IROC RAPS UP THREE DAYS ON DIS ROAD COURSE

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 22, 2006) - Crown Royal International Race of
Champions rapped up three days of testing and driver practice Wednesday on
the 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway. Race three, of
the four-race, All-Star series will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel at
10:00 p.m., EDT. on Thursday, June 29. The 20-lap, 71.2-mile contest will be
the first road course event in 14-years for the series that matches a dozen
diverse champions in equally prepared cars equipped with Goodyear Eagle
Radial race tires.

The Crown Royal IROC crew and drivers spent three days and nights
re-acclimating themselves to the demands of preparing the IROC race cars for
a road race. "I'm very happy with the progress we've made over the past three
days", said IROC President, Jay Signore. "It's been a long time
since we had
to prepare the fleet for a road course race and I'm very proud of the entire
crew for doing such a good job back at the shop with preparations. The cars
came out of the box running very well and very close in speed. According to
the drivers with plenty of road racing experience, like, Max Papis, Scott
Sharp and Max Angelelli, they're very happy with the balance and handling of
the IROC cars. That doesn't happen without our test drivers, Dave Marcis,
David Donohue, and the father/son team of Jim and Jay Sauter."

The 2005 Grand American Sports Car Champion, Max Papis said, "I feel the IROC
cars are performing awesomely well on the road course, as they do on the
ovals. Considering the weight and power these cars have, they're very
raceable on the road course here at Daytona, which I consider to be my home
track. I really think you will see a great IROC road race here with a lot of
passing, because the braking zones are so long, therefore, there will be
plenty of opportunity to use different braking techniques to set up passes."

Scott Sharp, a two-time Sports Car Club of America, Trans-Am Champion and
IndyCar co-Champion said, "I can tell you the IROC cars are really much
better than I ever expected on the road course here. The cars are very
drivable and you can really run a variety of lines and try different styles,
so you don't have to drive them only one way to do well. I'm anticipating
you'll see guys run hard at the beginning and fade away a little, while the
other guys who conserved will start charging. Guy's will be on the track, off
the track, and there will be plenty of good racing and a lot of excitement
for everyone."

The 2005 Grand American Sports Car Champion, Max Angelelli said, "As you
know, I'm not experienced in this style of car, which was great on the oval
at Texas Motor Speedway, but I wasn't sure what to expect with this car on
the road course. I expected the first night here for me would present some
problems and a lot of adjustment for me, but I was surprised to find the IROC
cars on the road course to be a very good racecar, very well balanced, and no
issues at all."

Other 2006 Crown Royal IROC drivers getting in practice were, 2006
Indianapolis 500 winner, Sam Hornish Jr., 2005, seven-time, ARCA champion,
Frank Kimmel and 20-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion, Steve Kinser.
Hornish Jr. is an accomplished road racer, while Kinser and Kimmel are
admitted neophytes to the discipline. Hornish said, "Everything went really
well the first couple of runs, but then I started to overdue it a little bit
and wound up in the grass a couple of times. I've never driven in this style
of car on a road course, and I can tell you, the guys that are going to do
well are the guys that keep the car on the racetrack. The cars are a lot of
fun to drive, it's just going to be a matter of getting a little better with
each lap."

"I'm just trying to learn how to get around here", said Kinser.
"I started
out messing up at least two corners per lap, but by the end of the last
session, I was running more consistently and getting the hang of it. Whatever
I wind up hashing out of this race will be fun, I can tell you that. This
type of racing is completely new and different for me - I enjoy it. I
definitely have a new respect for road racers, it's a lot of hard work out
there, every lap, with timing and developing rhythm -- it's a whole other set
of skills." Kimmel said, "The cars are great, it's just I'm all over the
track - and off of it, which is how I expected to be at first. The road
racers, Max Papis, (Max) Angelelli, Scott Sharp, and David Donohue have
really taken me under their wings and are helping me along - I really think
they want to help me get better just so I don't wreck them during the race -
a little self-preservation on their part. The (IROC) crew has done a great
job, the cars really are fun to drive on the road course, but I'm butchering
them up. It will be a fun race for me, that's for sure."

NASCAR participants, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman,
Martin Truex, Jr., and Ted Musgrave are expected to practice when the IROC
cars return to track activity next Wednesday.

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


--- GTMail 1.26