PR- McMillen challenges alcohol teams to adopt a Jr. Dragster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

McMillen Challenges Pro Teams To Adopt A Junior Dragster

May 18, 2005
Elkhart, IN - Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team owners, Terry and
Rhonda McMillen, announced today that the Amalie Oil InstiGator team
will become a sponsor for the Division 4 Junior Dragster team of Alesi
and Ayrton Gerthe. Sponsors for the InstiGator, which include:Amalie
Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD,
Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams will support
McMillen in the effort.

Alesi, a 15-year-old Rockdale, Texas freshman and her
13-year-old brother Ayrton are excited about the announcement. "This is
the coolest thing; it's a big opportunity for my family and me. We're
thankful to Mr. McMillen and all of the sponsors," stated Alesi.

During the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals, McMillen had the chance
to meet the Gerthe family and spend time with Alesi, an aspiring Pro
Stock driver. "This family had an impact on our team," explained
McMillen. "After the race, we thought about how we might help young men
and women in our sport. We came up with a simple idea: "Adopt A Junior
Dragster". It's something we would like to challenge other professional
and sportsman teams to do also."

The "Adopt A Junior Dragster" program is designed to encourage
and support young drivers to excel in school, while at the same time
help them learn about all aspects of drag racing, sponsorship
development and communication. The program will also encourage young
drivers to take the lessons they have learned in school and utilize them
in "real world" situations. Program participants will sharpen their
reading, writing and communication skills, at the same time learning the
responsibility and commitment of running a racing organization.

"Sherrie Barbour (Special Programs Director for IHRA) and her
staff have done a great job developing the Junior Dragsters, commented
Rhonda McMillen. "Not only is it a great way for families to play
together and make friends with other families, it's also developing the
future drivers of our sport."

Alesi and Ayrton cars will carry the logos of their sponosrs.
They will also be writing pre-race press releases for each event that
they participate and distribute the press release to their sponsors. "We
feel like this is a great chance to teach youngsters how to prepare a
sponsorship proposal and how to communicate with their sponsors on an
ongoing basis," said Terry.

As sponsors of the InstiGator team, Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing
Fuels, Flat Out Gaskets and NGK Spark Plugs will supply product in the
"Adopt A Junior Dragster" program with McMillen.

Born To Race
Being in the seat of a race car might seem more of a birthright
than an aspiration for the Gerthe family. Alesi and Ayrton are named
after racers. Alesi is named after two-time Formula One World Champion
Jean Alesi. Similarly, her younger brother, Ayrton, is named after the
late Ayrton Senna, a three-time Formula One World Champion. Their
father, Duane, also raced motocross for several years.

Alesi's mother Lisa recalls, "Alesi wasn't sure at first if she
liked drag racing. But, once she had the chance to race her brother's
car, she fell in love with it. We knew that trying to share seat time
would be a challenge." Alesi added that she especially enjoys winning
and meeting all of the different people at the races. Proving that IHRA
Drag Racing is a family sport, the Gerthes spend their weekends racing.
Dad Duane is crew chief for Alesi, and Mom Lisa handles the duties for
son Ayrton.

Ayrton began his racing career in 2001 at the age of 9, enjoys
video games (specifically racing games), paintball and Science and wants
to become an Inventor and Top Fuel driver. His favorite IHRA drivers are
Clay Millican and Terry McMillen.

One of Ayrton's first memories in drag racing was building his
first car with his dad Duane. "We changed the backend to a custom," he
explained. "I really like that everybody in the family is in racing. We
get to spend a lot of time together." He also enjoys the tight points
race and competition of racing head to head with friend Michael Zampese.
"He pushes me a lot - I like that." Ayrton took home his first Ironman
last season at the 2004 PM-1 Jr. Nationals in San Antonio.

While there are other tracks closer to the Gerthe family, they
choose to participate at the San Antonio Raceway. "Todd and Judy
[Zampese] run their track very professionally and treat the Junior
Dragsters very well," commented Lisa Gerthe. Alesi recalls the recent
national event when Todd Zampese escorted her family down to stand at
the start line during Top Fuel qualifying. "That was exciting!"
explained Alesi. "It's hard to explain to people the feeling and
vibrations when those cars take off."

Alesi brought home her first Ironman in 2004, in just her second
year of racing. She watches the Pro Stock class carefully, hoping to
find a seat in that class in the future and hopes to become an
Elementary School Teacher.

Get Involved
McMillen sees the "Adopt A Junior Dragster" program as a unique
opportunity to give back to the sport. "We've been very blessed over the
years. We've got some of the best sponsors in drag racing including
Amalie Oil, TORCO Racing Fuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD,
Performance Graphics, Powershield Coatings and Crane Cams. This is our
way of giving a little something back to the sport that means so much to
our family."

Teams wishing to get involved in the "Adopt A Junior Dragster"
program who are unsure of how to find a Junior Dragster in their area
are encouraged to contact Sherrie Barbour ( sbarbour@ihra.com
<mailto:sbarbour@ihra.com> ) at IHRA headquarters. Junior Dragster teams
should follow IHRA.com and Drag Review Magazine for further details.





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For more information, photos or to arrange an interview:
CONTACT
Jim Walczak
615-415-7771
[ jim@squeakywheelonline.com <mailto:jim@squeakywheelonline.com>
]

Rhonda Mc Millen
[ Rtd29083@aol.com <mailto:Rtd29083@aol.com> ]

Terry Mc Millen
[ trdt29083@aol.com <mailto:trdt29083@aol.com> ]