Gigliotti at Sebring

WYLIE, Texas (March 17, 2000) — Lou Gigliotti, of Garland, Texas, piloted his Compaq/Young Chevrolet Corvette to a fifth-place finish at Sebring International Raceway in the opening round of the BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am series today, despite starting 19th and then having to pit during the event. After storming back through the field, his strong finish puts him fourth in season points heading into the season's second round, at the Grand Prix of Charlotte Weekend at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

"We were ecstatic with our run at Sebring," commented Gigliotti, "but a bit disappointed that no one seemed to notice. We qualified poorly, but we had only 10 laps of practice. Still, we moved up well in the race and were nearly into the top five when we had to pit and come back through the field; we pitted at the same time as Paul Gentilozzi. I think we passed something like 39 cars, when you count all the cars we had to pass twice. We were hoping for some better coverage for our new sponsor, Compaq computers."

Computer giant Compaq finalized the deal at the eleventh hour to come aboard the LG Motorsports team this year as a major, full-season sponsor. The deal was literally not signed until almost race day at Sebring, but will support Gigliotti, the SCCA World Challenge most winning driver and three-time champion, for the full 2000 Trans-Am campaign. Gigliotti also has associate sponsorship from Young Chevrolet. "Young Chevrolet in Dallas has been by our side for two of our three championships, and we are grateful for their support."

"I'm so happy that Compaq has come on board I can't describe it," says Gigliotti, who builds his own cars in his shop in Wiley, Texas. "They've made a major commitment to us, and we intend to give them their money's worth. Now that we know how good the car is, we'll just have to go to Charlotte and put it up front where the cameras can't help but see us. A win there would be great for us, great for Compaq, and great for Young Chevrolet."

Round Two of the 2000 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series at Charlotte's Lowe's Motor Speedway is scheduled for 12:00 noon EST on Saturday, April 1. Television coverage for the 75-minute race around the 2.25-mile, 10-Turn infield road course will be on the Speedvision Network, with the broadcast starting at 12:00 noon.