DAL Motorsports enters NSX in Grand-Am Cup

DALLAS, Texas (September 25, 2003) -- With just two races left in the 2003 season, DAL Motorsports announces their entry into the Grand-Am Cup Series, racing an Acura NSX sponsored by EXP4 Additives, Cobalt Friction Technologies and Goodson Acura. The team will enter the 3 Hours of VIR on October 5th, followed by an entry at the Grand American Champions Weekend in Daytona in late October.

DAL Motorsports enters the series with drivers Brian Bailey and Vaughn Duarte, who both have a successful history in SCCA and PCA racing. "I'm looking forward to our inaugural race at VIR," said DAL driver Brian Bailey. "It's a great track for the NSX, and because we have some experience there, it's probably the best track at which we could enter the series."

Crew chief Eric Robbins shares Bailey's thoughts on VIR. "The core of the team was out at VIR last year in the rain, fielding a PCA GT3S entry. We had identified Cup as an appropriate series for our initial foray into professional motorsports, and spent a weekend at VIR paying close attention to how the series is run. We were impressed and started making plans to join the series immediately. Having Benoit Theetge and PD Cunningham finish second in class at that race in the rain behind Don Istook's AWD Audi S4 also confirmed that in choosing the NSX, we have a capable car for the series."

While the assembly of a GAC entry over the past year has been a rewarding experience, it was not without it's challenges. "Not only did we have to build out a car, but we also had to assemble all the trappings of a pro team necessary to support the car at this level," said DAL driver Vaughn Duarte. "We've been very deliberate in everything we have done, right down to following a proper business plan. We've been extremely fortunate in securing sponsors who believe in where we are going with things, and having those sponsors in a position to offer products and services to help with the car is a bonus."

"This isn't the first time an NSX has been raced professionally, or even in this series, but knowledge and parts aren't in large supply, as they are with other makes of autos," adds Robbins. "We enlisted the assitance of the best NSX minds in the country, including Andrew Armistead at RealTime, Benoit Theetge, Doug Hayashi with Pulp Racing and our own local resident NSX experts, Brent Cobb and team mechanic Kevin Adams. These guys need some acknowledgement, because their help has been invaluable. Another mention goes to Bobby Archer. He and his performance shop in Fort Worth have really helped, and we feel lucky to have him in our back yard."

The DAL team has been able to test the car at a variety of road courses, and have been pleased with the results to date. "We've been able to find significant performance gains in a relatively short period of time. The learning curve has been steep for us, and we're still learning," said Bailey. "We have realistic expectations and goals for these last two races of the season."

"I think we can be a really competitive entry, but we're challenging teams with a lot more vehicle development and experience," said Robbins. "Teams that can get parts for their cars on the open market at a fair price have a huge edge on us. Factory parts are a big part of our budget, even with assistance from Acura and our dealership sponsor. I know what the Ferrari teams go through, and it's worse. Luckily, the Cup series rules help keep team expenditures down, because we could easily spend way too much money on the car."

The EXP4 / DAL Motorsports Acura NSX recently completed testing at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, and Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. "The variety of tracks helped us identify changes that needed to be made to the car," according to driver Vaughn Duarte. "We've driven NSXs at these tracks in about every conceivable configuration with superchargers, big brake kits and trick suspensions. This car is faster, without question."

DAL Motorsports, LLC is based in Coppell, Texas and currently fields an entry in the Grand-Am Cup road racing series, and offers performance tuning consultation to NSX and other Honda/Acura vehicle owners on a contract basis. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.dalmotorsports.com/.

EXP4 Additives / Advanced Fluid Solutions, LLC is based in Dallas, Texas and is a manufacturer and distributor of high performance greases, motor oils and specialty lubes and additives for consumer, industrial, mechanical and transportation applications. EXP4 additives for ATF, oil, diesel and gas contain the industry's highest-quality additive packages that provide increased fuel efficiency, lower emissions and reduced engine wear. More information is available at http://www.exp4additives.com/.

Cobalt Friction Technologies, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and reseller of high performance brake system components. Cobalt's products have been selected by professional teams in Grand American, Speed World Challenge and ALMS, among others. Shop online at http://www.cobaltfriction.com/.

Goodson Acura in Irving, Texas is a top Acura dealer in the nation. Goodson was one of the first Acura dealerships in the country, opening their doors in April of 1986. Since then, they have won the Acura Precision Team Award an unprecedented eight times, and have one of the highest customer loyalty indices in the country. Visit them on the Internet at http://www.goodsonacura.com/.

The 3 Hours of VIR practice sessions and qualifying starts on Friday, October 3rd, with additional practice and the race on Saturday, October 4th. The 3 Hours of VIR will be shown in a special two hour broadcast on SPEED Channel on Saturday, October 11th at 1:00 PM.

For more information about the 3 Hours of VIR Grand-Am Cup Race, contact VIR at 888-RACE099 or http://www.virclub.com/, or through the Grand American website at http://www.grand-am.com/.