The PetroMoly Racecar Conquers the Hazards of ''Monster Mile `99''; Unser Reflects On Racing Safety and Conduct
5 August 1999
The PetroMoly Racecar Conquers the Hazards of ''Monster Mile `99''; Unser Reflects On Racing Safety and Conduct
HOUSTON--Aug. 5, 1999--Worldwide PetroMoly Inc. (OTC BB: MOLY), the sponsor of the Robby Unser Indy Racing League car and provider of its premium engine oil, once again produced superior results this past weekend at the Pep Boys Indy Racing League (IRL) MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 held in Dover, Delaware at the Dover Downs "Monster Mile" Speedway.Robby Unser's race team uses PetroMoly's brand of lubricants in their racecar to improve performance, and gain its special properties of lower heat stress, higher compression, and durability over the long and incredibly stressful environments created in Indy car racing. Since the program began at the beginning of the season, the results have been continuously impressive including an eighth place finish at the 1999 Indy 500.
Dover's track is a one-mile oval, constructed of concrete block. Its high embankments and bumpy surface have contributed to its nickname, "Monster Mile", as these factors create unusual challenges for the drivers who compete there.
On Saturday, Unser qualified 13th at a speed of 178.560 mph out of a field of twenty-four drivers. Later that same day in practice, the Team Pelfrey crew made some adjustments and the PetroMoly racecar turned in the forth-quickest lap time of the session at 179.430 mph. The crew made a few more adjustments and was then ready for the next day's race.
Sunday's race day was set to start at 12:30 p.m. The weather conditions were clear, hot and hotter. During the race, Unser's PetroMoly car was the 2nd fastest car in the field at 181.196 mph. Unser skillfully worked his way from the 13th position to 6th position, avoiding many dangerous situations, staying a few seconds away from the race leader and in a position to strike. On lap 121 Unser's fuel gage proved to malfunction, as it had earlier indicated that more fuel was available than there actually was, so the car lost its striking position as it lamely coasted into the pit, completely out of fuel. The car was refueled and restarted, and then went back into the race in 17th position, three laps down from the lead lap that it was on before the misfortune occurred. Unser continued to push the PetroMoly car and he managed to avoid a few more perilous events, and finished in 12th place.
Several of the other league leaders experienced worse situations, and were not able to even finish due to accidents that occurred during this extremely heated affair. Several complaints were logged against rookie driver, Scott Harrington, for allegedly creating undue difficulties to an already challenging venue. Unser and others attempted to be vocal towards Harrington after the race but were suppressed from doing so. Race Officials are presently investigating Harrington's on-track conduct. With all of the problems that occurred in this race, Unser was still able to maintain 7th place in the championship hunt, with 157 points.
"I had a great car today. In spite of all of the obstacles, including the extremely hot (100 degrees plus) weather, not once did I worry about the engine. So, PetroMoly did all I could ask for in a lubricant. If the fuel sensor had been operating correctly, there's no doubt we could have finished a whole lot better." says Robby Unser. "After a race like this one where you have been cooped up in a 180 mile an hour bumpy sauna for a couple of hours, you can expect one's temper to flair at what I saw as an expression of my concern over our collective safety. As it happened, I never got to say anything to Harrington. All of the action began before I could say my piece and suddenly everybody was holding everyone back. It was very frustrating. In the future I will most definitely express my arguments with the race officials instead of on my own. I hope the rookie drivers and younger future drivers at least learned from this incident."
"Robby is a hero and a role model for young athletes and race fans world wide," says Lance J. Rosmarin, President of Worldwide PetroMoly. "The car continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of our technology, and Robby continues to conduct himself as a true and responsible sportsman, both on and off the track. This is the big league in racing and those guys are literally risking their lives while they perform for us fans. If something unplanned happens at 180 or 200 mph, and they can not adjust to the change, the results can be disastrous for these young men. We are very proud of Robby and we are now a lot closer to certain retail developments that he will be assisting us with. As the racecar's sponsor and lubricant supplier, we have received an enormous amount of positive feedback on Robby, the car's performance and the exposure that we are receiving. This medium continues to be a great opportunity for our company."
For a free web link to view some of the PetroMoly and Unser events that took place on The MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 race day and more, please visit: http://www.robbyunser.com
Worldwide PetroMoly, Inc. manufactures, markets and distributes high-performance lubricants for use in all types of motor vehicles, compressor engines and railroad locomotives. PetroMoly products incorporate a new proprietary process technology called molytech(TM). These products contain stable and suspended molybdenum disulfide (moly), a hard and extremely low-friction metal, which fills in the micro-porous, crater-like surfaces of pistons, rings and cylinder walls. This creates a more efficient engine environment and prevents metal-to-metal contact, thereby reducing friction, heat and wear. Moly is a slick and powerful antioxidant, known to have the world's lowest coefficient for friction. Worldwide PetroMoly is a sponsor in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League. For a information on the company and on PetroMoly products and technology, visit the PetroMoly web site at http://www.petromoly.com.
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove correct.