INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (February 3, 2010) – Bryan Herta Autosport owners Bryan Herta and Steve Newey today announced they have signed British driving talent Stefan Wilson to contest the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights Championship. Wilson, winner of the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, will embark on his first full year in the development series following six starts in 2009.

“Stefan showed great pace last year in his limited program, so when we had the opportunity to sign him for this season we did not hesitate,” said Herta. “As this is our sophomore season in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, we know expectations will be higher for us and I’m confident that Stefan will deliver the results he and the team are expecting.”

Wilson, 20, from Sheffield, England, entered his first full season of car racing in 2007 following numerous accomplishments in the karting ranks. He finished second in the Formula Palmer Audi Championship with four wins, nine podiums, four poles, six fastest laps and two lap records. His results earned a nomination for the esteemed McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, whose past recipients include Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and two-time IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Dario Franchitti. Following a shoot-out amongst the six finalists, Wilson emerged as the youngest-ever winner at the age of 17.

In 2008, Wilson entered the British Formula 3 National Class, finishing fourth in the champions hip with four victories. Last season, he contested six Indy Lights events for Walker Racing with a best result of fourth in Toronto. He is the brother of IZOD IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson, whose 2010 campaign was just announced with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

“I am so excited to be returning to the Firestone Indy Lights Series, especially with such a competitive outfit as Bryan Herta Autosport,” said Wilson. “I was very impressed by the team’s quick rise to the top last year. In their first year, they managed to win and score further podiums and I’m confident that the team will immediately demonstrate that same pace this season. I had a few good results in the small amount of races I was able to participate in and it was a good learning year. I want to build on that and go after race wins early in the season. That is the main objective initially, and then we will see how the championship plays out.”

Wilson turned his first laps with the BHA squad last week in a test at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Ariz.

“I was able to get to know the team really quickly, and we got down to some important testing work in the afternoon,” noted Wilson. “I really liked the environment of the team and the car was already handling great. We have a few more tests lined up in the next month, so we should hit the ground running when we arrive in St. Petersburg for the first race.”

The past month has seen a flurry of activity at BHA with a move to a new race shop, the hiring of new personnel and the start of pre-season testing. Sponsorship for Wilson’s BHA entry will be unveiled in the near future. The team is currently in negotiations for Wilson’s teammate and expects to make an announcement in the next few weeks. BHA is actively seeking secondary sponsors for its 2010 campaign.

“We are very excited to have Stefan join our team,” added Newey. “His results while racing in Europe were very impressive. He also had some strong drives last year in the few Indy Lights races that he entered. He is a very talented young man and we are looking forward to competing for the 2010 championship.”

The 2010 Firestone Indy Lights season begins in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 28.

www.stefanwilson.com

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (December 17, 2009) – Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) owners Bryan Herta and Steve Newey today announced that they will move their Firestone Indy Lights program to a new headquarters for the 2010 racing season. BHA, a technical partner and tenant of Vision Racing in its debut season, will begin the moving process this week and will occupy a race shop on the northwest side of Indianapolis which formerly housed Fernandez Racing.

“I am thrilled that we have this opportunity to grow our team,” said Herta, who will confirm BHA’s full program in January. “We are definitely a year ahead of the plan that Steve and I had originally set for ourselves. This is an important step for our team as we continue to build our infrastructure. I have to thank Tony, Laura and Lauren George in addition to everyone at Vision Racing for all of their support this season. It was a great partnership and we never could have started BHA without their support.”

BHA enjoyed a successful first season in Firestone Indy Lights competition with American driving talent Daniel Herrington securing the team’s inaugural win at Chicago and a seventh-place ranking in the championship standings aboard the #28 LeBleu/BHA Dallara in his rookie campaign. Rising Brazilian driver Felipe Guimaraes added to the accomplishments with two podium finishes in just three starts to bring BHA’s tally to five top-five and 15 top-10 results. James Davison, driving for technical partner Vision Racing, added another victory at Mid-Ohio, two poles and a second-place finish in the championship standings.

“Moving to our own facility is the next logical step in building the foundation for our expansion plans,” added Newey. “We are looking forward to the 2010 season as we have a very competitive program in place. In addition to competing in Indy Lights, we are pursuing the opportunity to enter a car in the Indianapolis 500.”

It was less than a year ago that Herta and Newey announced their partnership and the launch of BHA, which will now be based in a 16,000-square-foot building located at 6815 Guion Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. It will be a busy off-season for the team as it prepares for the opening round of 2010 Firestone Indy Lights competition in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 28.

The public has spoken, the votes have been counted – and the winner of an Indy car race day package in the Drive $marter Challenge campaign video contest is freelance script reader Alec Wells of Los Angeles, creator of “Car Pooling,” in which the designated driver of a 3-person carpool is grossed out by the amorous couple in the back seat!

Indy Lights team Bryan Herta Autosport and their driver Daniel Herrington contributed the 2nd place prize consisting of two tickets and two garage/pit lane passes to an Indy race event, plus a test drive in an Indy car and helped publicize the contest as part of its sponsorship of the driving-efficiency campaign, now in its second year, along with 16 other diverse nonprofit, governmental, trade association, and for-profit partners.

“We had a lot of fun filming, and it is for a good cause, which is a bonus,” said Wells, who belongs to a sketch comedy group in LA. He often shoots videos with others from the group – some of whom became the actors in his video, along with his “starring” role as the driver. He loves doing video contests for causes he “believes in,” because the message is genuine and, therefore, believable to viewers, adding that he practices fuel-efficient driving habits, such as combining trips, whenever possible.

Wells said he wanted his video to get to the point quickly while being funny and “provocative,” so he chose car pooling “because it is the easiest thing you can do. It is easy to go to your office, ask some co-workers if they want to car pool every day – and you will save money and be more efficient.”

The contest invited videographers to exercise their creativity and compete for enticing prizes by illustrating the campaign’s tips for reducing gasoline use and costs.

Taking the junk out of the trunk and carpooling were among the most popular tips that competitors chose to dramatize cleverly and amusingly in many of the 65 qualifying entries, which showcased a potpourri of musical styles and visual genres.

Each entry was competing for a $5,000 cash grand prize from ExxonMobil and three others: Indy and NASCAR race day outings and a transportation package that includes new Michelin tires.

Before the public was invited to play film critic and determine the prize winners, five campaign partners – Bryan Herta Autosport, ExxonMobil, National Association of Counties, National Independent Auto Dealers Association and National Low Income Energy Consortium – narrowed the field to 10 finalists. BHA driver Daniel Herrington explained, “Being a judge for the Drive Smarter Challenge not only opened my eyes to the participant’s creativity but it was also a ton of fun.  What a great way to interact with people on all of the small things that can make a big difference in a person’s energy use.  Congratulations to all of the winners and we can’t wait to host Alec Wells of the ‘Car Pooling’ video at an IndyCar race next year.”

“We are thrilled that the Drive Smarter Challenge video contest drew so many imaginative, entertaining entries,” said Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, a campaign partner. “The contest was a new, fun way to spread our campaign’s message – that drivers can empower themselves to lower their vehicle fuel costs. Kudos to the winners and to the other 61 entrants!” Callahan also thanked all of the prize donors.

The other prizes go to:

• Grand Prize: “Backseat Driver” by David Markus, who won $5,000;
• Third Place: “Driving $mart: 3 Easy Tips” by Arturo Morales, who will get a VIP NASCAR Race Package (two tickets and two garage/pit passes to a NASCAR race event) donated by NASCAR; and
• Fourth Place: “A Smarter GPS” by Andy Anderson, who claims the Transportation Efficiency Package, including four Michelin Energy Saver All Season Tires (or comparable tires for his vehicle), a one-year AAA membership donated by Rubber Manufacturers Association’s Be Tire Smart, and two memberships in the Silver Spoke League of American Bicyclists.

Even though the competition is over, the videos can still be viewed at http://drivesmarterchallenge.org/contest, along with the campaign’s fuel-efficiency tips and other resources, at the main website: http://drivesmarterchallenge.org.

The 17 Drive Smarter Challenge campaign partners are the Alliance to Save Energy, American Petroleum Institute, American Public Transportation Association, Bryan Herta Autosport, Car Care Council, Citizens for Affordable Energy, Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ExxonMobil, Green Solutions Magazine, League of American Bicyclists, NASCAR, National Association of Counties, National Association of State Energy Officials, National Independent Auto Dealers Association, National Fuel Funds Network, National Low Income Energy Consortium, and Rubber Manufacturers Association’s Be Tire Smart.

Bryan Herta Autosport concluded it’s first season in the Firestone Indy Lights Series today with a 12th place finish at Homestead-Miami. Daniel and the team struggled to find the optimal setup for the car and qualified mid-pack in 9th. In the race, Daniel fought his way up to 7th before the car’s handling got worse and he fell to 12th. He hung on until the end and brought the #28 BHA Natures Pearl/Le Bleu car home in one piece. Daniel finished his first full Firestone Indy Lights season an admirable 7th in the points.

The weekend was quite humorous as well. During practice BHA mechanic Butch took off his gloves only to realize that both of his hands were completely purple! No attempts to wash them off worked. Butch requested to know who was responsible for the prank, but no one claimed it, so he stated that “he would get everyone good” at a later date.

It’s said that “everyone’s a critic,” and now’s your chance to play that role by rating the 10 finalists in the Drive $marter Challenge video contest sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy and its 16 partners.*

It’s really fun – and easy! All you have to do is go to http://drivesmarterchallenge.org/contest, watch the 10 short finalist videos, and rate any or all of them – maybe only your favorite – on a scale of 1 to 5. The website software does the rest, and you might even pick up some new money-saving ideas!

Public voting determines who gets the $5,000 grand prize and three other exciting prizes.

In addition to casting your own votes, don’t hesitate to “lobby” for your favorites on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, personal blogs or websites, and any other social networks in which you participate.

You have until 11:59 pm on Monday, October 19 to vote for your favorite video.

Thanks for your help; and happy viewing!