Charles Anti joins the JWR team in the 2006 Pro Mazda Championship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRAFFORD, PA (January 25, 2006) --John Walko Racing is pleased to announce the signing of Charles Anti as a driver to compete in the 2006 Pro STAR Mazda Championship. The Pittsburgh, PA driver has competed in the Skip Barber Series the past two seasons, winning the Eastern Regional Series and finishing 3rd in the Midwest Regional Series in 2005. 

Anti will compete in the same car that brought Graham Rahal to victories last year and will work with Steve Dreizler and Sebastien Jubelin, who had proven themselves capable with young drivers, leading both Rahal and Adam Pecorari to race wins the past two seasons. 

"I am very excited to be a part of the reformed John Walko Racing team," said Anti. "The team is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic that I am looking forward to learning as much as I can. JWR knows how to make the cars go fast and have a good time in the process, which is what racing is all about." 

Team owner, John Walko, has high hopes for the rookie driver. 

"Charles started calling me a few years ago and we have stayed in touch over the years as he was a local talent looking for advice," said Walko. "We finally put him in a car recently and he was great. He is an incredible learner, has no temper and no ego and was picking things up very quick. One of the most refreshing things about Charles is he lives locally and wants to spend a lot of time at the shop learning as much as he can. That will no doubt help him down the line."

The car will carry the familiar Pittsburgh sports team colors of yellow and black, honoring the fact that the driver, teams and sponsors are all Pittsburgh based. Photos of the new car will be available soon. 

John Walko Racing will begin testing in February 1-2 at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC and is seeking interested drivers looking to enter the STAR Mazda series. JWR has put together a rigorous testing schedule that has them visit Kershaw, VIR (Feb. 23-24), Mid-Ohio (April 26-27) and do private oval track testing (TBA) to prepare for the upcoming season. 2006 season testing programs and full or partial race seats available. Contact [email protected] for more information.