Texas Speedzone - Lehman to Begin Defense of USRA Truck Title this Saturday at SAS

San Antonio, TX (March 8, 2006) - Defending United States Racing Association Truck Series Champion Shawn Paul Lehman comes from a racing family.

For Immediate Release – March 5, 2006 Contact: Nick Holt, USRA Media Director (210) 415-1251 cnholt@sbcglobal.net Countdown to USRA Opener – Saturday, March 11, 2006 San Antonio, TX (March 8, 2006) - Defending United States Racing Association Truck Series Champion Shawn Paul Lehman comes from a racing family. Lehman, 33, will begin his defense of the coveted USRA crown this Saturday at San Antonio Speedway in a 50-lap main event against some of the toughest drivers in Texas. “My entire family has been involved in racing and that’s all I’ve ever known,” said the 33-year-old Lehman when asked how he got his start in racing. “Some kids grow up with a baseball or football in their hands, but I’ve never known life without race cars and race tracks all that goes with stock car racing.” “My mother is my primary spotter and she has three championships under her belt,” Lehman continued. “And my stepdad (Terry James) is about as close to a legend as you get locally and has won numerous championships in Street Stocks, Late Models, Dwarfs as well as many builder awards. And my grandfather (Junior Medlock) raced Midgets and Sprints in the mid-west in the 50's as well as a few Grand National races in the late 50's and early 60's. He still races from time to time at 75 years young. - talk about hard to pass!!” “My little brother (Colt James) raced ARTS and won two ARTS National Championships and has a winning percentage that is astronomical. He lives in Mooresville now and works for Robert Yates Racing.” Reluctant to talk about himself, Lehman said he was a huge Davey Allison fan. “When Davey died, it motivated me to put more focus on the good things in life, and racing was one of them. Lehman started his racing career in 1995 at Austin’s Longhorn Speedway in the Hobby Stocks division. And it wasn’t long before success followed him. “We won the 1996 Hobby Stock championship and a couple of years later (1998) we came in second in points in the Street Stock division,” Leman said. “Guess who won the Street Stock championship that year. Of course it was my Granddad, Junior Medlock. That was pretty cool.” In 2001 Lehman won the Street Stock championship at Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, and in 2002 he was honored as the Rookie of the Year in the Late Model Division (driving for Clyde Ison) at the same track. “And in between then and now it was just a lot of wondering as to what it was I wanted to do,” Lehman joked. “But 2005 was by far our best season in the trucks. Maybe not in a CPI comparison to our 2001 season, but we won races at tracks we had never won at before, had lots of fun , and learned a lot to build with.” “Our 2006 plans are the same as they were going into last year - racing the USRA Truck Series, trying to have fun and trying to be one of the teams you'll have to work really hard to beat week in and week out.” The USRA Truck series will share the spotlight on Saturday with the ultra fast USRA Super Late Models (125-lap feature), the screaming USRA Modifieds (75-lap feature) and the mighty Texas Pro Sedans (25-lap feature). The San Antonio Speedway pit gates will open at 11:00 a.m. with practice sessions scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. and qualifying set to take the green flag at 5:30 p.m. The racing action will begin promptly at 7:00 a.m. with a 25-lap main event for the Texas Pro Sedans followed by feature races for the USRA Modifieds, USRA Super Late Models and USRA Trucks. Admission for Saturday’s events is $20 for adults, $10 for seniors and Military (with ID), $3 for children 7-12 and children 6 and under are admitted free. San Antonio Speedway is located 3.5 miles south of Loop 410 on Texas Highway 16 towards Poteet. For more information about San Antonio Speedway or the USRA, call SAS General Manager Rick Day at 210-827-4524 or call the SAS race hotline at 210-628-1499. The San Antonio Speedway website is http://www.sanantoniospeedway.com. The USRA website is http://www.usraspeed.com. ----30----