McDONALD’S DRIVER WILSON AND HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL AIM TO CLOSE SEASON ON A HIGH BEGINNING WITH THIS SUNDAY’S PEAK ANTIFREEZE & MOTOR OIL INDY GRAND PRIX

SONOMA, Calif. (August 20, 2008) --- With only three points-paying races left in the 2008 IndyCar Series (ICS) championship, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) plans to utilize the remaining events on three different types of circuits to collect data to enable them to compete on a more level playing field next season. Although the plan is to collect as much data as possible, the end goal has and will always be to win and the team plans to capitalize on any opportunities to do so beginning with this weekend’s 80-lap Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix at Infineon Raceway.

“I don’t know the track but I can learn it pretty quickly,” said Justin Wilson, driver of the No. 02 McDonald’s entry. “It would be nice to score a victory here on a road circuit. I think it’s possible. I have scored a victory each of the last three years of Champ Car so it would be great to continue that and score one this season even with the added difficulty of being in a new championship. We’ll see what we’ve got when we turn up. Hopefully we can get another strong finish for the McDonald’s team on the road course.”

Only five of the 14 events the team has competed in so far this season have been held on road and street courses with one of those being the Champ Car finale in Long Beach in April where Wilson started from pole but retired after engine failure. In the other events, the road racing veteran has started second (Watkins Glen), third (St. Pete ICS debut), fourth (Mid-Ohio) and sixth (Edmonton; damaged car in Q2) with his highest finish coming at the previous race in Edmonton of third place. Infineon Raceway is the type of track that has enabled him to show his skill and get to this level of racing.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on a road course,” said Wilson who hopes to continue his string of progressing to every Firestone Fast Six qualifying final. “Hopefully we can capitalize on the momentum from our podium finish in Edmonton and put the McDonald’s car in contention for another strong finish. I’m hopeful we can go out and be just as competitive and earn another podium. We’ll be in a different car this time because my road race car was damaged in Kentucky. Hopefully it will be as good as my new car was in Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio and Edmonton.”

Although it will be the first time for NHLR to compete at Infineon Raceway, the IndyCar Series has been competing here since 2005 with a different winner in each of the past three events. This season the road course has been slightly modified in an effort to create another passing opportunity in Turn 7 of 12 on the slightly-shortened 2.245-mile course. In an attempt to catch up to the regular ICS teams on ovals, NHLR tested at Chicagoland Speedway last week with Wilson handling test duties. Meanwhile, 14 of the 27 drivers entered in this Sunday’s race tested at Infineon Raceway last week which should give them a head start on the weekend.

“Unfortunately we didn’t get to test in Sonoma because we were getting another car ready for the road courses which took quite a bit of time,” said Wilson. “It’s a shame because it looks like a lot of people were there and found some speed over the day so that is going to make life more difficult.”

“The fact that a good portion of the field tested last week in Sonoma makes it more challenging for us,” added Graham Rahal, Wilson’s teammate and driver of the No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps car. “Because it took place so close to race week I think the track conditions will be very similar to when we go back but we will just have to catch up to those who tested there. I have raced at Infineon a couple of times but not on the actual circuit that we will race on this weekend but I have seen it on race DVD’s and think we can learn the course pretty quickly.”

After back-to-back rookie seasons, first in Champ Car in 2007 and now in the ICS, Rahal has made strides in coming to terms with the new racing package and 10 new courses of the 13 he has competed on this season. He missed the season-opener in Homestead due to irreparable damage to his race car from a testing accident but his first series event in St. Pete couldn’t have had a better ending for Rahal, who became the youngest winner in open wheel history at 19 years and 93 days old. Although the team has earned 106 victories, they have never taken winning for granted. In their 26 seasons to date only one has been winless (1994; Mario Andretti & N. Mansell), a statistic Rahal continued with his popular victory in his season-opener in April. With two of the three remaining 2008 points-paying events coming on road/street courses left in 2008 and an exhibition race on the streets of Surfer’s Paradise, Australia he is hoping for more success.

“It’s possible for us to win again this year,” said Rahal. “Between Sonoma and Detroit, I think Detroit is our best shot because I think our street course set up is the best of any setups we’ve had this year judging off of St. Petersburg. And not just because I won in St. Pete, but because I think our car was competitive all weekend. We hope to continue to learn about the car in Sonoma and improve our road course set up and go to Detroit with a shot at being competitive there as well. Any information we can get to help us understand the car better will help us overall.”

Wilson is ranked 16 in the ICS point standings with 249, only 49 away from 10th place Oriol Servia (298) while Rahal is 17th with 235. There are four title contenders remaining and current points leader Scott Dixon has a mathematical chance of clinching his second series title this weekend. Rahal understands the affect that ending the season on a high could have on the off season and the building of momentum for a stronger championship position next year.

“We've worked hard as a team, and I think that we see that we were getting closer,” said Rahal. “It just takes quite a lot of time and effort to get to the top. Being that we came in so late in the year; that the merger was announced so late, it didn't give us any time to really prepare so the first opportunity we are going to have is obviously this upcoming off-season. We are extremely looking forward to that. I think it is important to finish this season strong and that is what we are hoping for. We all realize that we need to get some good results here at the end, and of course, that gives us more of a knowledge base. And if we are winning or doing well, that gives us confidence going into next season knowing we've figured some things out.”

This weekend’s Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix can be seen on live on Sunday, August 24 at 5:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. The event will get underway with practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the 80-lap race will begin at 3:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday. 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 Channels 144 and 145.



JUSTIN WILSON, driver of the #02 McDonald’s Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT INFINEON RACEWAY: Will be his first race here and 12th on a new track this season of 15. His highest start on a road/street course this season is pole in the Long Beach Champ Car finale. On road/street course in the IndyCar series, he has started 3rd (St. Pete), 2nd (Glen), 4th (Mid-Ohio) and 6th (Edmonton; brushed wall in Q2) and his highest finish is 3rd in Edmonton.

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 (30) 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; expected 6-1-08)…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’m looking forward to getting back on a road course. Hopefully we can capitalize on the momentum from our podium finish in Edmonton and put the McDonald’s car in contention for another strong finish. I’m hopeful we can go out and be just as competitive and earn another podium. We’ll be in a different car this time because my road race car was damaged in Kentucky. Hopefully it will be as good as my new car was in Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio and Edmonton.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get to test in Sonoma because we were getting another car ready for the road courses which took quite a bit of time. It’s a shame because it looks like a lot of people were there and found some speed over the day so that is going to make life more difficult.
“I don’t know the track but I can learn it pretty quick. It would be nice to score a victory here on a road circuit; I think it’s possible. I have scored a victory each of the last three years of Champ Car so it would be great to continue that and score one this season even with the added difficulty of being in a new championship. We’ll see what we’ve got when we turn up. Hopefully we can get another strong finish for the McDonald’s team on the road course.”



GRAHAM RAHAL, driver of the #06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara / Honda / Firestone:
AT INFINEON RACEWAY: Will be his first race here and 11th on a new track this season of 15. Highest start on a road/street course this season is eighth in Edmonton and highest finish is his win in his IndyCar Series debut in St. Pete. His highest start in his one season in Champ Car was fourth, three times and his highest finish was second in Houston.

PERSONAL: Graham Robert Rahal, 19, was born in Columbus, Ohio on 1-4-1989 and resides in New Albany, Ohio…The 6’2” driver is one of four children of Bobby Rahal, three-time open wheel champion, Indy 500 winner and Hall of Fame race car driver…Has two sisters (Michaela and Samantha) and one brother (Jarrad)…Became the youngest IndyCar Series winner with his victory in his series debut in St. Pete on 4-6-08 and appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman" on 4-16-08 to discuss the feat…Graduated from New Albany High School with a 3.8 GPA on 6-3-07 despite missing over 80 days of school that year due to racing. ESPN The Magazine covered his graduation… When not racing he likes to work on cars, hang out with friends and family or play other sports for fun…Is a self-proclaimed “Car Guy” and still has the first car he received when he was 16 – a Subaru WRX sti – and is in the process of turning it into a race car with a Cosworth race engine. He purchased an ’07 Atomic Orange Corvette Z06 with his prize money but later sold it and now has an ’07 Ron Fellows limited edition Corvette Z06 as well as an ’08 Chevy Trailblazer SS. In addition he has a 1964 Mini Cooper that he restored for his high school senior project. He also temporarily owned a Porsche GT3 and an Audi he earned by graduating high school with a GPA of 3.5 or above…To prepare for the physicality of racing he spends many hours doing cardiovascular training and weightlifting, skiing, running or bicycling… His favorite type of clothing is anything made by Puma… His favorite food is sushi and his weaknesses are ice cream and white chocolate mocha drinks at Starbucks…His favorite books are those written by Lance Armstrong (and anything he read other than for school)…His favorite thing to watch on TV is any Ohio State Buckeye game, his favorite actor/actress are Owen Wilson and Eva Longoria and favorite movie is “Wedding Crashers.”

GRAHAM RAHAL, #06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think we have made some good improvements to the race car but I still think we have a ways to go. We’re still pretty far behind but we’re learning every time we get on track. The fact that a good portion of the field tested last week in Sonoma makes it more challenging for us. Because it took place so close to race week I think the track conditions will be very similar to when we go back but we will just have to catch up to those who tested there. I have raced at Infineon a couple of times but not on the actual circuit that we will race on this weekend but I have seen it on race DVD’s and think we can learn the course pretty quickly.

“It’s possible for us to win again this year. Between Sonoma and Detroit, I think Detroit is our best shot because I think our street course set up is the best of any setups we’ve had this year judging off of St. Petersburg. And not just because I won in St. Pete, but because I think our car was competitive all weekend. We hope to continue to learn about the car in Sonoma and improve our road course set up and go to Detroit with a shot at being competitive there as well. Any information we can get to help us understand the car better will help us overall.”

“We've worked hard as a team, and I think that we see that we were getting closer. It just takes quite a lot of time and effort to get to the top. Being that we came in so late in the year; that the merger was announced so late, it didn't give us any time to really prepare so the first opportunity we are going to have is obviously this upcoming off-season. We are extremely looking forward to that. It's been obviously busy not only for us, but everybody. To keep this thing going has been quite the challenge.

“I think it is important to finish this season strong and that is what we are hoping for. We all realize that we need to get some good results here at the end, and of course, that gives us more of a knowledge base. And if we are winning or doing well, that gives us confidence going into next season knowing we've figured some things out.”