CHAMPION OF "THE ALL-AMERICAN DRIVER CHALLENGE" ATTENDS THREE-DAY FORMULA CAR RACING SCHOOL AT THE AMERICAN RACING ACADEMY

DENVER, NC (7/24/2006) - From June 28-30, the American Racing Academy at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway played host to All-American Driver Challenge (AADC) winner Bradley Riethmeyer as he attended a three-day Formula Car Racing School, one of his prizes for winning the AADC.

Riethmeyer got his first taste of open wheel Formula road racing with the guidance of American Racing Academy professional instructors, Richard Zimmerman and Joey Giambra, who provided hands-on instruction for Riethmeyer and his six other classmates. Giambra was responsible for the initial formal classroom instruction, technical skills development, and skid control training, while Zimmerman focused on the advanced racetrack sessions utilizing the schools STACK data acquisition computer system. The system utilized a variety of sensors in the racecar to track Riethmeyer's progress during the last two days of the class.

"Our computer system in the cars is quite unique to the racing school environment," said American Racing Academy General Manager, Scott Stewart. "Students really like to see exactly how they improve in the different areas tracked during their driving sessions. When you combine this with the racing radios we have in our helmets, we provide an experience like no other driving school in Open Wheel Racing."

Although Riethmeyer had years of racing experience, all of it was on oval tracks and this was his first time navigating the right and left hand turns of a road course. "Even though Bradley only had limited experience in road racing, he caught on really quick. He had a very good sense of feel for how the car reacted, and mastered the weight control transfer issues associated with cornering and braking," said Zimmerman.

In addition to his technical skills, Bradley impressed the American Racing Academy Staff with his professionalism and maturity. "Bradley was confident but not too cocky. This is especially impressive since he is still fairly young. It's the kind of quality normally mastered later in a career, that can make a champion," noted Zimmerman.

Giambra was also impressed with Riethmeyer's skills. "He wasn't overwhelmed with the car, which is a common problem we see. He was able to effectively monitor all the readouts on the digital dashboard and provide his instructors direct feedback on car handling issues. This is a technique that usually takes us much longer to teach a student."

"The right hand corners didn't give me as much trouble as I thought they would, but it was about putting together an entire lap and then backing that up to carry your momentum for the next lap, said Riethmeyer. "I learned a lot from the instructors and the data doesn't lie. The main thing was that I progressively got better with every practice and I was very happy with that." By the end of the program, Riethmeyer had consistently achieved the fastest lap times of all the students in the class and was only six-tenths of a second slower than the master calibration lap set by his professional instructor. "Let's face it … he was fast," said Giamba.

Scott Stewart, General Manager of the American Racing Academy, summed up the schools impression of Bradley by saying, "Bradley was a really nice guy. He got along well with all the other students, regularly sharing laughs during lunch at the local racing café. He even did a fun photo shoot in some of our brand new racing suits. We wish him the best in his continued racing career, and are confident that every time we see him win, a little bit of us wins with him.

The AADC is a driver development and search program that is geared toward fostering the best up-and-coming talent for a future career in a professional American racing series. Interested racers ages 15-23 can go online to www.allamericandriver.com or call 1.800.861.6491 to register. The All-American Driver Challenge is presented by Calico Coatings and other participating sponsors and endorsed by USAC.