Press Release 4/4/2004

Kershaw, SC (April 4th) - The Flatoutracing.net/Guident Technologies/HRPWorld.com #40 Acura Integra LS garnered top honors at this season's opening round of the National Auto Sport Association's Honda Challenge race at Carolina Motorsports Park.

From the outset during the first practice the #40 Acura proved very fast, being only two tenths of a second off last season's champion, Lionel Kent in the #13 JE Import Performance Honda. "We knew we had a chance at some good results because we still had quite a bit of setup work to do and felt the car had more speed" said Flatoutracing's Jon Kofod.

On a mostly dry and humid track, Kofod set a new Carolina Motorsports H4 class qualifying track record with a 1:54.37, more than one second off the old record. It earned the team a pole position for the first feature race on Saturday.

A hard fought battle with Kent's #13 car saw the two leaders in H4 class swap leads several times until Kofod pulled a large enough gap to take the win by 5 seconds over Kent. The number #40 Acura finished first in class and 8th overall out of a field of 34 cars, finishing ahead of the several of the faster H2 and H1 class cars.

Sunday saw many obstacles overcome on the way to victory. An engine problem meant missing practice and qualifying and Kofod started the #40 Acura in last spot on the grid. An incredibly good start (standing start) saw the #40 Acura leap to 2nd place in a matter of a few laps and the ensuing battle with Kent's #13 Honda proceeded through two thirds of the race until Kent started having tire issues leaving the door open for Kofod to take the lead with 3 laps to go.

"I saw that Lionel (Kent) was really struggling with his tires and my tires were starting to go away so I waited as long as possible for Lionel to make a mistake, but he never made one, so it was a matter of matching his pace, managing my tires, overtaking slower traffic, and making a safe pass as late in the race as possible. In this type of racing with front wheel drive and a very soft compound, tire management is critical."

The Flatoutracing team leaves Carolina Motorsports part with two wins, one pole, one track record and the championship points lead ahead of the next race at the newly built Beaver Run Motorsports Complex in Pennsylvania on June 4th.

Flatoutracing.net wishes to express special thanks to its two main sponsors who will be providing support throughout the duration of the 2004 championship season, Guident Technologies Inc. of Herndon, VA and HRPWorld.com of Peoria, IL. Additional thanks goes to series sponsor Kumho Motorsports for their exceptional tires.