Bowmanville, ON – May 14, 2001: Drivers competing at the Victoria Day Trans-Am Weekend at Mosport May 18^th to 20^th will make a special appearance at Haugen's Chicken & Ribs Barbecue near Port Perry Wednesday May 16th.

Meet several top drivers from the BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series and supporting feature series. The list of drivers confirmed to date is as follow:

From Trans-Am (Canadian entrants):

• Kenny Wilden (#66 Banner Engineering/Phillips 66 Chevrolet Corvette), 3^rd in drivers' points: A resident of Oakville, Ontario Kenny has an impressive Trans-Am resume having only competed in a handful of races. He won the Laguna Seca round in 2000 capturing the biggest pursue in Trans-Am history ($58,500 US) in the process. At Laguna Kenny won the pole, his first, set fastest race lap, led the most lap and won the race making him the first recipient of Simple Green's Clean Sweep award. An award that accumulates from event to event until won. 2000 turned into a busy summer for Kenny, as he was a Lead Stunt driver in Sylvester Stallone's new movie DRIVEN. Three National Championships with wins in many types of cars from showroom stock to endurance to open wheel, oval and prototype make up Kenny's resume. With his vast experience at Mosport, his home track, Kenny Wilden will be on the minds of his competitors as the clear-cut threat for another Clean Sweep.

• Jerry Simmons (#76 Westward Tools Ford Mustang), 34^th in drivers' point: Ancaster, Ontario may no be aware that within their community is a guy who has started more Trans-Am races than any other Canadian in history. Having been in the Trans-Am series since 1984 Jerry has 80 starts in his logbook. A newer car and enhanced support from Westward Tools gives the team a boost coming into the 2001 season. Never a "Super Team" with the mega-budget, Jerry and his dedicated crew of friends give each outing 110% effort and keep one rule..Let's have a great time. Unfortunately the Victoria Day Weekend at Mosport ended all too early for the Westward Tools team in 2000. What was to be Jerry's 75^th start commemorated at his home track, ended up a twisted wrecked race car after brake failure sent him impacting the tire wall at Moss corner in the first practice session. Jerry and the entire team are looking to make amends this year.

• Charles Webster (#95 C.J. Webster/Pro Fuels/Praxair Chevrolet Camaro), first 2001 start: Charles, a Hamilton, Ontario native has twenty-five years of racing experience, but only made his first Trans-Am start here at Mosport last year. He started 21^st and was the highest finishing Canadian placing 19^th. The result left the team moderately pleased, but was hoping for better. This year they're cautiously optimistic of putting in a better run.

From Trans-Am:

• Johnny Miller (#64 Automationdirect.com/Cuttler Hammer, Jaguar XKR), 1^st (tie) in drivers' points: Always a contender, Johnny scored his maiden Trans-Am win at the 2000 season finale in San Diego. The 1996 rookie of the year finished 9^th last year after a great race that started from the 4^th spot on the grid.

• Tommy Archer (#36 Motor City True Performance Dodge Viper), 4^th in drivers' points: Tommy returns to the series after a very successful stint in the American Le Mans Series driving the Team ORECA Viper. His rookie of the year winning performance in '92 placed him 3^rd overall in Trans-Am points. With 39 Trans-Am starts to his credit over 25 have been top 10 results. Expect Tommy to be a front runner with the new Viper Trans-Am program.

• Boris Said (#33 Applied Computer Solutions, Panoz Esperante), 6^th in drivers' points: Versatile, Boris competes in American Le Mans Series Races, NASCAR (Truck, Busch & Cup) and other divisions. With only four Trans-Am starts in 2000 he made one of them a win. Boris will be in a Panoz Esperante for the first time.

• Justin Bell (#40 Justin Bell GT Motorsports Experience Chevrolet Corvette), 8^th in drivers' points: Contending for rookie of the year honors, Justin sits 8^th in points into Mosport. He spent the 2000 season as part of the factory Chevrolet Corvette program teammate to Ron Fellows. His resume consists of a GT2 class win at LeMans in 1998 (driving Team ORECA dodge Viper) and 1997 GT2 World Championship also with Team ORECA.

• Paul Gentilozzi (#3 Johnson Controls/Homelink Jaguar XKR), 9^th in drivers' points: His record is stout including two series championships ('98 & '99). Over 100 of his 164 starts have resulted in top 10's. He'll be looking to capture the pole again this year but parley that to a better than 7^th result in 2000 here at Mosport.

• Simon Greg (#59 Stonier Transportation Group Chevrolet Corvette), 14^th in drivers' points: Noted as a rising star in the Trans-Am series. Experienced in long distance races such as the Daytona 24 & 12 hours of Sebring, Simon made his Trans-Am debut with one start in '97. At last years Victoria Day Weekend race at Mosport he qualified and finished 16^th.

• Mike Davis (#11 Applied Computer Solutions, Panoz Esperante), 19^th in drivers' points: Finished 3^rd in 2000 rookie honors with 2 top ten performances. Mike's a veteran of vintage car racing. Last year at Mosport Mike started 15^th, but wound up 28^th.

• Randy Ruhlman (#49 Preformed Line Products, Chevrolet Camaro), 27^th in drivers' points: With over 100 Trans-Am starts to his credit, Randy grabbed 5 top ten qualifying spots and one fast five spot in 2000. Randy finished 8^th in last years race at Mosport after starting 3^rd.

• Paul Fix (#77 Classic Tube, Ford Mustang Cobra), 31^st in drivers' points: Started his pro racing career in 1989 in the Canada GT Challenge Cup. His Trans-Am debut came in round 7 at Road America.

• Kevin Allen (#44 Eagle Racing Development, Chevrolet Camaro), 35^th in drivers' points: A rookie to Trans-Am, Kevin has a vast experience in racing at the region level through SCCA. He finished 3^rd at last years SCCA runoffs in the GT3 class.

From Isseco Kumho F1200 Championship:

• Ashley Taws (#72 Barbie/Coca-Cola/M&M's/Pennzoil BRD): Hailing from Mount Albert, Ontario, Ashley only started racing in 1994. Honing her skills in Karts and becoming a championship driver along the way, Ashley's foray into car racing came as a 16 year-old last year in the 1200 series. Two wins and five top five runs made the point that she was not just your average rookie. Determined to win races and fight for the Championship this year, it hardly seems an unrealistic goal.

Haugen's Chicken & Ribs Barbecue located on Hwy. 12 at 7a, Manchester, ON (near Port Perry), will be the site on Wednesday May 16, 2001. As part of their regular "Cruise Night", Haugen's has invited these drivers from The Victoria Day Trans Am Weekend to join them meeting fans and enjoying the food. No less than 300 "Cruise" cars expected for Haugen’s weekly, free to the public, car show. Given the appearance of the drivers, this number could swell. It all gets under way at 5:30 PM with the driver autograph session from 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM.

The Auto Parts Plus Victoria Day Trans-Am Weekend presented by Kenwood Communications gets underway Friday May 18^th with practice. Qualifying and a couple races take up Saturday with Sunday slated as race day, the first of seven races goes at 9:15 AM while the Trans-Am series pre-race festivities get underway at 12:30 PM with the green flag waving at 1:00 PM sharp.

A three-day Superticket, including paddock access, is available for only $40.00 until May 16^th ($60.00 after). Kids 12 and under are free. To inquire about tickets or camping information call 1-800-866-1072, Ticketmaster or go online at www.mosport.com.

Contact: Glenn Butt, Mosport International Raceway
(905) 983-9141 / email: glenn@mosport.com