Newman Wachs Racing April Testing Report

Mundelein, April 27, 2009: With two months between Rounds one and two of the Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, what better to do than go testing? Coming off a dominant performance at the season-opener in Sebring, Newman Wachs Racing drivers John Edwards and Markus Niemela spent three days during the break to assess various chassis set-ups and run through some changes that weren’t addressed in the off-season.

In early April, the NWR crew and drivers visited the newly renovated Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) in sunny Florida and had a productive one day test. With limited miles on their Mazda- Cosworth engines allocated for testing, both drivers focused on mentally switching gears from the bumpy course that Sebring is known for to the smooth, sweeping turns that PBIR boasts about. The engineering staff considered this test a good representation of the upcoming races at both Miller Motorsports Park and New Jersey Motorsports Park, both smooth, European style road courses.

Last week, April 22-23, the NWR crew made the short drive from the Chicago area to Putnam Park, just west of Indianapolis. While the weather in Indy this time of year is typically pleasant, the drivers were faced with wind gusts up to 50 mph and very cool track temperatures. While the conditions were less than optimal for any relevant testing data, the engineers used these two days as an exercise to improve communication with the drivers.

Up next is the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix May 15-17, 2009 in Toole, Utah with the American Le Mans Series.

John Edwards drives the #36 MAZDASPEED/ Nuclear. Clean Air Energy/ Entergy machine and is currently leading the Championship after his win at the season-opener in Sebring, Florida. John won the coveted MAZDASPEED Motorsports development scholarship after winning the 2008 Star Mazda Championship. Along with teammate Markus Niemela, who drives the #1 Mr. Jones/ Nuclear. Clean Air Energy/ Entergy Swift 016, both are ambassadors of the Nuclear. Clean Air Energy campaign. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and Entergy, launched the 2009 Nuclear. Clean Air Energy initiative earlier this year which educates the public about the benefits of nuclear energy and encourages college students to become the nuclear engineers and leaders in one of the largest growth industries in the U.S.

For more information please visit www.newmanwachsracing.com