JIMMY KITE TO WHEEL COVINGTON MIDGET AT COLUMBUS

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga., Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - Jimmy Kite announced today that
he will again wheel the #95 Tom Cherry Mufflers/ Covington Products
Beast-Ford in the North American Auto Racing Series (NAMARS) Championship
MidgetCar Series at Columbus (OH) Motor Speedway (CMS) on July 20. The event
on CMS’ 1/3-mile paved oval will mark the 26-year old Indy Racing League
(IRL) regular’s second race of the season for owner Jerry Covington. Kite
returned recently to NAMARS competition at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP)
with a fourth-place finish in the Ford powered Beast chassis. It was the
Stockbridge, Georgia resident’s first race in a midget since 1999.

“It was great to get back behind the wheel of Jerry’s midget at IRP and I am
anxious to try it in Columbus,” said Kite. “Jerry always gave me a great car
in the past and it felt like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes when I
slid into the seat at IRP. The Brayton (Engineering)-built Ford had great
power, we just missed our setup a little. That cost us a win at Raceway
Park. We are going to test tomorrow at Columbus and that will help us avoid
that problem this time. NAMARS has such strong competitors that you have to
fight for everything you get. That’s the way I like it. That’s what racing
is all about.”

Kite continues to add to his success in 2002. The Covington midget is the
third open wheel car that the three-time Indianapolis 500-starter has been
racing regularly this season. In his family’s native Missouri, Kite has been
driving the #12 Reddick Maxim chassis/ O-Donely powered winged-sprint car on
dirt tracks. He has also been piloting the #59 Westcon Racing/ Westcon
Elevator/ Bloomer Beast in USAC Silver Crown pavement competition since
Nazareth in March. His attempt at a fourth Indianapolis 500 start was
thwarted when the #99 PDM Racing entry’s qualifying attempt was ended before
it started when rain canceled final-day qualifications for the world’s most
famous auto race.

“It has been a good season,” commented Kite with a hint of hesitation in his
voice. “But, it hasn’t been great. I have been having a lot of fun driving
the short-track stuff but it is still disappointing we weren’t able to get
the car into Indy. So it’s been up-and-down. But all the cars have been real
fast and people are taking notice. Racing is fun again.”

Kite began racing quarter-midgets at the age of eight and worked his way up
through mini-sprints, midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown cars to the Indy
Racing League. He is a five-time national champion in various open-wheel
series with countless victories including the stunning back-to-front win
over Chuck Gurney in the 1997 USAC Copper World Classic Silver Crown event.
Kite is the 1997 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year and the fastest rookie
qualifier at Indianapolis in 1998. He has a career total of 22 Indy Racing
events and $1,232,000 in career IRL earnings.