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USF2000 Teams Prepare for Next Two Doubleheaders

PALMETTO, Fla., July 14 - The excitement level for the next two
doubleheaders in the "Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered
by Mazda" is high after two recent series tests at Road America in Elkhart
Lake, Wis., on Thursday, July 8 and at the Autobahn County Club in Joliet,
Ill., on Monday, July 12.

The series will appear at those two tracks in reverse order in the next few
weeks.

The series, which is part of both the MAZDASPEED Motorsports driver
development program and the Indy Racing League's Road to Indy program, will be
featured on HDNet's live coverage of the Harrah's Autobahn Grand Prix Presented
by Mazda at Autobahn Country Club's 3.56-mile, 21-turn road course on July
31-Aug. 1. The series will then move to Road America's 4.048-mile, 14-turn
road course on Aug. 21-22 for another doubleheader which is part of the Time
Warner Cable Road Race Showcase that supports an American Le Mans Series
headliner.

Autobahn Country Club and Road America are the two longest tracks on the
series' 2010 schedule. Good results at both places will be important as the
young guns in the Championship class vie for the MAZDASPEED Motorsports
scholarship valued at $350,000 that will go to the champion of that division
following the season finale at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Braselton,
Ga., Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

Although no official times were taken, stopwatches at the Road America test
showed the fastest time of the day for the USF2000 contingent to be around
2:12.1. Andretti Autosport was there with point leader Sage Karam and Zach
Veach, while Patrick McKenna, who won the series' most recent race,
represented Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing. JDC MotorSports was busy
working on the set-ups of cars driven by hard chargers Mikhail Goikhberg,
Raphael Abbate and Martin Sala. Matt Powers practiced in one of Liberty
Motorsports' cars, while that team's driver coach, Andersen Racing's Anders Krohn,
sorted out a second Liberty Motorsports car.

Pabst Racing Services joined all of those teams for the test that followed
at the Autobahn Country Club, as one of its National class drivers, J.R.
Smart, is determined to regain the National class point lead now held by Ardie
Greenamyer. Two additional drivers also tested there, as Fuerza Chile
drivers Martin Scuncio and Javier Barrales participated in the test in a
cooperative effort with Cape Motorsports. Krohn didn't drive for Liberty Motorsports
at the Autobahn test, but Powers represented that team there as he did at
Road America.

The unofficial fast time at the Autobahn test was 2:18.7 for the USF2000
cars.

Point leader Sage Karam was involved in a crash early in the morning, but
the Andretti Autosport team had the car back on the track for the very next
session. Carl Haas Automobile Imports was present at both tests to supply
parts for just such incidents, while Steve Knapp of Elite Engines was also on
hand to provide his expertise on the Mazda MZR engines and other powerplants
used in the series.

"The USF2000 National Championship shared the test days with some Star
Mazda teams," noted Michelle Kish, the USF2000 series manager. "The times for
the USF2000 cars were surprisingly close to the Star Mazda cars, which have
close to 90 more horsepower."

For more information on the series see usf2000.com.


About Mazda:

On any given weekend there are more Mazdas on the road courses of America
than any other brand of vehicle. MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and
other vintage Mazda models are all popular race cars because every Mazda has
the soul of a sports car. In fact, the largest road-racing class in the
world is Spec Miata. With more than 2,500 first- and second-generation Miatas
tearing up America's racetracks, it is the most-raced production car in the
world. Mazda's involvement in motorsports extends to its relationship with
one of the world's premier road courses, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas,
Calif., and the Skip Barber Schools for driving and racing.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in the United States in 2010, Mazda North
American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. It oversees the
sales, marketing, parts business and customer service of Mazda vehicles in the
United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900 dealers. Operations in
Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc., located in Ontario. Operations in
Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.

For more information see MazdaUSA.com.

About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company:

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global company that specializes in the
design, manufacture, marketing and sales of passenger car and light truck
tires and subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle and racing
tires. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has manufacturing,
sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of
companies located in 10 countries around the world.

For more information visit Cooper Tire's Web site at coopertire.com.

About the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship
Powered by Mazda:

Many top drivers in the IZOD IndyCar Series and endurance sports car racing
honed their skills in F2000, and the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000
National Championship Powered by Mazda is an important training ground for
rising stars.

Debuting in 2010, it is the revival of the very popular USF2000 series of
1990 through 2006. Sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, it is the first
step on its Road to Indy ladder system, preceding Star Mazda and Firestone Indy
Lights.

It is also part of the prestigious MAZDASPEED Motorsports driver
development program. The top driver in the series' Championship class earns a
scholarship package from Mazda valued at $350,000 to help him or her advance to Star
Mazda the following season.

USF2000 races are contested on road courses, street courses and ovals in
order to give the series' drivers experience on all the different types of
tracks they will face as they proceed up the ladder.

For more information visit USF2000.com.