Dallas, TX April 1, 2009: Four women drivers competing in the NHRA are teaming up to bring a unique and supportive program to the US Military troops and their families. Dubbed ‘Team Troops’ their mission is to give back to those that are serving in the military by providing free tickets and a day at the races to service members and their families.

Tina Stull, Kate and Diana Harker, and Peggy Llewellyn are no strangers to adrenaline, they know the pressure to perform, and thrive on the excitement of winning. This season these women have teamed up to share their racing experience with the members of the US military by giving away over 32,000 tickets to NHRA Drag Racing events.

This coming weekend is the season opener for Team Troops, with over 4000 tickets already distributed and 1000 more to give to the service members at appearances prior to the race, these ladies are looking forward to a great race weekend. Texas Motorplex is located in Ennis, TX and will play host to the South Central Division Four NHRA drag racing event starting Friday April 3rd with eliminations beginning on Sunday April 5th.

With much excitement Team Troops is about to kick off the first “tickets for troops” event in 2009. They strongly believe the reason they have the freedom to do what they do is the life changing work the troops are doing. Last year the goal was to bring fifty members of the Military to each race, by the finale of 2009 over 14,800 troops had been hosted. This year expectations are twice that of 2008. This will be the first time the Welcome Home Troops program has representatives from all levels of the sport, Sportsman levels and Pro as well as dragsters, funny cars and motorcycles.

The program partners with many charitable organizations including Military Ministries, Young Life, Bill Glass Champions for Life, Texas Justice Foundation, Joni and Friends, Welcome Home Troops, Legacy Outfitters, Racers for Christ, Henslin and Associates, Merlin’s Miracles, and Valor Remembered.

Dana Point, CA March 28, 2009: Markus Niemela has signed a press, promotional and marketing services agreement with PRRACEwire for the 2009 racing season, including his Cooper Tire Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda campaign. “Markus is a great open-wheel talent and we’re excited about working with him,” said Rick Carlton PRRACEwire’s Senior Partner, “his 2008 Championship was a great blend of outright speed and podium consistency. We believe he’ll go a long way in open-wheel and PRRACEwire will be there to help his effort throughout.”

“Having PRRACEwire in my corner will help my career in racing and in my racing business. The ability to have a central resource capable to handling my press, along with my US promotion and marketing will make those processes much easier, much quicker, and provide an immediatel global visibility.”

About Markus Niemela

Markus Niemela was born and raised in Rauma Finland in 1984. His racing career started in Karts at the age of five. After winning several Karting championships in Finland, and in greater Europe he moved up to Formula Ford in 2004, subsequently winning the Finnish Championship, the Swedish Championship, and the STCC Formula Ford championship and finished the season second in total points. In 2005, he moved up to the UK Formula Renault Winter Championship after an abortive run in Formula BMW-ADAC with Team Rosberg, averaging 3rd in qualifying for the season, with one win, and one pole. In 2006 he moved to Formula Renault UK with Mark Burdett. There he produced one win, one fastest lap, one pole, won multiple “driver of the day” awards and finished 7th in the Championship. In 2007 he campaigned in GP2 with BCN Competition, Formula Renault Eurocup with BVM Minardi, and also ran in the Asian Formula Renault Championship with March 3 Racing. In 2008 he came to the U.S. to run in the Cooper Tire Atlantic Championship with Brooks Associated Racing, where he subsequently won the 2008 Atlantic Championship.

Melbourne, March 28, 2009:  The Brawn GP team locked out the front row of the grid today in qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

On the day in which the team announced its new partnership with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, Jenson Button put the BGP 001 car on pole at the end of a closely-fought qualifying hour. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello will start alongside Jenson on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s 58-lap race.

The BGP 001 cars ran at the front of the field throughout qualifying with the team’s two drivers vying for position at the top of the timesheets. Rubens took the honours in Q1 and Q2, posting the fastest lap of qualifying in the second session. In the pole position shoot-out, both drivers completed two runs with Jenson taking pole in the dying seconds of the session.

JENSON BUTTON
“To put the car on pole at our debut race is a fantastic achievement and I have to give so much credit to Ross, Nick and everyone at the factory in Brackley. The last four months have been incredibly tough for the team and to go from a situation where you don’t even know if you are going to be racing to achieving pole at the first race of the season is just incredible. Tomorrow is obviously the most important day of the weekend and there is a lot of work to be achieved to come away with a successful result however we have to remember where we have been and really enjoy this moment.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“It has been a great day and I want to congratulate the team for an outstanding job. I was hoping that I could put the car on pole and it was looking good in the first two sessions but in Q3 I developed some understeer in the car which comprised my final runs. However the first row for both cars is a real credit to the team and gives us a great chance in the race tomorrow. We have a really good car which everyone deserves credit for and I am just so happy to be racing at the front again.”

ROSS BRAWN
“Watching our two cars top the timesheets throughout qualifying capped an excellent day for the team which began with the announcement of our new partnership with Virgin this afternoon. The track conditions were more favourable than we experienced yesterday and we found that the tyres worked in a more conventional way. In addition, the changes that we had made following yesterday’s practice sessions proved positive and both drivers had a well-balanced car which allowed them to concentrate on maximising the lap times. Whilst this is a great achievement and gives both drivers an excellent opportunity in the race tomorrow, the job is only half done and our full focus is now on getting the best result possible in the race. I would like to pay credit to Jenson, Rubens and the whole team, both here and at our factory, for their achievement today and to Mercedes-Benz for their invaluable support over the past few months.”

London, March 26, 2009: Brawn GP is pleased to confirm its first new commercial partnership of the 2009 Formula One season with the announcement of an agreement with British clothing manufacturer Henri Lloyd as Official Supplier of Clothing and Footwear Technology.

Henri Lloyd is widely regarded as one of the market leaders in technical sailing and lifestyle apparel, and has pioneered the development of fabrics, garment design and product development for over 45 years. The company’s extensive knowledge and experience of innovative fabric technology has been applied to Brawn GP’s team clothing for the 2009 season to create a uniform able to adapt to the various climatic environments which the team will encounter at the seventeen races on the Grand Prix calendar.

Founded and based in Manchester, England, Henri Lloyd is extremely proud of its British heritage and delighted to be supporting the Brackley based British team, using the shared values of innovation and performance to continue its product development ambitions in the unique environment of Formula One.

In addition to providing Brawn GP’s team and travel clothing plus the team’s official merchandise range, the Henri Lloyd brand will appear on the BGP 001 car throughout the 2009 Formula One season.

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of Brawn GP commented: “We are delighted to welcome Henri Lloyd to Formula One and to the Brawn GP team. We are particularly proud to begin our association with a company which prides itself on innovation and design and we will be working hard with Henri Lloyd to produce clothing which provides the highest levels of fabric technology for our demanding working environment. The Brawn GP team has faced a race against time to complete our preparations for the first race of the season in Melbourne and we would like to thank Henri Lloyd for sharing our vision for the future of the team and their commitment in ensuring that the team’s identity will be so well reflected in our team clothing and merchandise this year.”

Paul Strzelecki, Joint Chief Executive of Henri Lloyd said; “We are thrilled to announce our official partnership with Brawn GP, a team that reflects our proud British heritage and development of product innovation and technology. We are very excited about our future together and wish the team every success for the 2009 season.”

Braselton, March 25, 2009: Sebring International Raceway sold more race-day tickets Saturday than it ever has before.

Quite appropriately, the American Le Mans Series 100th race generated record-breaking performances both on and off the track. The 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida saw the fastest race ever recorded in event history. But it also featured exponential gains in other areas including Web site traffic, ticket sales and television ratings.

Those performances go alongside the speed and distance records posted by Saturday’s race winners in America’s greatest sports car race.

Americanlemans.com Attracts Unprecedented Numbers
The new americanlemans.com saw record-setting numbers from the Wednesday through Sunday period with landmark figures in page views, visitors, retention and global reach.

Most telling was the total number of page views in the report period, up an incredible 1,506 percent from 2008 totals – or 16 times the number of hits – for a total of 5.4 million views. Site visits were up 82 percent (unique visitors more than doubled) with page views per visit up 781 percent. The average viewer also spent more than 14 minutes longer per visit compared to last season.

The American Le Mans Series’ digital reach also attracted Web site viewers from 18 additional countries compared to 2008 statistics, confirming the Series’ position as a truly global brand.

Audi’s trio of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello went farther and faster than any winning group at Sebring.

Sebring Television Ratings on the Rise
An unprecedented level of television coverage from network partner SPEED resulted in a 36 percent increase in ratings for the annual season-opening Sebring race.

The 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida saw a total of 11 hours of race-day coverage that included Saturday prerace and postrace elements. The exposure translated into the highest Sebring rating since 2004.

For the second consecutive season, SPEED also aired a Thursday night one-hour special from the circuit that highlighted key personalities and storylines for the race and the full 2009 season.

Acura also produced an hour-long special that took viewers through the development and initial testing of its new ARX-02a prototype for the LMP1 class. The car made its competition debut at Sebring.

In addition, Audi’s highly acclaimed documentary “Truth in 24” aired the night before Sebring on ESPN. It highlighted Audi’s preparation and successful defense of its 24 Hours of Le Mans championship in 2008.

Corvette Racing ended its GT1 stint at Sebring with speed and distance records.
Walk-ups Turn Out in Record Numbers
An economy in recession did very little slow down the sale of tickets for the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. Sebring officials reported record walk-up sales on race day and very little decline in the overall weekend attendance. Walk-up sales were up an astonishing 30 percent over 2008, which saw the largest four-day crowd in Sebring history.

And despite assumptions to the contrary, the event posted a four-day attendance of more than 164,000 spectators, second only to 2008’s record crowd and virtually the same as 2007.

Braselton, March 25, 2009: This week Krohn Racing entered the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series event at Virginia International Raceway with the No. 76 Krohn Racing Ford Lola with drivers Nic Jönsson and Ricardo Zonta.

“I’m expecting Nic and Ricardo to demonstrate the performance of the Proto-Auto Lola,” said Tracy W. Krohn, owner/driver of Krohn Racing. “I will not be joining them at this event with the No. 75 car as my regular day job takes priority at this time of opportunity. Nevertheless, I am committed to seeing the Krohn Racing team win and hoping to make arrangements for the No. 75 car to compete in further rounds.”

“In my 26 year tenure as CEO of W&T Offshore, Inc. (WTI – NYSE), I have never seen a greater time for opportunistic posturing and will be taking advantage of that during the 2009 season. Currently I am only scheduled to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June with the Risi-Krohn Ferrari,” added Krohn. “I will be joined by Nic and Eric van de Poele. Eric continues as one of our Krohn Racing drivers in 2009.”

“We know Tracy will be following the team closely and hopes to be in attendance at as many races as possible,” said Krohn Racing Team Manager David Brown. “He knows first-hand the benefits of the development program that the team has conducted and I’m sure he expects to witness us win very soon. The 75 car represents a great opportunity for funded drivers and we anticipate interest.”

The Krohn Racing team was formed in late 2005 to campaign the 2006 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and beyond. That year Krohn Racing collected three victories, six podium finishes, 14 Top Ten finishes, one pole and won the Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Drivers’ Championship. They also finished second in the Prototype Team Championship. Krohn Racing continued in 2007 in Grand-Am, finishing 4th and 12th in DP Team Championship after garnering six podiums, nine Top Five and 15 Top Ten finishes. In 2008, Krohn Racing competed with two new Proto-Auto Lolas and accumulated two podiums, six Top Five and 13 Top Ten finishes, along with one pole position. Proto-Auto was created between Lola Cars and Krohn Racing in 2007 to build a Prototype chassis for Grand-Am competition for 2008. The Proto-Auto Lola debuted in March 2008 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Farnbacher, James take third-place finish in GT2 Class and Faieta, Snow double winners in Patrón GT3 Challenge support race

FULLERTON, CA March 23, 2009: At Saturday’s American Le Mans Series (ALMS) 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race the Yokohama Tire Corporation-sponsored Panoz Team PTG finished third in the strong GT2 Class. Drivers Ian James and Dominik Farnbacher piloted the well-developed, Yokohama ADVAN® A005-shod Esperante GTLM in what is arguably this season’s most competitive class. The Panoz, which raced against Ferrari 430 GT and Porsche 911 GT3 RSR factory teams, finished with an average speed of more than 100 miles-per-hour for the grueling 12 hour race.

“What a great way to start the ALMS season than with a podium finish,” said Mark Chung, Yokohama director, corporate strategy and planning. “Team PTG was considered an underdog against the Porsches and Ferraris but came through with a strong performance. Congratulations to the drivers and the whole team.”

The drivers were impressed with the consistency of the ADVAN race slicks. “The tires were awesome,” said Farnbacher, 24, of Ansbach, Germany. “They were just perfect — consistent and no blow-outs. I love them.”

Added co-driver James, 34, of Phoenix, Arizona: “The tires were great; really consistent. We couldn’t do without them. As soon as the sun set and it got cold, the tires just came alive and we were flying there. We’d like to thank everybody in Japan and at Yokohama USA.”

In addition to the stirring ALMS race, Yokohama scored earlier in the week with the debut of its eco-friendly orange oil race tires in the Patrón GT3 Challenge. Bob Faieta and Melanie Snow claimed class victories in both GT3 Challenge races driving Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars equipped with Yokohama Tire’s ADVAN® ENV-R1™.

The ADVAN ENV-R1, the Official Spec Tire of the GT3 Challenge, reduces petroleum by approximately 10 percent and increases recyclability while maintaining the high performance levels of previous race slick compounds. “In its race debut this weekend, the tire has performed well with lap times remaining consistent throughout both races,” said Chung. “Several drivers have told me how impressed they were with the drivability of the tire. I’d like to congratulate Bob and Melanie on superb performances.”

Yokohama’s orange oil race technology will transfer to passenger tires when the dB Super E-specTM becomes available this summer in sizes designed for Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and other fuel-efficient models.

First woman to receive top honor in off-road racing

ANAHEIM, Calif., March 21, 2009: Heidi Steele was named “Driver of the Year” by DirtSports magazine during its award celebration in Anaheim, California. The coveted title was presented to Steele, the first woman in off-road racing history to receive the prestigious honor, besting some of the top names in desert racing including Robby Gordon, Cameron Steele, BJ Baldwin and Rob MacCachren.

Heidi Steele, who began racing in 2004, has quickly made a name for herself in the male-dominated sport. She won three titles in the grueling terrain of Baja California, taking first place in her class at the Baja 1000 in 2005 and two first place titles in the Baja 500 in 2005 and 2008. In her first four years of racing, Steele also has won two SCORE championships and one Best in the Desert championship.

“To be recognized and honored with such a prestigious award among the many talented drivers in off-road racing is truly unbelievable,” said a surprised Steele. “I am grateful that DirtSports has taken more and varied factors into consideration for the ‘Driver of the Year’ award, including winning two championships in one year and the challenges of competing in a more limited class. This award gives hope and inspiration to so many drivers that you can be recognized for your racing abilities regardless of the class you may race in currently.”

An executive from San Clemente, California, Steele fell into the sport of desert racing through her trophy truck-racing husband, television commentator and sports announcer, Cameron Steele. For the past three years, Steele has successfully competed in the semi-limited mid-size truck class. She recently moved up to the ultimate mid-size truck class, taking on new challenges and stiffer competition.

Heidi Steele is sponsored by Yokohama Tires, Lucas Oil, Currie Enterprises, American Racing Wheels, KC HiLITES, Fox Shox, MasterCraft, Camburg, AlpineStars and Deaver and supported by a team of dedicated volunteers and the Desert Assassins family.

Sebring, March 21, 2009: After a long off-season, followed by a late start in his effort toward winning back-to-back Championships, Markus Niemela experienced further adversity at Sebring yesterday.

Gridded 6th, Niemela and last year’s runner up Jonathan Bomarito came together at turn 17 on the first lap. The contact resulted in Markus ending his first race of the season upside down on top of a tire barrier.

“I hit Bomarito at about 150 mph and went (ballistic) at almost the same speed, (hit the barrier) and the car rolled, landing on my head…it was definitely not my race today. (Unfortunately) the crash was my fault. I misjudged Jon’s braking point and did my (line) transfer from left to right according to that. Therefore, when he started braking I hit his rear wheel flat out.”

To his credit, Bomarito jumped out of his broken racecar then helped course workers turn Markus’ car over, so he could get out on his own power. Subsequently, safety officials suggested that a trip to the hospital might be appropriate, and after a clear CAT scan, Niemela was released from the hospital late last night.

“I want to thank Jon, the course workers, and the people at the hospital for all the help. The incident could have been much worse than a bruised ego, and we’ll have to forget the mistake, and commit to winning a podium spot in Utah.”

Next up, the Cooper Tire Atlantic Championship Powered By Mazda travels west to Miller Motorsports Park at Tooele Utah on May 17th.

SEBRING, Fla. (March 20, 2009) – Two years after becoming the youngest driver in the history of the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, John Edwards scored his first career Atlantic victory and a $50,000 winner’s paycheck in Friday’s season opener at Sebring International Raceway.

Driving the No. 36 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development/Nuclear Clean Air Energy/NEI/Entergy machine for Newman Wachs Racing, Edwards started second and charged into the lead on the race’s standing start ahead of polesitter Jonathan Summerton. From there, the Cincinnati, Ohio resident never looked back, cruising to a 4.731-second victory over rookie Frederic Vervisch. Edwards’ victory eclipsed a previous best result of second, which he achieved at Toronto in his rookie Atlantic season of 2007. Last year, Edwards competed in Star Mazda and took the series championship.

“It was an incredible feeling just pulling into pit lane and seeing all of the cameras coming to me,” said Edwards. “It was a great race. I have to thank my engineer, Nick Harvey, and the team for putting the car together, because it was really easy to drive, almost, in the first few laps and that’s where I gained the gap. Luckily, I had the teammates racing behind me, so I got to pull out a little more of a gap. From there, I just kept looking forward and pulling a gap.”

Vervisch was the first of two Genoa Racing drivers to finish on the podium, coming home with a second-place trophy from the first Atlantic race of the career. The Belgian, driving the No. 17 Genoa Racing machine, had the best result for a driver making his series debut since Canadian Robert Wickens also finished second in his Atlantic debut in Las Vegas two years ago.

“The start was good, so we could take one position,” Vervisch explained. “Then, I was looking a little bit to John Edwards to see how his pace was. I had the feeling we could follow or catch up. There was a full-course yellow and on the restart I really focused on John and not on the ones behind me. There was a white car in my mirrors and it was Jonathan (Summerton) and I knew he would take me in the first corner, so we lost some time, because the rule is I cannot block so he passed. I saw I was faster and John was getting away, so I did the same move in the same spot and he didn’t block me either. From then, John already had an advantage and I was just trying to catch up, but it was difficult. My second goal was just to finish the race on the podium.”

Summerton rounded out the podium with a third-place performance in the No. 19 Genoa Racing machine. The Kissimmee, Fla. resident admitted to having trouble on the race’s standing start and enjoyed a good battle with his teammate before settling for third. It was the sixth podium result of Summerton’s 12-race Atlantic career, and his first podium since placing second in the penultimate round of the championship at Miller Motorsports Park last September.

“We started out with a bit of a problem at the start,” Summerton explained. “The clutch wasn’t grabbing at all for me, so I basically short shifted up the gears and got to third and then it started grabbing. Then, I had to downshift back to second to get the acceleration. In the first corner, we had lost three spots, so I was down to fourth, and was able to get one back by Turn 2. Then, I just started chasing the other two. Of course, we had that full-course yellow, and from there, I tried my best, but I just didn’t have a car to follow behind anybody. We had a car for out front.”

Latvian rookie Harald Schlegelmilch was solid throughout his first Atlantic weekend and came home fourth in the No. 21 Conquest Racing entry. Schlegelmilch was inside the top five virtually throughout every practice and qualifying session leading up to the race.

Simona De Silvestro rounded out the top five in the No. 78 Stargate Worlds/Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment/FireSky/Cardinal Technologies machine for Team Stargate Worlds. It was De Silvestro’s fifth career top-five performance in Atlantic competition, and her third consecutive top-five run dating back to a fourth-place performance at Miller Motorsports Park last season.

Two would-be contenders were involved in a frightening incident on the opening lap of the race, as defending series champion Markus Niemela and 2008 championship runner-up Jonathan Bomarito tangled in Turn 17. Both made hard contact with the tire barrier, and Niemela’s No. 1 Mr. Jones/Nuclear Clean Air Energy/Entergy/NWR machine landed upside down on top of the barrier.

Bomarito quickly scrambled from his No. 26 Mathiasen Motorsports car to aid the safety workers in turning Niemela’s car back onto its wheels, and Niemela emerged from the car under his own power. The Finnish driver was transported to nearby Highlands Regional Medical Center for observation, but was expected to be released early Friday evening.

The C2 category, which is back for the first time since the 2005 Atlantic Championship season, was won by owner/driver Mirl Swan in the No. 88 Everclear Specialty Lubricants machine for Swan Racing. Swan started from the C2 pole position and led every lap, winning by more than 11 seconds over teammate Sadat Yelkin in the identically sponsored No. 75 machine.

“The guys have worked real hard to get the cars here,” Swan said. “It was hard work. We had a rather small crew for the five cars, and to get to come to Florida in March is a great opportunity to get out of the cold weather up north, so all the guys were glad to get here. The battle my teammate, Sadat, was really good. It was really close early on. I think I had an advantage in Turn 1 and slowly started to pull away and had a bit of a gap at the end, but it was a good race.”

NOTEBOOK
• After establishing himself as a top Atlantic contender in preseason testing last week at Palm Beach International Raceway, Spanish rookie Borja Garcia struggled to come to grips with the rough and quirky 3.7-mile Sebring road circuit. Nevertheless, he managed to bring the No. 6 CJ Consulting machine home in sixth place in his series debut with Condor Motorsports.

• Tonis Kasemets, who got his first Atlantic seat time since the doubleheader at Road America last August in Wednesday morning’s opening practice session, finished seventh at Sebring. Kasemets charged from 11th on the grid in the No. 35 Polestar Motor Racing entry.

• Conquest Racing rookie James Winslow got an extra championship point and a $2,000 bonus for taking the “Hard Charger” award in the No. 12 Conquest Racing entry. Winslow started 13th and finished eighth.

• Matt Lee of Syosset, N.Y. returned to the Atlantic Championship for the first time since the 2007 season and came home ninth in the Sebring opener aboard the No. 2 Jensen MotorSport machine.

• Frankie Muniz came home with his fifth career top-10 result in Atlantic competition with a 10th-place run in the No. 77 Stargate Worlds/Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment/FireSky/Cardinal Technologies machine for Team Stargate Worlds. Muniz’s performance was especially impressive considering the fact that he car would not start on the grid and he was forced to start the race from pit lane.

• French rookie Max Lefevre of Conquest Racing missed the Sebring season opener due to illness. He qualified the No. 7 DOTMOBIL entry 12th.

RESULTS
Race results for Round 1 of 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda at Sebring International Raceway with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, car number, team, laps completed and reason out, if any.

1. (2) John Edwards, No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing, 19.
2. (3) Frederic Vervisch (R), No. 17 Genoa Racing, 19.
3. (1) Jonathan Summerton, No. 19 Genoa Racing, 19.
4. (4) Harald Schlegelmilch (R), No. 21 Conquest Racing, 19.
5. (8) Simona De Silvestro, No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds, 19.
6. (5) Borja Garcia (R), No. 6 Condor Motorsports, 19.
7. (11) Tonis Kasemets, No. 35 Polestar Motor Racing, 19.
8. (13) James Winslow (R), No. 12 Conquest Racing, 19.
9. (10) Matt Lee, No. 2 Jensen MotorSport, 1:54.955, 19.
10. (9) Frankie Muniz, No. 77 Team Stargate Worlds, 1:54.846,19.
11. (14) Mirl Swan (R), No. 88 Swan Racing, 19.
12. (15) Sadat Yelkin (R), No. 75 Swan Racing, 19.
13. (16) Ahsen Yelkin (R), No. 29 Swan Racing, 19.
14. (18) Michael Nacol (R), No. 3 Jensen MotorSport, 18.
15. (17) Chris Lee (R), No. 68 Swan Racing, 18.
16. (19) Michael Mallinen, No. 71 Swan Racing, 1, electrical.
17. (6) Markus Niemela, No. 1 Newman Wachs Racing, 0, contact.
18. (7) Jonathan Bomarito, No. 26 Mathiasen Motorsports, 0, contact.
19. (12) Max Lefevre (R), No. 7 Condor Motorsports, 0, did not start.

(R) Series Rookie

Time of Race: 45:00.439
Margin of Victory: 4.731 seconds
Lap leaders: Edwards, 1-19.
Lead changes: None.

Caution Flags:
Laps 1-5, contact between cars 1 and 26 in Turn 17.

Series Points Leaders: 1. Edwards, 20; 2. Vervisch, 16; 3. Summerton, 15; 4. Schlegelmilch, 12; 5. De Silvestro, 10; 6. Garcia, 8; 7. Kasemets and Winslow, 7; 9. M. Lee, 5; 10. Muniz, 4.

Next Event: May 17; Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah.

Provisional results from today’s Cooper Tire Atlantic Championship Powered By Mazda are posted below (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). Full text results will follow shortly.

Sebring, March 20, 2009: Conor Daly will start sixteenth in round one of the 2009 Star Mazda Championship, after an early session gearbox failure.

The result was a marked change from the previous practice session where Daly topped the charts with a time of 1:59.743. Unfortunately, the technical mishap caused him to end his qualifying session after only one lap on new tires.

“I felt something was wrong in the morning session but we thought it was a no-lift shift issue. Anyway, (the gearbox) broke, so I will start from sixteenth on the grid.”

Live Timing & Scoring-Sebring

1 36 Atl John Edwards 00:01:54.100
2 19 Atl Jonathan Summerton 00:01:54.185
3 17 Atl Frederic Vervisch (R) 00:01:54.232
4 1 Atl Markus Niemela Run 00:01:54.520
5 26 Atl Jonathan Bomarito 00:01:54.564

(Editors note: Full results will be available shortly.)