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FYI
03-21-04

TONY KART NAMED SKUSA PROMOTO TITLE SPONSOR

Dublin, Ohio — SKUSA is proud to announce for the first time since its inception an entitlement partnership for the 2004 ProMoto Tour with world renowned Tony Kart. The SKUSA team is very excited to have Tony Kart on board this year and with their assistance and contribution, SKUSA will be able to take our series to the next level.

To kick off this entitlement tour, SKUSA will be displaying a new Tony Kart Venox RokBox (TAG) package at ProMoto Events and select Regional events. The RokBox will be the official Pace Kart for each Final at all ProMoto Tour events. At each event we will be doing a silent auction for this kart. The winning bidder will be drawn at the SuperNats this year.

Tony Kart of Italy is an established winning chassis known around the world and has been a cornerstone of the Karting industry for 35 years. Tony Kart is focusing their efforts and resources on the important North American market. They have introduced new and improved chassis and added new models and accessories. CompCor Distribution joined Tony Kart as their US Importer in 2003. CompCor Distribution is located in Scottsdale, AZ and is led by Ron Huber and his experienced staff. Tony Kart and Vortex chose CompCor to be their importer for the entire US because of their financial resources and business background to assure its dealers and customers of the highest level of technical expertise, customer service, inventory and their ability to build the reputation and sales of Tony Kart and Vortex. CompCor Distribution is represented by a highly professional and growing Dealer Network spread out across the US. CompCor is committed to providing in-stock inventory, outstanding customer service, superior technical support and race track presence and support.

“We are very pleased to have this sponsorship and position with SKUSA,” said Ron Huber. “We are actually reintroducing the Tony Kart and Vortex products back into the US market and we see our support of SKUSA as a key component in our plans to move Tony Kart and Vortex to the highest levels of Karting in North America.”

ITALIAN MOTORS & ITALKART ANNOUNCE 2004 CAMPAIGN & POWERHOUSE DRIVER LINE-UP
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada — Italian Motors, who prepares the Italkart chassis and IM Motors for competition, will be competing in the first round of SKUSA East this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida. It will be a warm up for this year after an impressive 2003 season, which saw the combo of David Jurca (2003 Pro IC Western Champion) and Jordy Vorrath put their Italian Motors prepared Italkart/TM power plant on the podium at nearly every event entered. The duo is back again this season and will be joined by Jake Thompson who is back after joining the IM Team late last year.

Jordy Vorrath rejoins Italian Motors and Italkart after winning Jacksonville last season and sitting on the pole at the 2003 SuperNationals. “I am looking forward to this season because I have had a year of development on the new Supersonic. We have continued to develop our motors on our state of the art engine dyno, and the 2004 Italkarts are very impressive. I can’t wait”, said Vorrath. He will campaign his 96 Italkart Supersonic/TM at Jacksonville along with teammate Tyler Dueck this weekend. David Carpentier (2003 SKI Tuner of the Year) will be Vorrath’s mechanic and Michael Valiante will take the lead role on tuning Dueck’s kart. Mechanic Ryan Morford will join the team later this season when Jurca is not competing for Cape Motorsports in Formula SCCA.

Another newcomer to the Italkart camp is veteran Bobby Wilson who will be teaming up with Minnesota Italkart dealer, Stockholm Karting Center. Wilson will compete in selected events; however his main role will be managing the Minnesota based karting team who will have Cameron Mandery, Chris Miller, Alicia Hogdal, Jeremy Laughlin, Ryan Stringfield, Noah and Dan Roe all piloting 2004 Italkart chassis.

Italian Motors has also signed a few young extremely talented drivers in to their racing program as well as a few veterans. Colby Jenn, Dane Cameron, Brent Katusha, Michael Hogg and Hayden Ritter will compete in selected events.

“We are very fortunate to have so many great drivers with us this season. We have made many improvements in each department including our IM Motor Tuning, and I think it will be another great year”, said team owner, Claudio Valiante. Claudio will be at all the events the team will be competing in and his son, Michael Valiante, will be at a few selected events. “Time permitting, I will be assisting the drivers as a coach and a chassis tuner. We have many young talented drivers to work with and their futures look bright”, said Michael.

For further information, please visit www.italianmotors.com or www.italkart.com

STARS AND WKA ANNOUNCE ADDITIONAL METHODS FOR QUALIFICATION FOR THE STARS SEASON FINALE.
Concord, North Carolina — In an effort to make the Snap-On Stars of Karting Finale as competitive as possible, and open to more drivers for participation, the Stars organization and the WKA have announced that racers who compete in WKA's famed Manufacturer's Cup Series are now eligible to compete at the Stars Finale later in the year. Along with the Manufacturer's Cup series, many of WKA's premier Divisional programs also meet the eligibility requirements.

Full detail of the regulation can be found under Competition Regulations Appendix 1, at www.starsofkarting.com.

"We are thrilled to again be working with the strong programs that WKA offers," said Kevin Williams of Stars. "Their level of competition and series' locations throughout the country present a well-rounded program, allowing drivers to have a chance to participate in the Snap-on Stars of Karting Finale."

"The partnership between the World Karting Association and Snap-On Stars of Karting grows to new levels with this program," says WKA's Tony Barton. "Allowing karters in the WKA sprint divisional structure an opportunity to compete in the Snap-On Stars of Karting Season Finale only compliments the relationship between the two organizations. We will continue to find ways to add value not only to the WKA programs, but also continue to show support to the Snap-On Stars of Karting racing program to grow the sport of karting"

2004 SNAP-ON STARS OF KARTING APPROVED WKA EVENT LIST.
Only the following WKA events are approved Stars qualifying events.

Manufacturer's Cup East
(participate in 3 of 4 Races)

Manufacturer's Cup West
(participate in 4 of 5 Races)

Empire State Sprint Series
(participate in 3 of 4 Races)

Florida Champ. Sprint Series
(participate in 4 of 5 Races)

Great Lakes Sprint Series
(participate in 4 of 6 Races)

Rocky Mountain West
Divisional Sprint Series
(participate in 5 Races)

Maryland Divisional Sprint Series
(participate in 4 of 6 Races)

Midwest Sprint Series
(participate in 4 of 5 Races)

Northwest Sprint Series
(participate in 4 of 6 Races)

A complete list of races, rules and contacts for each can be found thru the WKA Link on www.starsofkarting.com , or at www.worldkarting.com . Only the core Stars classes, (ICC, ICA, JICA, 80cc Jr. Shifter, and Cadet), offered at the following WKA events are applicable to this regulation.

ROBBIE PECORARI READIES FOR NATIONAL FORMULA DODGE ASSAULT
Hilliard, Ohio — The Snap-on Stars of Karting will be watching with excitement as Robbie Pecorari makes his debut in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge National Championship Presented by RACER this weekend at Sebring, March 17-19, in rounds one and two of the 14-race, $190,000 championship. Pecorari, 17, of Aston, Pa., earned a paid season of FDNC as a result of his outstanding performance in Stars of Karting competition in
2003; he was selected by a group of Stars of Karting, WKA and Skip Barber Racing karting experts as the most deserving karter. This scholarship was originally made available through the Champ Car series, and has continued via an agreement between Stars of Karting and Skip Barber Racing.

"We are all very excited to follow Robbie’s progress through the Skip Barber ranks," said Stars founder Bryan Herta. "We know he is going to do a great job with the opportunity that Skip Barber and Champ Car have provided. I also would like to thank all of the Skip Barber National people for stepping up on Robbie's behalf and making sure that he was going to get what he had worked so hard to earn." Herta himself is a Skip Barber alumnus, having raced in the then-Skip Barber Formula Ford Western Series in 1990, then winning the Barber Saab Pro Series championship in 1991.

Rick Roso, Skip Barber Racing's motorsports marketing manager, said, "We're very pleased to ensure that Robbie's car racing career gets off on the right foot. He's a good kid, very quick, and we're confident he'll make a name for himself in FDNC."

Many of today's top drivers have come through the Skip Barber ladder system, including Michael Valiente, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Patrick Long and most recently, A.J. Allmendinger. Headquartered in Lakeville, Conn., the Skip Barber Racing School is the world's largest racing and driving school, operating at more than 20 race tracks across the U.S. and Canada. In addition to the Racing School and the Dodge/Skip Barber Driving School, it also owns and operates five prestigious open-wheel racing championships: The Formula Dodge National Championship Presented by RACER, and the four Skip Barber Regional Formula Dodge championships (East, West, South and Midwest). Other components include the Corporate Events department and an innovative Special Projects Group, which as part of its responsibilities is active in the emerging youth/tuner/drifting market. More information is available by calling 860.435.1300, and at www.skipbarber.com.

STARS READIES FOR START OF 2004 SEASON
Hilliard, Ohio — The Snap-on Stars of Karting is just one month away from kicking off the 2004 season at Moran Raceway in Beaumont, CA. With this season¹s first event just around the corner, there are some bullet points that Stars would like to convey, making sure that everyone is properly informed.

All of the latest information relating to the Stars program is listed at the new URL website address of www.starsofkarting.com. The old address of referring to ‘Cart Stars’ is no longer in use. There have been two updates posted on the new site recently that have very important information relating to technical issues. There is an ‘Up To Speed’ document that
highlights changes in the 2004 season. There is also a general update.

All memberships received to date have had their membership packet sent to them. Included in this is the 2004 rulebook, stickers, patches, a lanyard, and general series information. Remember when sending memberships and entries to our Ohio office, it is important that all competitors include the kart configuration information, and photos as described. Also, please include your email address so we may easily contact you with new information
or if we need additional information from you.

Please be advised of the significant savings a competitor will enjoy if you take the time to pre-enter the event. Stars are putting in place specific procedures in order to limit lines at registration. This will relate to fuel, oil and tire distribution as well as how a competitor will receive event specific information and how they will deal with waivers, etc. By pre-entering, you will save not just money but a significant amount of time.

Please remember to contact Grand Products for your parc ferme tire needs.
Forms are available on our website.

There have been many rumors about the status of the JICA program. Contrary to some of these comments, Stars is dedicated to this class. We will support this class no matter what the initial interest may be, Stars is very excited about what JICA has to offer, and very much fits into what our goals are for the series. For questions on supply or just generally about JICA, contact us by phone or email.

We must have birth certificates for minors. We will not be able to make any exceptions in this matter, as it is an insurance requirement. Please make sure to include all proper documentation.

We are anxious and excited to get going on the new season and look forward to seeing you in one month.

There are still some questions about noise and mufflers that are an ongoing issue at Moran as well as other tracks. Stars is waiting to hear a final directive from Moran Raceway and then decide how we will proceed. Stars is of the opinion that the noise limits will be strictly enforced but that a single part cannot be mandated. It was released for a short time on one of our own publications that we would require the RLV muffler only in 80cc Junior and this was never meant to be the case. All karts will have to comply with certain criteria, again, this information will be forwarded immediately once we have heard from the track of their desires.

END

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