NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES DRIVERS SET FOR INDIANAPOLIS TEST SESSION

* Fifty-One NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series drivers scheduled to participate in
three-day test

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 7, 2006) -- As summer temperatures rise, so does
the urgency factor for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series drivers, who will spend three
days next week preparing for one of the season's marquee events.

The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has always
been an anticipated event since its 1994 debut; even more so now that it
looms as race No. 5 in the Race to the Chase.

The 10-event span that began with the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International
Speedway July 1 and ends with the Sept. 9 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond
International Raceway encompasses the Race to the Chase.

And the stakes are significant.

The Richmond event is race No. 26, the cutoff event that sets the field for
the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Following the season's first 26 events,
the top 10 drivers and any within 400 points of the leader will battle for
the series title over the final 10 races. Five races remain in the Race to
the Chase following the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, so next week's
Indianapolis test commands additional significance.

The Indianapolis test marks the fifth of six designated 2006 tests for NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup teams. This year, NASCAR has scheduled those tests as a
cost-containment measure at tracks that host series events, and those dates
are the only test opportunities at those tracks.

Fifty-one drivers are scheduled to participate next week at Indianapolis,
beginning Monday and ending Wednesday. Teams may test on two of the three
available days.

All sessions begin at 8 a.m., and end at 6 p.m. (EDT), weather permitting,
with a lunch break from noon until 1 p.m.

Fast Facts

What: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series testing.

Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Track Layout: 2.5 miles.

When: Monday, July 10 through Wednesday, July 12.

Times: 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. (ET)

Who: 51 drivers in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series

---
 * SLMR 2.1a * Home of AutoSportsNet * 502/875-8938 * cco.ath.cx


--- GTMail 1.26