2003 SCCA National Championships; High School Crew Among 47 Nissan Teams At Mid-Ohio

GARDENA, Calif.--Sept. 12, 2003--One driver's crew is a group of high school auto shop students, another driver is playing hooky from his final semester of college classes to attend this race, and another has a single crew member, his girlfriend.

On the surface, these may not sound like totally serious racers, but each is a legitimate threat to drive their Nissan race cars into the winner's circle at the Sports Car Club of America's 40th annual Valvoline Runoffs, held September 17-19 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Lexington, Ohio. Their records prove that claim. Here is a closer look at just three of the 47 teams trying to add to Nissan's record 82 championship titles at the prestigious annual season finale.

A Class For "Accelerated" Students

"Our Nissan 350Z is brand new. It has not been raced, but we're confident enough in our own abilities, and in Nissan's components, that we think we have a chance to win," said Larry Hansen of Eureka, Calif., as he crossed the country toward Mid-Ohio, talking on the phone while simultaneously giving his wife instructions on shifting the 10-speed transmission in the tractor she was driving, towing their 65-foot rig.

Hansen's racing program is unique. His crew, four teenage high school students, won't arrive at the Mid-Ohio race course until the Saturday of race weekend, and they have to be back home Monday for classes. They are all members of the Eureka, Calif., High School Auto Shop Team. Hansen is their auto shop teacher.

"The students must meet very strict academic standards to stay in the program," said Hansen. "It is rewarding to see how well the program has paid off for them over the years. Two of our graduates have found work in NASCAR Winston Cup racing -- one with Robert Yates Racing, and another who was part of Dale Earnhardt's over-the-wall crew, and is now working in the Childress Racing shops.

"The students are having fun, but they're learning, too, and that's the important thing. They understand there is a definite ladder to financial and career success in auto racing, but if you really want to climb that ladder, you're going to have to be smart."

Hansen and his crew, led by adult crew chief Steve Gabel, have constructed a new Nissan 350Z that will race in the GT3 class at the Runoffs.

Last year, Hansen finished second in the GT3 class, and won the most-prestigious award available at the Runoffs, the President's Cup, awarded by the event's Stewards of the Meeting to a driver who best demonstrates ability, competitiveness and success. Among the award's former winners are Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Paul Newman, and Bobby Rahal.

Gabel won last year's Runoffs award for crew chiefs.

"Nissan Motorsports and McCrea Nissan in Eureka have been wonderful partners in this project. They understand it is not a selfish thing for just me, and my school's administrators have seen how well the program runs," Hansen said. "Nissan Motorsports is always there for us to answer technical questions and to keep us informed about their latest innovations in racing hardware."

Hansen and his students get high marks from Nissan, as well. "Programs such as what Larry Hansen has created invariably catch our eye," said Ron Stukenberg, senior manager, Motorsports Marketing and Operations, Nissan North America, Inc. "The team has been successful on the track, which puts Nissan cars in a positive spotlight to the public. That's largely the result of the incredible quality that Larry, Steve, and the students have put into the car. They have every component there which makes them great representatives of our product."

Nissan teams are competing in nine of the 24 classes, including Showroom Stock, Production, GT and Touring categories. Thirteen of Nissan's 47 drivers are Divisional Champions.

A Degree in Winning

At Clarkson University in northern New York, September weekends are the time for students to start focusing on their fall and winter sports programs. But for senior Scott Culbertson, it means focusing on the Runoffs with his favorite subject, this new Touring 2 class Nissan 350Z.

Culbertson, who plans to take his computer communications and sub-networking skills learned at Clarkson into the U. S. Air Force when he graduates one semester from now, is competing at the Runoffs for the fourth time.

"Nissan makes great products to build race cars from and their technical help is superb," he said. "I started racing with an old Datsun 510, then moved to a Nissan 200SX, then a Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, and now the new 350Z. The 350Z is a whole new ballgame for us, so it is still a work in progress."

Culbertson finished third in the GT4 class last year with the Sentra, and was second with it in 2001. "The Touring 2 class is going to be tough, but I have every reason to think we can win."

Culbertson is a native of Portland, Ore., where his race weekend crew is based.

A Small Crew, Big Results

Massachusetts racer Wilson Wright is another of the Nissan drivers at the Runoffs who has upgraded his racing effort to the new Sentra SE-R Spec V. Wilson began racing the traditional way in SCCA, starting in one-car-at-a-time autocross competition, then into the head-to-head Improved Touring road racing classes in 1990.

Last year, he culminated his admittedly low-key racing career with a Runoffs championship in the competitive GT4 class -- this despite the fact that his race weekend crew is one person, his girlfriend Sue.

"I own a one-man import auto repair shop, so I'm used to having to do everything without a lot of help," he said. "At last year's Runoffs we tried using an in-car radio for the first time. They were old ones and we ended up on the same channel as Mid-Ohio's maintenance crew. We'll investigate upgrading that this year, too," he laughed. "I try to not let race weekend pressure get to me.

"The new Sentra SE-R's shape gives us much better front end downforce than our older car did," he added. "The new engine has been faster the last two times we raced it. GT4 is going to be a very busy class once again, and full of Nissans, but perhaps being the defending National Champion will give me a morale advantage. With classes this close, I'll take any advantage I can get."

Nissan Support

Nissan is providing more than $75,000 in contingency and bonus money to successful Nissan drivers in 2003. Nissan Motorsports will again be providing technical assistance and parts support for all 47 Nissan race teams, and will also have special displays on hand as part of the company's strong ongoing commitment to racing, especially among the amateur contingent.

All 24 races over the three-day span of the Runoffs will be televised by the SPEED channel for delayed broadcast.

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at nissanusa.com or contact the corporate media line at 310-771-5631.