McDONALD’S® DRIVER WILSON AND HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL MAKE DEBUT ON THE HIGH-BANKED TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SATURDAY NIGHT

FORT WORTH (June 3, 2008) --- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) will head south to compete at this Saturday night’s Bombardier Learjet 550k at the Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). The saying ‘Everything is bigger in Texas’ certainly applies to the banking on the 1.5-mile track and the “biggest” drivers in the IndyCar Series are hoping to adapt quickly to the new challenge.

“We have had a difficult start to the year due to the short amount of time between the reunification and the start of the season,” said Wilson. “Getting used to the ovals has been difficult but I feel that we have adapted and I feel more and more comfortable as we go along. Indy was great experience. Kansas, before that, was very good. I was able to get some experience because there was a lot of side-by-side action. I feel that I an ready and capable and as the season goes on I think you will see Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing get more and more competitive. I think before the season ends, we’ll see the McDonald’s car running at the front.”

The IndyCar Series has held races at Texas Motor Speedway since 1997 and the track has featured the closest racing in series history. In 18 races on the 1.5-mile oval since 1997, 13 have been determined by less than one second. Six races, including last year’s, had a margin of victory of less than one-tenth of a second on the tracks that features 24-degree banking in the turns.

“I have heard that Texas Motor Speedway produces intense racing because everyone is in a tight pack, flat-out, running nose to tail,” said Wilson, who will drive an Indy car on a high-banked track for the first time Thursday night. “The emphasis is on not making a mistake and trying to be around people you trust as drivers and have a good pit strategy to try to get some positions and move up the order. Other than that I only thing I have heard is its got big crowds and very enthusiastic fans. The steepest banking I have run on so far is Kansas or Homestead so I’m looking forward to getting on track in the McDonald’s car and experiencing the banking at Texas and get a feel for it myself. I have no idea what to expect physically. I know it’s pretty demanding; the loads are more vertical than they are on some of the lower banked tracks. It will be different but I should be able to adapt pretty quick.”

Wilson began racing at the age of eight in England and progressed through the ranks of karting to race cars and won the 2001 Formula 3000 championship before competing in Formula One in 2003. Once he decided to base his racing career in the United States beginning in 2004, he was introduced to an American form of racing -- events on oval tracks. He ran five oval races in CART / Champ Car during three of his four seasons in that series and has run four so far this year. He is looking forward to gaining experience on another type of oval this weekend.

“I think the key to a great series is having the diversity of tracks,” said Wilson, the two-time runner up to the Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais. “You have to be the master of all different types of tracks whether you are racing on a one-mile, low banked short oval, the 1.5-mile high-banked high speed ovals, at Indy or on the road and street circuits. All of those different types of tracks take different requirements from the driver and to do well on each of those gives you a good feeling. You know you have done a great job if you can master all of them.”

Wilson and teammate Graham Rahal are included among the 10 IndyCar Series drivers that will compete at Texas Motor Speedway for the first time. With only two days of testing not conducted at a race weekend, Rahal has done an excellent job getting acclimated to oval racing. In only his third oval race in Milwaukee, he narrowly missed becoming the youngest oval pole winner by two-tenths of a second over a four-lap average and settled for an impressive second place. While taking an “intensive” course of Oval Racing 101, he has continued to impress onlookers but knows he faces yet another steep learning experience on the high-banked TMS.

“At first it’s tough to get used to driving on the ovals,” said Rahal. “Overall that is not too bad but it’s very tough running in traffic; I think that is the most difficult part. With the high banking in Texas, you can run really, really close and side-by-side. That’s pretty intense.”

Since the announcement of reunification of open wheel racing on February 27 and soon-after start of the season on March 29, the transition teams have worked on an almost daily-basis to assemble race cars, work on race set ups and begin research and development programs for the unfamiliar equipment. Each new track brings new challenges to the NHLR drivers and team and every waking moment is devoted to closing the gap to the teams that have used the current Dallara-Honda-Firestone package since 2003.

“I think we can be competitive on one-mile ovals like Milwaukee but when it comes to oval tracks like in Texas it will take a little more time to gain the experience on,” said Rahal. “We’ve done a lot of aero work and built some tweaks and put them on but it doesn’t seem like we have gone much quicker. I think being competitive comes down to all of the tiny details and that sort of experience just takes time. It’s going to be tough for us to catch up to the regulars but having the whole month at Indy was used as a big test session and that certainly helped us prepare for the rest of the season.”

The IndyCar Series has gained momentum in 2008 as the sole form of open wheel racing in the US. Historic finishes by Rahal and Danica Patrick, as well as dominant performances by 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon and a maiden victory by Ryan Briscoe, have brought the series an increased amount of attention and the season hasn’t even reached the half-way mark. Rahal is optimistic about the potential.

“I think the future is pretty bright for the IndyCar Series,” said Rahal. “Capitalizing on the momentum the series has comes down to the marketing people. Having the victories by Danica and myself and all of the other momentum creates a lot of interest, especially from the media, and I think that is one of the things that is going to help open wheel racing get back to where it used to be in the mid-90’s.”

This weekend’s Bombardier Learjet 550k can be seen on a tape-delayed basis on Saturday, June 7 on ESPN2, beginning at 10 p.m. EDT. The event will get underway with a practice session on Thursday night, followed by practice and qualifying on Friday and the 228-lap race will begin at 8:30 p.m. CDT. As always, fans can follow the action from every on-track session via the official website of the IndyCar Series, www.indycar.com. It will also be broadcast live on IMS Radio Network and XM Radio 145.



JUSTIN WILSON, driver of the #02 McDonald’s Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: Will be his first race here, fifth oval race in the IndyCar Series and 10th overall.

SO FAR IN 2008: Qualified 17th but started 15th in the season-opener in Homestead due to two cars having their qualifying speeds disallowed. Dropped one lap down when he was hit by Will Power on a restart after approx. 22 laps and had to pit to replace a deflated tire but rallied to finish 15th…Started third in his street course ICS debut in St. Pete but alternate fuel and tire strategies dictated by intermittent rain led to a ninth place finish after he led a total of 18 of 83 laps…Was the pole winner on Friday and Saturday in the Long Beach Champ Car finale and dropped to second on the start but engine failure on Lap 13 ended his race and he finished 19th …Gained valuable experience after he was first to qualify and started 22nd in Kansas, led five laps after staying on track while others pit and finished ninth…Qualified 16th for his first Indy 500 and ran as high as second place but made contact after completing 133 of 200 laps and retired in 27th place…Steadily moved to the front in Milwaukee after starting 22nd but as he was about to pit, a caution came out and he had to make an extra stop from ninth place for a splash of fuel in a closed pit and dropped to the back of the field. Charged back to a seventh place finish…Is ranked 19th in the point standings with 107 points.

2006 & 2007 RUNNER UP TO THE CHAMPION: Finished runner up in the Champ Car championship to the driver he recently replaced, four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais, in 2006 and 2007. Was a championship contender until the conclusion of the penultimate race of each season. He also finished third to NHR drivers Bourdais and Oriol Servia in 2005.

PERSONAL: Justin Boyd Wilson was born on July 31, 1978 (29) in Sheffield, England…He married the former Julia Coggins in England on 12-29-2006 and reside in a suburb of Denver with their newborn daughter Jane Louise (born 4-12-08)…His father Keith was an amateur Formula Ford racer in England but retired before Justin was born due to a crash that broke his back and legs. Instead of taking interest in mother Lynne’s love of horses, Justin followed his father’s passion and began racing karts when he was eight…In order to help finance his 2003 season in Formula One, Justin created a company -- Justin Wilson PLC – and approx. 900 investors “bought shares of Justin” which raised $2 million. A portion of his earnings go toward repaying the debt…He has conquered the challenges of dyslexia and, if he wasn’t a race car driver, would be a designer of cars or etc. because he is curious about how things work or how to improve them…Hobbies include cycling, miniature golf, video games, karting and trying to fly one of his two RC Helicopters…He spends his free time plotting and completing home improvement projects as well as trying to find time to mow the yard between races…His typical day begins at 7 a.m. and he calls the U.K. and checks his email before spending an hour at his local gym with Julia. After lunch he rides his bike for 1.5 hours and devotes the remainder of the day to home projects, reading 50+ pages of NHLR engineering reports and hanging out with friends…At 6’ 3-1/2” he is the tallest IndyCar Series driver…Listens to Coldplay, Stereophonics, The White Stripes and dance music.

JUSTIN WILSON, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I have heard that Texas Motor Speedway produces intense racing because everyone is in a tight pack, flat-out, running nose to tail. The emphasis is on not making a mistake and trying to be around people you trust as drivers and have a good pit strategy to try to get some positions and move up the order. Other than that I only thing I have heard is its got big crowds and very enthusiastic fans. The steepest banking I have run on so far is Kansas or Homestead so I’m looking forward to getting on track in the McDonald’s car and experiencing the banking at Texas and get a feel for it myself. I have no idea what to expect physically. I know it’s pretty demanding; the loads are more vertical than they are on some of the lower banked tracks. It will be different but I should be able to adapt pretty quick.

“I think the key to a great series is having the diversity of tracks. You have to be the master of all different types of tracks whether you are racing on a one-mile, low banked short oval, the 1.5-mile high-banked high speed ovals, at Indy or on the road and street circuits. All of those different types of tracks take different requirements from the driver and to do well on each of those gives you a good feeling. You know you have done a great job if you can master all of them.

“We have had a difficult start to the year due to the short amount of time between the reunification and the start of the season. Getting used to the ovals has been difficult but I feel that we have adapted and I feel more and more comfortable as we go along. Indy was great experience. Kansas, before that, was very good. I was able to get some experience because there was a lot of side-by-side action. I feel that I an ready and capable and as the season goes on I think you will see Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing get more and more competitive. I think before the season ends, we’ll see the McDonald’s car running at the front.

“We have gained momentum from the merger and we have had a lot of exposure from the races we have had so far this year and I think the fans are really enthusiastic about the future of the IndyCar Series. It’s great. Now there is a field of 25 excellent drivers and I think we’ve seen already that they have started to promote some of those. Hopefully that will continue and they will promote more because there is a lot of really good drivers in this series and I think the fans would enjoy watching them and getting to know them.”



GRAHAM RAHAL, driver of the #06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: Will be his first race here and fifth major league oval race.

YOUNGEST WINNER IN SERIES HISTORY: Became the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history when he drove to victory in his IndyCar Series debut in St. Pete at the age of 19 years and 93 days old. The previous mark was held by Marco Andretti who won at Infineon Raceway at 19 years, 167 days old. Rahal had only run 10 laps at testing speed in an ICS car on a road course (Sebring) due to a pre-race three hour test (4-1) being cancelled due to rain. Nelson Philippe holds the Champ Car record for his ’06 win in Australia at 20 years, two months and 29 days old. With his second place finish in Houston in 2007, he became the youngest Champ Car driver (1979-2007) to finish on the podium at 18 years, three months and 18 days.

SO FAR IN 2008: Missed the series opener in Homestead due to a lack of time and parts to repair his lone race car after a testing crash the Tuesday prior to race day…Progressed to Group 2 in qualifying for his debut on the street course in St. Pete but was unable to get a clear lap and qualified ninth. The race began under caution while standing water was cleared and once the green flag flew he progressed up to third place before his first pit stop a race that saw multiple pit strategies. He was hit on Lap 37 by Will Power which caused a spin and he dropped to 23rd but the team elected to gamble and keep him on track while others pit on Lap 60 under caution and he moved into second before the restart on Lap 65 and took the lead and held it through two more restarts including one with three laps to go while holding off two-time St. Pete winner Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan. He won by a 3.5 second margin to become the youngest winner in series history at 19 years, 93 days old after he led a total of 19 of the 83 laps and moved to fourth in the standings…Started ninth in Champ Car series finale in Long Beach and was up to fourth when he was alongside Franck Montagny during an attempt to pass for third and was spun which dropped him back to 12th place. While setting the fastest laps of the race, he charged through the field and into seventh before he hit the tire barrier on the final lap to drop to 13th place and ninth in the ICS standings and second in the ROY by 17 points…Made his oval debut in Kansas, qualified 20th and finished a competitive 12th only one lap down to the leaders…Was the highest Indy 500 starter of the Champ Car transitioning teams with his 13th place qualifying position in his Indy debut but made contact on Lap 36 after driving high to avoid the slower car of Alex Lloyd. Retired in 33rd place…Missed his first pole at Milwaukee by 2/10th of a second over a four lap average and started a career best second to Andretti in what was the first Andretti/Rahal front row since 1992 in Loudon, NH. Ran between second and fourth until Lap 130 when he drove over “marbles” and lost control of his car after trying to go around the slower car of Manning. Retired in 25th place…Is ranked 17th with 108 points.

GRAHAM RAHAL, #06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think the future is pretty bright for the IndyCar Series. Capitalizing on the momentum the series has comes down to the marketing people. Having the victories by Danica and myself and all of the other momentum creates a lot of interest, especially from the media, and I think that is one of the things that is going to help open wheel racing get back to where it used to be in the mid-90’s. I think it all comes down to the marketing aspect of it. Merchandising is one big way to do it and I have seen a difference in that area since coming to the IndyCar Series. I have been seeing a lot more model cars, t-shirts and other things in this series than we are used to seeing and I think we need to capitalize on that.

“At first it’s tough to get used to driving on the ovals. Overall that is not too bad but it’s very tough running in traffic; I think that is the most difficult part. With the high banking in Texas, you can run really, really close and side-by-side. That’s pretty intense. I think we can be competitive on one-mile ovals like Milwaukee but when it comes to oval tracks like in Texas it will take a little more time to gain the experience on. We’ve done a lot of aero work and built some tweaks and put them on but it doesn’t seem like we have gone much quicker. I think being competitive comes down to all of the tiny details and that sort of experience just takes time. It’s going to be tough for us to catch up to the regulars but having the whole month at Indy was used as a big test session and that certainly helped us prepare for the rest of the season.”