Nissan Opens 2006 CORR Season With Three Runner-up Finishes at Chula Vista Raceway; Chad Hord Takes Podium Twice in Pro-Lite, Carl Renezeder Once in Pro-2

GARDENA, Calif.--May 23, 2006--Nissan Motorsports got the 2006 Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) racing season off to a great start on May 20, 2006 - 21 at Chula Vista International Off-Road Raceway in Chula Vista, California with a trio of second place finishes out of four weekend races.

Felch, Mich.-based Chad Hord drove his Nissan Frontier-bodied race truck to a pair of close finishes in the Pro-Lite Class in both Saturday's Round One action and Sunday's Round Two. Carl Renezeder, of nearby Lake Forest, Calif., gave Nissan its first podium finish ever for the full-size Nissan Titan in Sunday's exciting Pro-2 Class competition.

"We're incredibly pleased with the initial outings of our CORR Nissan race trucks this weekend, which portends well for the 2006 CORR season," said Ron Stukenberg, senior manager, Nissan Motorsports marketing and operations. "Carl clearly had the fastest race truck in Pro-2 and with a little different luck could have had a pair of victories. Chad showed that he has the skill and the equipment to equal or beat his six Pro-Lite race victories of last season."

Race Summaries

For the first time ever, CORR used qualifying to determine the Round One starting positions (rather than previous points standings). Hord qualified near the front in sixth position, while Renezeder drove his brand new 715-horsepower Nissan Titan to the front of the 20-truck Pro-2 field with the fastest lap of the weekend.

In Round One action, Hord found his path to the podium a bit crowded and had to work his way through traffic to his second place finish. Renezeder had a much tougher go of it, picking up track debris early on, throwing the power steering and water pump belt on his 5.6-liter Nissan Endurance V8 racing engine and finishing dead last for the race.

In Sunday's Round Two, with starting positions set by Saturday's finishing order, Hord started second and had a strong run going until he lost the clutch on his Frontier. Through some very skilled driving and throttle control, Hord managed to hold off his challengers for his second runner-up finish of the weekend.

For Renezeder, the challenge on Sunday was even greater. After an all-night rebuilding effort by his crew, he started the race behind all 19 other Pro-2 race trucks. Putting on an absolute driving clinic -- the kind that gave him the Pro-2 Drivers' Championship in 2005 -- Renezeder reeled in all but one other racer by the time the checkered flag dropped.

The next CORR Pro-series event is scheduled for June 24 - 25 in Crandon, Wisc.

Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) combines close, fender-to-fender racing on challenging closed course dirt tracks in the Midwest and Southern California. Now in its 9th season, CORR is arguably the largest and most watched off-road racing series in North America. Races will be televised on the SPEED Channel.

Nissan has a long heritage of Motorsports success, both off-road and on the track. In 2006, Nissan's Contingency Awards Program offers more than $125,000 in available awards to qualifying Nissan drivers, including those competing in CORR.

In addition, Nissan Motorsports offers a comprehensive 108-page parts catalog (available through Nissan Motorsports at nmc.race@nissan-usa.com or 310-538-2610).