April 15, 2003 – The racing season has just begun for most local racers across America, but the good start by several drivers has already given them an early lead in the Valvoline Cup national driver point’s championship.

The top driver from across the country in each of the thirty-one Valvoline Cup classes will be crowned national champions in 2003. Valvoline Cup winners last season earned over $4,000 in cash and Valvoline products. Total prizes exceeded over $400,000.

More than 700 drivers expect to earn rewards for their season-long accomplishments - something Nascar Winston Cup driver Johnny Benson says goes a long way in Saturday night racing.

“Those guys need money to race and every little bit they make I bet they pour back into their racing,” Benson said. “This program helps the local guys across the nation that don’t have a whole lot of people helping them. Sometimes with the success of the Winston Cup Series we forget the racing in small towns across America. They are the backbone of our sport. The competition created by Valvoline targets grass roots racing in America.”

The Valvoline Cup will be contested by virtually all drivers in all types and classes of wheel to wheel competition in all sanctioned racing or track sponsored weekly racing programs throughout the U.S. Every driver will be awarded points for finishing positions in his or her own racing series.

There are no Valvoline Cup rules with respect to the cars, tracks and racing. The rules of the tracks and sanctioning organizations under which each driver competes will govern that driver and the car. The Valvoline Cup will be a measure of the success of a driver within his or her racing program relative to the success of other drivers in similar cars within their program. Every driver will be awarded points for finishing positions in his or her own racing series.

Weekly updates for Valvoline Cup competition will be posted on a special Web site, www.valvolinecup.com.

Here are the early leaders in the 2003 Valvoline Cup competition:

Asphalt Stock – Thomas McElyea, Dania Beach, Fla

Midget – Bobby Smith, Camby, Ind.

Modified and Supermodified – Daniel Fitzgerald, Las Vegas, Nev.

Sprint Cars – Sport Allen, Largo Fla.

4-Cylinder Dirt or Paved – Robbie Storer Zephyhills, Fla

Dirt Late Model - John Bare, Rockbridge Baths, Va.

Dirt Stock - Stephen Bitting Jr., Glendale, AZ

Paved Late Model - Richard Kerr, Cibola, AZ

Scaled Stock - Derek Shumaker, Conroe, Tex

Truck - Thomas King, Bartow, Fla

Class Drags - Daryl Bureski, Elgin, Ill

ET Bracket Foot Brake - Wayne Stewart, Lakeland, Fla

ET Bracket Street – Leon Price, Sacramento, Cal.

ET Bracket Super Pro/Top ET - Joe Dickinson Nauvoo, Ala.

Import & Compact Drag – Roger Williams, Elk Grove, Cal

Junior Dragster – Zac Teabo, Sacramento, Cal.

Motorcycle Drag – Clint Hilliard,Milan, Tenn.

Nostalgia Drag - Michael Williams , Bakersfield, Cal.

Pro Heads Up - Chris Carpenter, Galax, Val.

Superclass Drags - Bradford Pierce, Riverside, Cal.

Full Bodied Sports Cars - Eric Morehouse, Costa Mesa, Cal.

Open Wheel Sports Car - Nichola St. Laurent, Austin, Tex.

Time Trials - AJ Nealey, Severna Park, Md.

Karts Junior Speedway - Daniel Armstrong, Davidson, NC

Karts Junior Sprint – James Cardillo, Bethlehem, Pa.

Karts Senior Speedway - Bryan Bradford, Salisbury, Md.

Karts Senior Sprint - Allen Redman, Ball Ground, Ga.

Micros - James Young, Johnstown, Pa.

Motorcycle - Scott Korol, Kenneth City, Fla.

Off Road - Rupert Berrington, Centennial, Col.

Power Boats - Duff Daily, Stuart, Fla.