GRAND PRIX OF MIAMI NOTES AND QUOTES

     HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA (March 5, 2005) -- The Grand American Road Racing Association Rolex Series held its second event of the season this past weekend in Florida. The Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead International Speedway ended with the second closest finish in the history of Rolex racing with just a 1.198 second difference between the first and second place finishers. Wayne Taylor and Max Angelelli, driving the SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley car No. 10 (photo), captured the win in the Daytona Prototype (DP) class. It was also the second time in history that the same team has won the first two races of the season. In the Grand Touring (GT) class, Marc Bunting and Andy Lally, driving the No. 65 Auto Gallery TRG Porsche GT3 Cup car, were the winners.

     Wayne Taylor and Max Angelelli (left photo) driving the SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley car No. 10 captured the win in the DP class. Wayne Taylor, owner of the SunTrust Racing team said, "The season is different this year due to the fact last year they were racing against the Ganassi teams. This year they are racing against twelve to fifteen cars. We really have to think through the strategy at the beginning of the race."

     Taylor added, "Thanks to Hoosier tires we have won our second race. They have held up really well. The question is always management of tires which is a natural concern--though the tires have held up very well through the weekend." To reduce costs, Grand American limited the teams to five sets of tires for the entire race weekend.

     The winners in the GT class (16th overall) were Marc Bunting and Andy Lally (photo) driving the No. 65 Auto Gallery TRG Porsche GT3 Cup car. Lally commented, "We are here to establish ourselves in the GT class. We had a great car today and we would like to thank our crews, sponsors and Hoosier Racing Tire. 

     Bunting said, "We didn't have to readjust the car too much. The level of competition here is unreal. There are at least ten cars that could have been up here today."

     Auto Gallery TRG team owner Kevin Buckler said, "Today is a darn good day. Being able to have two world class drivers like Andy and Marc on board with us is wonderful. These guys drove a great race and brought it home. Buckler added, "They drove a smart race. This track and Fontana are brutal on tires and with spec tires the way they are--I have to take my hat off to Hoosier Racing Tire. You guys did a really nice job and I'm proud to be with you guys."

     Driver Andy Lally added "We knew Homestead would be a test for tires (because) when the sun came up it was just going to bring the track temperature up and the track was going to be greasy. When the track is cold the Hoosier Tires are awesome and when the track was hot mid-day, we didn't go off our times at all." When asked how hard they were running Lally replied, "When I first got in the car, we were down and we couldn't hold back. We did have to manage the tires, but we (also) had to make up time. We had so many yellows at the beginning of the race the tires didn't get ate up early on and performed wonderfully."

    Mike Kraemer, Product Manager for Hoosier stated, "The tires ran very consistent and had really good grip the whole race." The sentiment was echoed throughout the pits with many teams expressing their pleasure with the tire performance of the Hoosier tires during the event.

     Dennis Sherman, Hoosier Vice-President of Marketing, stated after the race, "I am pleased by the broad participation from a variety of vehicle manufacturers and the number of teams that have attended this weekend of racing. Grand American Road Racing's formula provides fans and participants exciting competition. The close finish was also very thrilling."

     For more information about the Grand American Road Racing Association and complete results of the Grand Prix of Miami, you can visit www.grandamerican.com. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. is proud to have been selected by the Grand American Road Racing Association to serve as the exclusive tire supplier to both the Rolex and Grand American Series.

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