KANSAS CITY KS (6-26-06) – Current ARCA RE/MAX Series point leader Bobby Gerhart has teamed up with Dri Wash ‘n Guard® for Saturday’s July 1st Kansas Lottery $200 Grand at Kansas Speedway.

Dri Wash ‘n Guard®, a waterless car wash product, will be the title sponsor on Gerhart’s #5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo at Kansas. The event marks the company’s motorsports debut.

“We’re excited with making our racing debut, and we’re happy to be doing so with Bobby Gerhart,” said Michael Yanke, president of Dri Wash ‘n Guard®. “The Gerhart operation is a great program, and we can’t wait to be on the track with Bobby behind the wheel, and the rest of his team. We have millions of customers over the years and many of those are excited to see us on the track as well.”

Dri Wash (DWG International™), with its complete line of car care products, is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada, and has about 10,000 distributors of the products throughout North America.

While Dri Wash ‘n Guard® has been on the market for 15 years, Gerhart has been a steady fixture in the ARCA RE/MAX Series since winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1988. The Kansas event marks the four-time Daytona champion’s 209th series start.

“We’re very grateful to have Dri Wash ‘n Guard® on board for Kansas,” said Gerhart. “We know they’re bringing a lot of guests to the race. We’ll do our best to entertain them all and give the company the quality coverage it deserves.”

At the onset of the year, Gerhart announced the team would be running a part-time schedule in 2006 – about half the events of the 23-race season. However, eight races deep into the season, the Lebanon, Pennsylvania veteran finds himself atop the series national championship points standings, 120 points out in front of seven-time series champion Frank Kimmel.

“We never anticipated we’d be in this position at this time of the year, or running for the title for that matter,” added Gerhart. “And truthfully, we’re not completely in a position to run for the title. We’re contractually tied to 10 TV events through our sponsor Lucas Oil. We just need to find a way to do the rest of the season. That’s why we’re so excited about Dri Wash coming on board for Kansas. It gets us closer to our goal of running the full year. We certainly hope Dri Wash will be pleased enough with our team’s results coming out of Kansas that they’ll consider more events down the road.”

The move for Team Dri Wash to the ARCA RE/MAX Series was a simple decision said Yanke. “The ARCA RE/MAX Series is a fast and competitive series where the fans can really relate with their favorite team and driver. Fans have access to the drivers and teams, and that’s important to Dri Wash and its fans.

“After doing some homework, we also know that ARCA provides, dollar for dollar, one of the best marketing values in all of motorsports.”

The 2006 season is arguably one of the most competitive in history for the 54-year-old sanction. In eight events this year, there have been eight different winners, 11 different winners if you include going back to Chicagoland 2005.

And, in five ARCA RE/MAX Series events at Kansas since the inaugural race there in 2001, there have five different winners to include Jason Jarrett, Frank Kimmel, Chad Blount, Ryan Hemphill and Shelby Howard. Gerhart finished fourth in his one and only start at Kansas in 2005. Gerhart’s plan for Kansas, as it is for the entire year, is about making fewer mistakes than the rest.

“Our goals are to race smart, and that comes with experience and learning from our mistakes. We’re all going to make mistakes. The team that’ll win the championship here will make fewer mistakes than the rest. The less mistakes we make, the better position we’ll be in, and then the racing will take care of itself.

Even if Gerhart can get in a position to chase the entire tour, he knows it will still be a tall order to, when it’s all said and done, carry home the top trophy.

“I’ve seen this series firsthand really grow over the years. It’s never been more competitive than it is right now, period. I know that if you’re going to do this….to run for the title, you’re going to have to flat get up on the wheel. You’ll never back into a championship here. You’ve got to buckle up and do the best you can, and that’s what we’re doing.

“10 years ago, many of the people I’d talk with didn’t even know what ARCA was. Now, people that were clueless as to what ARCA is, are calling me wishing me good luck before each race. Our continual coverage on SPEED has been excellent and very good for the series. And guess what, people are watching for a reason. The TV ratings are good for a reason. They’re seeing excellent, highly-competitive stock car racing here in this ARCA RE/MAX Series. Everywhere we go we have 30 to 35 cars that finish. You’re seeing so much more competition here and a lack of attrition. That translates into a lot, and I mean a lot more people watching this series with a continual desire to see more.

“This series, over the last 20 years, has given me a combination of experience and maturity. I race a lot smarter than I did years ago. I’m still gunna make mistakes and do things I’m not always proud of, but I can assure you at the end of the day, I give each race my best. My purpose is not to race each lap like it’s the last, but to get to the end of the race with the best finish I can. Sounds simple, but it’s not as easy as it might appear. I know I can still be very competitive. I never dreamed in a million years I’d be racing for a championship in my late 40s. But whether it’s this year, or next year, or the next, if I’m still competitive, I don’t plan to stop until I put that exclamation point on my career, and I think you know what I’m talking about.”

At present, 49 top-notch teams have filed entries for the Kansas Lottery $200 Grand vying for the 41 starting positions in the 200-mile race.

The Saturday afternoon, July 1st Kansas Lottery $200 Grand at Kansas Speedway will air on SPEED next-day Sunday afternoon at 3 pm eastern.

For more info, please visit http://www.driwashracing.com