 1988 and provides free and confidential regulatory compliance and pollution prevention assistance to Nevada businesses using the statewide network of SBDC service centers. At each SPEEDVISION Cup race, Planet Earth Motorsports donates 10% of the winnings from the #41 car to a local environmental group. Planet Earth Motorsports sponsor JWI, the largest manufacturer of pressure liquid/solid separation (filtration) equipment, will also use the Las Vegas race as a sales incentive for employees.

FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP -- SportsCar Chairman Andrew Evans attended the FIA GT and Sports Car Commission meetings in Paris, France this week to finalize details regarding the final two rounds of the 1997 FIA GT Championship at Sebring (October 18) and Laguna Seca (October 26). The manufacturers attending the meeting - Mercedes Benz, BMW, Chrysler and Porsche - expressed enthusiasm and excitement about coming to America for the conclusion of the the series' inaugural championship. "The opportunity for SportsCar to present the top marques and drivers in sports car racing to American motorsports enthusiasts on both the East and West Coast is terriffic," said Evans. "This is an important crossroads for sport car racing throughout the world. To have the premier road racing sanctioning body in North America working with the FIA bodes well for the future of world class sports car racing." The FIA GT Championship rounds at Sebring and Laguna Seca mark the first FIA races in America since the U. S. Grand Prix was held in Phoenix in 1991.

TEAM BROCHURES/QUESTIONAIRE -- New marketing brochures have been mailed to all SportsCar entrants. Please complete the questionaire enclosed with the brochures and return it via fax to the SportsCar office in Los Angeles: (310) 712-3033. Additional copies of the brochures are available by contacting the SportsCar office -- (813) 877-4672.

RIDES AVAILABLE -- Exxon World SportsCar Championship Mazda Kudzu (3-rotor), Jim Downing (770) 457-6300 Davin Racing/BMW Argo-P, Edd Davin (757) 721-7300 TRV Motorsports/Chevy Kudzu, Tom Volk (419) 535-5665 Brown Motorsports/Olds Spice, Bobby Brown (419) 756-9191 SER/Chevrolet Spice, Rod Everett (714) 776-9400 Exxon Supreme GT Series Kryderacing/Nissan 240SX, Sandy Kryder (888) 854-4889 LG Motorsports/Ford Mustang, Scott Carpenter (972) 272-7864 Pro-Technik/Porsche 911, Sam Shalala (281) 879-8861 Porsche 911, David Friedman (800) 221-7666 Turning Point /Porsche 911, Ken Young (805) 529-4464 Overbagh Chevy Camaro, W.H. Overbagh (804) 751-2235 Jack Lewis Ent./Porsche 911, Jack Lewis (770) 849-0302 Rice Racing/Pontiac Grand Prix, Vic Rice (415) 927-1700 SPEEDVISION Cup Mustang Cobra R & Olds Achieva, Paul Hacker (518) 758-9412 SpeedSource/Mazda RX-7 Turbo, S. Tremblay (954) 481-8331 Pontiac Firebird Formula, Burnell Cochran (800) 651-4171 Ford Mustang Cobra R, Ed Zabinski (561) 747-4118 Pontiac Firebird Formula, Joe Aquilante (610) 933-0608 T.A.P. Racing/Audi A4 1.8T, Ivor Wigham (352) 628-2834 Snipes Ford Mustang Cobra R, Chuck Snipes (919) 735-8411 Toyota Supra & Honda Prelude Si, Shawn Passen (800) 441-8913 GTI Racing/Nissan 240SX , John Norris (310) 575-4249 Performance Mtrsprts Honda, Jason Potter (513) 524-2153 Pontiac Firebird Formula, Kyle Nevius (941) 263-8686 Pontiac Firebird/Olds Achieva, C. Thompson (203) 375-9501 Black Magic Pro Series Stephens Bros. Racing, Shane Stephens (918) 583-1135

Tow to Las Vegas and Pikes Peak race from Midwest available from Phoenix Promotions - (330) 497-4484 ext. 54, Joe Nonnamaker

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!