Sharp Wins Casino Magic 500 with Delphi Technology

12 June 2000
Sharp Wins Casino Magic 500 with Delphi Technology
    JUSTIN, Texas, June 11 Delphi Automotive Systems
proved its products can handle demanding driving situations when
its driver Scott Sharp won the Casino Magic 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway
here today.  This win earns Sharp the title for the most wins in Indy Racing
Northern Lights Series history.
    Delivering sophisticated Engine Control Modules (ECMs) for Indy cars since
1989, this is the 138th racing win for Delphi.  The fourth generation ECM
helps bring to racecars a new level of sophistication in engine controls with
enhancements over the previous model, including a feature that automatically
limits the speed of the racecar when traveling through racecourse pits.  Other
improvements include a faster,
32-bit microprocessor (giving better and faster data to engineers monitoring
the engine's performance) and a higher-level software programming language
that makes it easier for future improvements to be implemented.
    "We're extremely proud and excited to share this win with Scott Sharp and
Kelley Racing," said Bill Lafontaine, Delphi's director of marketing and
customer development.  "Scott's win not only demonstrates the high quality of
our products such as our ECM, but also reinforces our commitment to
motorsports as an important venue for product development."
    The Gen IV ECM also brings a new ability to implement race day strategy by
allowing the driver to modify the operating characteristics of the engine
according to predetermined settings.  For example, if fuel efficiency is a
factor (in situations where the team wants to avoid another pit stop), the
engine can be instructed to run leaner, sacrificing horsepower for fuel
economy.  A four-position rotary switch in the racecar activates a series of
pre-set control programs.
    Other improvements include a serial link to the ECM's radio telemetry
module.  Race team members can continually monitor engine performance
characteristics, helping to determine when the next pit stop should occur.
    The Gen IV ECM has two megabytes of logging memory for use in pre-race
testing and analysis.  The module is also lighter and smaller than the
previous generation, factors that continue to be important in motor racing.
In fact, Delphi is currently supplying more than 90 percent of IRL cars with
the Gen IV ECM.
    Delphi, the official electronics provider to the IRL, has been involved in
open-wheel racing since 1988 to research and develop technologies to help
improve driver safety.  Today, a majority of the vehicles in the IRL are
equipped with several of Delphi's racing products including:
    *  Accident Data Recorder (ADR2) -- senses and records key vehicle
parameters at 1000 samples per second just prior to, during, and after an
accident-triggering event;
    *  Coil Driver Module -- when commanded by the Gen IV ECM, this unit
precisely supplies more than 360 volts to the coils of each of the eight spark
plugs and eliminates the need for a mechanical distributor;
    *  Track Condition Radio -- alerts drivers with critical information by
transmitting messages from race control to the racecar.  A dash-mounted
display communicates messages including safety warnings, track condition and
pits opened/closed;
    *  Radio Telemetry Module -- transmits engine and chassis data from a
speeding racecar to race team engineers located in the pits.  The telemetry
module helps enhance driver safety and race team strategy by making real-time
data available.
    Delphi Automotive Systems is driving tomorrow's technology through its
active role in the Indy Racing League, notably through its sponsorship of
Kelley Racing's drivers Scott Sharp and teammate Mark Dismore through 2001.
Sharp and Dismore's next race is the Radisson Indy 200 on June 18 at Pikes
Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo.
    Multi-national Delphi Automotive Systems, with headquarters in Troy,
Mich., USA, Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo, Brazil, is a world leader in
transportation and mobile electronics components and systems technology.
Delphi's three business sectors -- Dynamics & Propulsion; Safety, Thermal &
Electrical Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile Communication -- provide
comprehensive product solutions to complex customer needs.  Delphi has
approximately 213,000 employees and operates 176 wholly owned manufacturing
sites, 41 joint ventures, 53 customer centers and sales offices and 30
technical centers in 38 countries.  Delphi can be found on the Internet at
http://www.delphiauto.com