PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact:
Christie Hyde, PB Sports, a division of Patterson/Bach Communications
407-645-1880 office; 386-453-0888 mobile; christie@pat-bach.com

January 25, 2007
Team Seattle raises more than $460,000 for Children's Hospital
Team Seattle endured a grueling Rolex 24 At Daytona to raise more than $460,000 for Children's Hospital through donations and pledges made for each of the 758 laps the No. 82 Who's Calling/Live Search Porsche and No. 83 Kid's Country Learning Centers/HomeStreet Bank Porsche turned during the twice-around-the-clock race.

Team Seattle founder Don Kitch (Bellevue, Wash.), Chris Pennington (Redmond, Wash.), Chris Pallis (Mercer Island, Wash.) and Tony Bawcutt (Kirkland, Wash.) piloted the No. 82 Porsche, while David Gaylord (Graham, Wash.), Don Pickering (Reno, Nev.), Hal Hilton (Issaaquah, Wash.) and Ben McCrackin (Corpus Christi, Texas) were at the controls of the No. 83 Porsche.

The No. 82 Synergy Racing-prepared Porsche recorded 250 laps before its race was ended early when slippery track conditions got the best of Pallis in turn two and the Porsche made hard contact with the Armco railing. The No. 83 entry had its own setbacks during the race that sent it to the garage for repairs, but the Synergy Racing crew was determined to get it back on track each time so it could continue raising funds for Children's Hospital. Pickering brought the No. 83 machine to the checkered flag in 24th place and, most importantly, with 508 completed laps.

Internet users can continue to raise funds for Team Seattle's effort each time they search the Web. Microsoft extended its offer to donate $1 to Children's Hospital for each Web search originating from http://teamseattle.live.com. The offer was originally slated to conclude when the team returns to Seattle on January 29, but it is now extended through March 31, 2007.

From battling cancer to battling for the checkered, Pickering readies for Rolex 24 At DaytonaRENO, Nev. (January 15, 2007) – Four months ago, Don Pickering was in a fight for his life. After two major surgeries to counter an extremely aggressive form of testicular cancer, the 35 year old underwent six weeks of harsh chemotherapy.

Weak and thin, the father of two often wondered if he would ever return to his active lifestyle as an avid cyclist and amateur race car driver. But he found inspiration in seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, and in the throws of chemotherapy, Pickering vowed he would race in the most grueling professional auto race in North America—the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Only four months later, the proud cancer survivor readies himself for Daytona International Speedway's infamous road course and competing against some of the biggest names in motorsports in the historic, and extremely demanding, 24-hour endurance race.

Learning from a friend's tragedy
"I had a friend that died of testicular cancer when I was in high school," explains Pickering. "So I'm one of the few men that knew how important it is to do a self-exam every few weeks—just like women do for breast cancer."

While performing a self-exam last May Pickering discovered a lump the size of pea. He went to the doctor to have it checked out and was diagnosed with testicular cancer. One week later, he was in surgery to remove the tumor.

"The type of cancer they found was embryonal carcinoma, which is an extremely aggressive kind. Because of that and signs it had spread, I had to undergo lymph node surgery."

Because of the delicacy of the second surgery, he turned to doctors at Indiana University Cancer Center in Indianapolis where he underwent a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection on July 3. The surgery involved taking out several major organs from his abdomen in order to reach 15 lymph nodes for removal.

While the original tumor was only the size of a pea, doctors found the cancer had already spread to five of the 15 lymph nodes.

The worst six weeks ever
Following recovery from his second surgery, Pickering began two courses of chemotherapy treatment that would last six weeks. The picture of health prior to his diagnosis, the fitness buff lost 30 pounds during his treatment and spent most of his days too weak to leave his bed and battling the effects of chemotherapy.

"I was told of the 120 different types of chemo treatments, the one for testicular cancer is the harshest on a person," tells Pickering. "You hear about all the new drugs to help deal with the side effects of chemo, but they just didn't work for me. I would take 20 of the lymph node surgeries over those six weeks of chemo.

"When you're laying in bed and going through chemo treatment it's truly a horrific experience. You can't help but think you may never get normalcy back in your life."

Finding inspiration in another racer
After discovering he had testicular cancer, Pickering began reading more about Lance Armstrong's battle with the disease.

"When you are going through that, knowing someone has gone through it too and gone on to win seven Tour de France… it gives you hope that you can get your life back," explains Pickering. "My return to normalcy… getting my life back… is best expressed in racing."

Using Armstrong as his inspiration, and in the midst of his chemotherapy, Pickering made the decision to compete in the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Three weeks after his final treatment, he went to Miller Motorsports Park outside Salt Lake City, Utah, and slid behind the wheel of a race car for the first time since his diagnosis. Although each morning he still suffered with nausea and other lingering effects of chemotherapy, Pickering went on to win all three Porsche Club races in which he competed that weekend and set a new track record.

"I'd wake up in the morning, have breakfast, get sick and then go to the track and jump in my car and set a track record," laughs Pickering as he recalls his first time back behind the wheel. "I just drove and had a hell of a weekend. I was just excited to be getting my life back."

Since that weekend in October 2006, Pickering has devoted himself to regaining the strength and endurance lost during his battle with cancer. Working with a personal trainer three times a week, he has gained back the 30 pounds lost during treatment and feels ready to tackle the Rolex 24 At Daytona later this month.

Racing with purpose
Next week, Pickering will compete in the No. 83 Team Seattle Porsche fielded by Synergy Racing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The primary focus of the group of drivers he will compete with is not necessarily to be the first to the finish line, but instead to just keep turning laps as they raise money for Children's Hospital in Seattle, Wash.

Founded in 1986, Team Seattle is a group of racers who raise funds for Children's Hospital through per lap pledges. In the past 10 years, the philanthropic organization has raised $2.2 million. This year, it expects to bring in $500,000 for the hospital, whose research and resources are shared across the nation through a network of children's hospitals.

"Nothing is more heart wrenching than seeing kids with cancer," says Pickering, a former Seattle resident who will visit the cancer center at Children's Hospital this week to give out posters, talk about their race cars and try to take the young patients' mind off the cancer they're battling.

"Being the father of two kids, and going through what I did, it gives me a completely different perspective and new level of appreciation for the work Children's Hospital is doing. Being able to contribute to that is great."

Sharing his story for a reason
Race fans and media will be drawn to the Rolex 24 At Daytona's impressive driver line-up that features the likes of NASCAR champions Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon and open-wheel all-stars Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves.

While Pickering is sharing his story in hopes of garnering some attention like the well-known competitors he is competing against, it is for a far different reason.

"This isn't about me. It's about hope. It's about inspiration. And it's about awareness," he says. "When I thought I might never get my life back, Lance Armstrong was the inspiration for me. I only hope that I might be able to do the same for someone else who is at the low point in the their fight with cancer—to show them that you can get your life back… you can regain normalcy.

"And I want to help raise awareness about testicular cancer. It mainly strikes men between the ages of 15 and 35, and a lot of race fans fall into that category. It's a curable disease if you catch it in time, but guys need to know the importance of self-exams. It can save your life. It saved mine."


About the Rolex 24 At Daytona
The 45th anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona will be held at Daytona International Speedway, January 27-28. Qualifying and practice for the event will be held January 25-26. FOX Sports and SPEED will provide 15 hours of live coverage of the 24-hour race, starting at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 27 with 90 minutes on FOX Sports. SPEED will pick up the broadcast at 2:30 p.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET and later Saturday night from 8 to 10 p.m. ET. SPEED will return on the morning of Sunday, January 28 beginning at 6 a.m. ET and continuing through the checkered flag and post-race interviews.

About Team Seattle
Team Seattle is a philanthropic racing organization that raises funds for Children's Hospital in Seattle, Wash. Founded by Don Kitch, Jr., Team Seattle made its first run in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 1997, raising $80,000 for Children's Hospital through per-lap pledges. To date, Team Seattle has donated a total of $2.2 million to the hospital. After campaigning a variety of entries in several different classes through the years, in 2005 Team Seattle partnered with Synergy Racing to field its entries in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Pledges for this year's effort can be made at teamseattle.com.

About Synergy Racing
Specializing in Porsche race cars, Synergy Racing is the most decorated team in Rolex Sports Car Series history with four team championships, four driver championships, 15 class wins and more than 50 podium finishes. Founded as G&W Motorsports in 1996 by team owners Cole Scrogham and Danny and Steve Marshall, the team transformed into Synergy Racing in 2004 reflecting its commitment as a customer-based championship racing business that concentrates on the needs of the customer rather than solely the desires of the team. For more information on Synergy Racing, visit synergyracing.com.

Synergy Racing among fastest at Rolex 24 testing at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 6, 2007) – Synergy Racing secured its spot among the top GT contenders to win the Rolex 24 At Daytona, January 26-27, with a highly successful test at Daytona International Speedway this weekend. By the end of the three-day test, the No. 81 EMC Mechanical/Gamewell Mechanical Porsche GT3 Cup (997) was turning some of the fastest laps in the GT class.

While the team only had possession of its new Porsche GT3 Cup (997) for a week prior to the test, the crew and all-star driver line-up were able to modify and tweak the car throughout the test to become the second fastest in the GT class during Saturday morning's session with a 1:52.991 lap averaging 113.425 mph on Daytona's 3.56-mile road course, putting it among the five fastest GT cars of the weekend.

American Steve Johnson (Bristol, Va.) is teamed with a trio of top European Porsche racers—Patrick Huisman (The Netherlands), Richard Westbrook (England) and Richard Lietz (Austria)—in the EMC Mechanical/Gamewell Mechanical Porsche for the Rolex 24, and all four drivers report they are extremely pleased with this weekend's test.

"It has been a fantastic test," said Westbrook. "It was a test in the true sense of the word, because when we got here we were struggling, but the guys have worked so hard and we ended up after three days with a very, very good car. After the first day, we were up against for sure. But the guys are so good; now we can go into the race feeling confident."

"We started off a bit rocky, but things came together quickly," Johnson agreed. "We have a good platform by which we can fine tune from. The crew has gelled over these three days, and the drivers are fantastic. I think Patrick, Richard and Richard are probably as good as it gets."

Team Seattle ahead in donations and on the track
Team Seattle, the philanthropic racing organization that raises funds for Seattle Children's Hospital during the Rolex 24, is already ahead of where it was last year in its fundraising efforts. The organization's founder Don Kitch (Bellevue, Wash.) reported the group currently has pledges for more than $425 per lap completed during the race.

"We expect to be lapping at somewhere between $600 and $700 by the time the race gets here," said Kitch, who is one of eight Team Seattle drivers competing in Synergy's No. 82 and No. 83 Porsche GT3 Cup cars.

In addition to being ahead in pledges, the group of drivers is also ahead of where they were last year on the track. This year's three-day test ran so smoothly the team opted to forgo some of the final practices on Saturday because it felt the drivers and cars were where they needed to be, and it was best to preserve the cars for the grueling 24 hours that await them later this month.

David Gaylord (Graham, Wash.), Don Pickering (Reno, Nevada), Hal Hilton (Issaaquah, Wash.) and Ben McCrackin (Corpus Christi, Texas) are the drivers of the No. 83 Porsche, which turned a top average speed of 108.305 mph at 1:58.305 on Friday. Chris Pennington (Redmond, Wash.), Chris Pallis (Mercer Island, Wash.) and Tony Bawcutt (Kirkland, Wash.) join Kitch in the No. 82 Porsche, which had a best lap of 1:59.769 at 107.006 mph.

Team Seattle continues to take pledges for its Rolex 24 effort to benefit Children's Hospital. More information, including pledge forms, are available online at teamseattle.com.

KONI Challenge drivers pleased with test
Synergy Racing also tested one of its KONI Challenge (formerly Grand-Am Cup) entries at Daytona this weekend. Drivers Brent Martini (Laguna Beach, Calif.), Michael Avenetti (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Patrick Long (Las Vegas, Nevada) took laps in the No. 71 Porsche 997 during the three-day test in preparation for the series' season opener, which will be held on Friday, January 26 as a precursor to the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

"I think the test went great," said Martini. "We're using our old car from last year. We've made a number of modifications to it, and they all seemed to have worked. We'll use all that to continue to build the second car for the Daytona season opener. We were fortunate to have Pat Long back with us to help test, and he and I agree this is the best handling car we've ever had."

The No. 71 Porsche's quickest lap of the weekend came on the final day of testing, clocking a 2:03.660 lap averaging 103.472 mph around the 3.56-mile circuit. The time was the 15th fastest of the weekend among the field of 65 KONI Challenge entries.

Synergy VIP Suite packages still available for the Rolex 24
Synergy Racing still has VIP Suite packages available for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, January 26-27, which include access to the Synergy VIP Suite in the NEXTEL Tower with a full view of the racing circuit, closed circuit TV, climate control, and food and beverages throughout the event. Packages also include reserved VIP parking, access to the in-field FanZone and Synergy Racing team ware, with optional amenities such as full-access to the Synergy Racing garages and a personal golf-kart for easy access to all in-field viewing locations.

Those interested in reserving a Synergy VIP Suite package can contact Charissa Cobb at 434-822-8180 or via e-mail at charissa@synergyracing.com.

Synergy Racing's Rolex 24 prep continues with successful test at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 11, 2006) – Synergy Racing continued its preparation for the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona this week with a successful test at Daytona International Speedway. While the historic twice-around-the-clock race is more than three months away, the team's planning and preparation have been underway for several months.

"The Rolex 24 is not a race where you can wait until test days in January to begin your preparation," explained Cole Scrogham, Synergy Racing co-owner. "We began our preparation back in July, and this week's test at Daytona was the next step in the process."

Synergy Racing brought two new Porsche GT3 Cup cars and its Porsche-powered Doran Daytona Prototype to Daytona for testing. The team expects to have five entries in the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona—four Porsche GT entries and one Daytona Prototype.

The GT portion of the test was devoted to Team Seattle, the philanthropic racing organization that's partnered with Synergy Racing to raise funds for Seattle Children's Hospital during the Rolex 24. A contingent of drivers flew out from Seattle to gain experience behind the wheel of the team's new Porsches and better familiarize themselves with Daytona's 3.56-mile road course.

"Everything was great. The test was everything we needed it to be, and everything Synergy needed it to be," said Don Kitch Jr., founder and driver for Team Seattle. "The cars were spot on. Everyone got their laps and got comfortable. Right now Synergy is a well-oiled machine, and that's what Team Seattle needs to be successful for Children's Hospital—that's why we're here."

Synergy used the test to further development of its Daytona Prototype program. Led by its technical director, Gary Grossenbacher, the team tested multiple aerodynamic and suspension components to help determine the best set-up for the Rolex 24. Veteran racers Rick Knoop and David Murry took turns behind the wheel of the Porsche Daytona Prototype to help evaluate the performance of the car.

"This was an extremely beneficial test for our Daytona Prototype program," said Scrogham. "We tested some new components and gained a lot of ground in putting together the best package for the Rolex 24. Our Porsche DP turned some great lap times, which is always encouraging."

Synergy Racing will continue testing this fall at its headquarters at Virginia International Raceway and will be back in Daytona for official pre-season testing, January 4-7. The 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona will be held January 27-28. Tickets are currently on sale www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

SynergyTest-Banking.– One of Synergy Racing’s new Porsche GT3 Cup entries takes to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway during a private test session to prepare for the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Synergy expects to campaign five entries in the historic race—four GT Porsches and its Porsche Daytona Prototype.