Road America 500 News & Notes

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (July 5, 2001) -- The seventh event of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series season got underway today at Road America with teams testing for this weekend's Road America 500 presented by the Chicago Tribune. Official practice sessions will begin on Friday, with qualifying being held on Saturday. The green flag will fall on the Road America 500 at noon on Sunday.

'It's A Miracle' - They're Back
After a frightening accident during the Six Hours of The Glen in May, Miracle Motorsports will return to the Rolex Sports Car Series this weekend. The Serta #6 Ford-powered Riley & Scott was involved in a severe crash with a Porsche during the Watkins Glen race. The team sent the chassis and tub back to Riley & Scott for a crack check, and when the green light was given, the crew began rebuilding the car. The team, whose slogan is 'It's a Miracle,' missed the Lime Rock Grand Prix and ConAgra Foods U.S. Road Racing Classic during the rebuilding process, but team owner and driver John Macaluso, of Winter Haven, Fla., is excited to finally be back on the track. Brent Sherman, of Barrington, Ill., and Ross Bentley, of Vancouver, B.C, will join him in the car this weekend.

New Faces on Archangel's Driver Line-up
Some new faces have appeared on this weekend's driver line-up for Archangel Motorsport Services. The current SportsRacing Prototype II (SRPII) points leader, the Tycoon Magazine/bendevlin.com/Troon Golf-sponsored #21 Nissan, will have two new drivers behind the wheel. Ben Devlin, of England, and David Sterenberg, of Phoenix, will share driving duties with Larry Oberto, of Seattle. Devlin is expected to race with Archangel for the remainder of the season. He competed in a GTO Viper earlier this year in the British GT Championship series. Current SRPII driver points-leader Andy Lally, of Northpoint, N.Y., typically competes in the #21 Nissan, but will move over to the Oberto Beef Jerky #22 Nissan for this weekend's race. Also in the #22 car will be Mike Durand, of Boston, and Howard Katz, of New York.

HANS Co-Creator Back Behind the Wheel
Head and Neck Support (HANS) device co-creator Jim Downing, of Atlanta, will return to the racetrack this weekend for the first time since he won the Rolex 24 At Daytona in February. Downing's #63 Mazda-powered Kudzu took the top prize in the SportsRacing Prototype class at Daytona, but Downing began to focus more of his time and energy on manufacturing HANS devices after the race due to the sudden rush of orders following the Daytona 500. Downing and his brother-in-law Robert Hubbard, PhD., an engineering professor at Michigan State, collaborated on the creation of the HANS device. Downing is also credited with the creation of the Kudzu chassis that he will be racing in this weekend. He named the chassis for the wild vine that grows in his native Georgia.

Pilgrim Joins Team X-1R
Renowned Corvette driver Andy Pilgrim, of Cooper City, Fla., will join Flis Motorsports Team X-1R this weekend for the Road America 500. Pilgrim will share driving duties with Doug Goad, of Farmington Hills, Mich., and Craig Conway, of Daytona Beach, Fla., in the X-1R Performance Lubricants/Goodyear-sponsored #09 Corvette C5. The Road America 500 will be the second Rolex Series race of the season for Pilgrim, who teamed up with Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Collins in the #3 Corvette for an overall fourth-place finish at the 2001 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

More information on Grand-Am Road Racing and the Road America 500 is available online at www.grand-am.com. Tickets are available at www.roadamerica.com.
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For more information: Grand-Am Public Relations
Christie Hyde (386) 795-1189 cellular
email: CHyde@grand-am.com