RACE: National Runoffs: NayKid Racing preview

NayKid Racing Brings Viper Strike to SCCA Runoffs

LEXINGTON, Oh., September 19, 2005 -- NayKid Racing enters Friday's SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Kohler® at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course ready to strike with its pair of Dodge Viper SRT10s in the Touring One (T1) class. Drivers Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.) and Scotty B. White (Puyallup, Wash.) each earned class titles in their division-- Lux in the Northern Pacific Division (NorPac), White in the Southern Pacific Division (SoPac)-- in their first season of racing the formidable V10-powered machine. Now they bring the newest iteration Viper, the SRT10, to the SCCA National Championships for the first time. Having spent much of the year developing the car with Dodge Motorsports, the SRT Division of DaimlerChrysler, Lux Performance Group, LLC and technical partner KUMHO Tires, momentum has the NayKid Vipers coiled and ready. Lux, in the No. 78 KUMHO Tires/ Woodhouse.com Viper, and White, in the No. 3 Viper also backed by KUMHO Tires and the Woodhouse Auto Family, will each challenge to give Dodge and SRT their first-ever T1 national titles for the Viper just as they gave the American supercar its first divisional titles last month.

"I am not going to sit here and make promises on how we are going to run this year at the Runoffs because so many things can happen," said Lux."All I am going to say is the cars are ready and the drivers are super-eager and very hungry. KUMHO has a great tire underneath these cars that is really getting the job done. My hat's off to them once again. I think it would be appropriate to stamp a NayKid Racing driver's name in the record books as winning the last Runoffs at Mid-Ohio. I feel 100% physically and I'm ready to get back up on the wheel of the number 78 car."

The SCCA Runoffs is a unique event in the world of motorsports. Unlike other series that crown their national champion from a season-long collection of points earned at each event, the 13-race NayKid schedule only served to win the division titles and an invitation to the Runoffs. Here at the week-long National Championships, the 21 class titles-- three of which Dodge is represented-- will be decided in one race. The added pressure is something that NayKid Racing has become accustom to.

"It's really a weird feeling going into Runoffs as a dark horse," offered White about the position of the team in the season's premier race. "We have been going into the event the past several years with people predicting us as the ones that could finally steal one away from the GM Factory team. Now, here we are starting from scratch with a brand new car and people are so worried about us getting it done. Who in their right mind would expect anything better than a top-10 in a brand new car in this tough, talent-rich field? We have had amazing support from KUMHO Tires. I love this hot rod and I love workin' with the guys from Dodge/SRT and Mopar. It's so awesome to visit with any of these guys and they are actually excited for you when you make progress! They are passionate about the hot rods they build and it just feels so right to have the honor of flyin' their colors!"

"Having Dodge now in the hunt for the championship is great and it adds diversity for the fans," Lux picked-up White's thought. "That is what it's all about. I wouldn't be surprised to see more Vipers out there next year. But you know what? We were the team that took the chance with this car, rolled the dice and hopefully we will win the jackpot."

The KUMHO Tires/ Woodhouse.com Vipers will take to the track for the first round of qualifying at 1:50 PM (EDT) on Tuesday, Sept. 20th. Second-round qualifying will take place on Wednesday at 4:15 PM while the final field will be set on Thursday at 9:50 AM. A final warm-up will take place at 9 AM, Friday, Sept. 23rd with the race scheduled for the green flag at 3:20 PM (EDT). The race will be 40-minutes or 20 laps of the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course. Ryan Snodgrass (Kirkland, Wash.) will pilot a third NayKid Racing entry at the Runoffs. Snodgrass will run the No. 75 KUMHO Tires Chevrolet Corvette in T1 competition alongside Lux and White.

NayKid Racing is set for the challenge of the Runoffs and welcomes all comers. "We know we have a lot of work to do and we also have the chance to prove our mettle as a team," concluded White. "I can tell you one thing though; this team has a fire in their belly like I haven't seen in a while. They have the desire to shut some people up who think we forgot how to build hot rods or the shoes forgot how to drive on this team. This team will do everything necessary to prove the doubters wrong! Even with the phenomenal strength of NayKid Racing as a team, a top-five or a podium would be a dream season."

"Ya know what?" asked White as a final thought. "The last time the team was in this position we won the biggest race of the team's career."

SPEED Channel will air each event at this year's SCCA Runoffs on a tape-delay basis. The T1 class race will be shown at 1 PM (EST), November 26th, 2005. Live timing and scoring of each session can be found at: leaderboard.vfx.com/SCCA/RunOffs/LiveTiming.asp.

To learn more about NayKid Racing, please visit www.NayKidRacing.com.

For more on Lux Performance Group, LLC please see www.CindiLux.com.

Visit www.KumhoUSA.com to see the latest from KUMHO Tires.

To visit the Woodhouse family of dealerships on the web, please click onto www.Woodhouse.com.

To follow the latest from Mid-Ohio, please log onto www.SCCA.com and follow the links.

-nkr-