Jimmy Kite to Close 2006 Season at Lakeland's USA International

LAKELAND, Fla., December 11, 2006 - Jimmy Kite, Stockbridge, Ga., will close the 2006 Premier Racing Association (PRA) Big Car Series this Wednesday at Lakeland, Florida's USA International Speedway. The December 13 finale, which runs in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show in Orlando, is the last race of the debut season of PRA which opened in Indianapolis last May. The year marked the fourth season that the five-time Indianapolis 500-starter has driven the No. 5 Westcon Elevator/Westcon Racing Bloomer Engines Beast. The three previous seasons the team competed with the same car in the United States Auto Club (USAC) Silver Crown division.

Kite's year with the Ron and Kevin Bloomstran-owned team began strong with successful showings in the first several races. However, after being clipped by another car while racing towards the top of the field at Jack Arute's Stafford Motor Speedway in August, the team's primary entry was destroyed. Miraculously, Kite was uninjured. The backup car has not performed as well as the primary unit leaving Kite and the Michigan-based team searching for the right combination. The team is exploring the different options of the traditional, open wheel pavement cars to decide which chassis path to follow for the 2007 season.

Since his last race in the red and yellow Westcon car, Kite has been preparing for and then opening JK Hobby World ( <http://www.jkhobbyworld.com/> www.JKHobbyWorld.com). JK Hobby World has a complete line of supplies for the hobby enthusiast including models, games, train and slot car sets as well as an extensive list of radio controlled cars, planes, tools and supplies.

"It's always a little sad when the season comes to an end," said Kite. "But, after getting JK Hobby World off the ground this fall in Missouri I have a lot to do at home. It will be nice to get out of all the cold weather and head to Florida for a few days. It has been a tough second-half of the season. We really had the other car working well. When it was destroyed at Stafford and had to switch to the backup, it hurt us. This car is just not what the primary Westcon car was. We're looking to get the most out of this final race in front of the PRI crowd. Then, we'll go into the off-season and put together a great Westcon Elevator car for '07."

Kite currently sits sixteenth in the PRA Big Car Point standings after missing one race. 460 points are available in each round- 400 points to the winner, 20 points to the fast qualifier, 20 points to a driver that leads a lap and an additional 20 to the driver that leads the most laps.

The USA International gates open at 2 PM (EDT) with practice starting at 3 PM. Qualifying will begin at 5:30 PM with racing starting at 8 PM. An autograph session will be open to the public at 6:30 PM.