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ATLANTICS: Rutledge takes second place in exciting last lap Laguna Seca battle

11 September 2000

        Lynx Racing driver David Rutledge, 22, of Vancouver BC, today
finished second in a thrilling CART Toyota Atlantic series battle that saw
him snatch a podium finish from the jaws of defeat on the last lap of the
30-lap event.  His Lynx Racing teammate, Mike Conte, 31, of Seattle,
Washington, persevered with a car damaged in the opening laps to finish
8th, his 8th top-10 finish of the season.  

The race was won by pole-sitter Daniel Wheldon of Newport Beach,
California, with Buddy Rice finishing third.

        Rutledge, who qualified third in his #17 Lynx Racing Swift 008.a,
made a decisive move into second place on the opening lap, and held that
spot throughout the race.  In the closing laps of he event, he came under
intense pressure from series points leader  Rice (a Lynx Racing graduate
now driving for DSTP Motorsports).  On the final lap, as the two cars
entered the famed 'corkscrew' turn at the top of the hilly Laguna Seca
track, Rice made an unsuccessful move to pass Rutledge.  The two cars
collided and both went sideways.  Rutledge was able to recover and, despite
losing air at a rapid rate from a rear tire that was punctured in the
action, held on to finish second.

        Rutledge won from the pole at Montreal with a dramatic last-lap
pass, and earlier in the season finished second at the Toyota Grand Prix of
Long Beach, also with a last-lap pass.

        "I don't know how thrilled I am about this last-lap business, but
I'm glad to have such a good result for the Lynx team at their home race on
their tenth anniversary," said Rutledge.  "There are seven former and
current Lynx drivers competing in various races this weekend (three in
CART, three in Atlantic and one in Barber Dodge Pro Series), and I wanted
to be able to hold my own in such good company.  This result today is
important in many ways, not for the championship which we are
mathematically unable to win, but for the morale of the team and to build a
strong foundation for the final two races of the season as well as looking
forward to next season."

        Mike Conte had an equally thrilling race, starting from the 9th
spot on the grid, before suffering contact with another car in the opening
laps and having his front wing damaged as a result.
  
        "The car had a big push in the turns, but I adjusted the sway bars,
and my driving style, and eventually figured out how to drive around the
problem," says Conte.  "Despite the difficulties, I had a pretty good race.
 I'm particularly happy to be able to post a good finish for my new
sponsor, CHAMPS Karting, a new chain of indoor karting centers that just
opened its first location in Seattle."

        Rice extends his lead in the championship points battle to 155,
with Wheldon in second with 141.  A victory in the Atlantic series is worth
20 points, and there are two races remaining in the season.  Rutledge
remains in sixth place with 76 points, and Conte is in 10th with 40 points.

        The 11th round of the 12-event CART Toyota Atlantic Season takes
place next weekend on the oval track at Gateway, across the river from St.
Louis.  Rutledge had a particularly good race there last season, finishing
second.