JOHN WALKO RACING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2006 PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW

TRAFFORD, PA (February 7, 2006) – Pittsburgh based John Walko Racing has added an additional venue to their preseason schedule, the 2006 Pittsburgh International Auto Show.

The team will participate in the 340,000 square foot show at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center as part of the Mazda USA display before setting their sites on the 2006 STAR Mazda Championship.

Covering ten days from February 11-19, the show will not only involve the team, but their newly prepared Pro Formula Mazda racecar that is sure to please the hometown crowd. All of the Pittsburgh connections in this show are tied together with the racecar’s graphics featuring the traditional Black and Gold!

This exciting event will place the state of the art, single seat carbon fiber racer alongside the latest Mazda RX8. These high performance machines not only share the rich Mazda Motorsports legacy but also feature the same 240 horsepower Mazda Renesis rotary engine.

Participating in the show with team owner John Walko and Director of Marketing and Promotions Andrew Prendeville will be driver Charles Anti. The Pittsburgh native began his career racing karts at Pittsburgh’s BeaveRun Motorsports Complex.

Before joining the professional ranks with John Walko Racing this season, Anti raced in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge series where he earned ten wins over two years including the Eastern Regional Series Rookie of the Year title in 2004 and the Championship in 2005. Anti also earned a third place overall in the Midwest Regional Series in 2005.

Prendeville is looking forward to this opportunity to showcase the team and driver in their hometown.

“We are very happy to supply one of our racecars for Mazda to display in the Pittsburgh Auto Show. It is a great opportunity for JWR to help promote Mazda, The Star Mazda Series, JWR and Charles Anti in the Pittsburgh area. We want to thank Mazda for allowing us this opportunity.”

The team is seeking interested drivers to join Anti in the STAR Mazda series. Following the Pittsburgh International Auto Show, the team will test at Virginia International Raceway on Feb. 23-24. Testing programs and full or partial race seats are available for the 2006 season. Contact [email protected] for more information.