Nissan, TeamRTR Record Victory Road America Event; Team Also Hosts Make-A-Wish Foundation Child as Honorary Crew Chief

ELKHART LAKE, Wis.--Aug. 2, 20045, 2004--In a weekend filled with highs and lows, NISMO/TeamRTR Nissan Sentra SE-R driver Peter Cunningham set a new track record while qualifying for pole position, grabbed the early race lead, experienced braking problems on the first lap, fell several spots out of the lead, battled back to a second place finish and was later awarded the victory after the original winning entry was disqualified following a post-race technical inspection.

In other words, it was a typical anything-can-happen race weekend at the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship race at Road America, which Cunningham, of West Bend, Wis., considers his home track.

The race also provided Nissan, Cunningham's TeamRTR and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin(R), the chance to provide some very special memories for a local child, who participated on race day as Cunningham's honorary crew chief and was the official race starter. The youngster, 14-year-old Brandon from De Pere, Wis., was dressed in an official TeamRTR crew uniform and followed the race with a headset along side the pit crew. Brandon was also given instruction on team operation and the technical aspects of the 250-plus horsepower Sentra SE-R Spec V racecar by Cunningham. It is the second year in a row that TeamRTR has hosted a child from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Nissan and the Milwaukee area Nissan dealers also donated $3,500 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin. Nissan's support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is part of Nissan's global commitment to "Enriching People's Lives" through charitable contributions, in-kind donations and other philanthropic investments.

"The entire team was pumped-up before the race started, just by watching Brandon's enthusiasm," said Cunningham. "It was an added bonus to bring home a victory for our honorary crew chief."

Cunningham, who owns TeamRTR, earned the pole in qualifying, for the second race in a row on Saturday by turning in a record-breaking average lap speed of 99.510 mph (2:26.445 minutes), the fastest lap ever in SCCA SPEED Touring Car series history. Top speed on sections of the challenging 4.048-mile Road America circuit approached 140 mph. Cunningham broke the mark of 98.702 mph he set two weeks ago at Mosport International Raceway. The lap also broke Cunningham's own Road America qualifying mark of 95.411 mph (2:32.737 minutes) set last year.

In the race, Cunningham jumped out to an early lead only to experienced braking issues with his No.4 NISMO/TeamRTR Nissan Sentra and surrendered the race lead to Pierre Kleinubing's No.42 Acura TSX. Suddenly in third place, Cunningham hung tough and eventually passed James Sofronas, the only driver between him and the leader. However, Cunningham was unable to overtake Kleinubing crossing the finish line 6.699 seconds behind the winner.

"Everything was great up until turn five," Cunningham said. "I went for the brakes and nobody was home. I had huge rear lockup. It was all I could do to hang on. I lost only a couple of places. I managed to get one of them back, but I didn't have anything for Pierre after that."

Kleinubing's car was subsequently disqualified from the event, elevating Cunningham to the top spot. The victory was the 28th overall for Cunningham and his first victory of the year. Cunningham, who has won more professional sports car races than anyone in North America, is fifth in the 2004 World Challenge standings after eight of 10 races.

Nissan is third overall in the SCCA SPEED Touring Car Manufacturers' Championship point standings.

NISMO, the premier supplier of high-performance parts and accessories for Nissan vehicles, supports the teams. NISMO offers a wide range of parts, accessories and apparel through participating Nissan dealers nationwide.

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan vehicles can be found online at www.nissanusa.com.