Danville, Ill. (August 29, 2006) – Contrary to speculation that Max Papis was working on a deal to drive the last three NASCAR Busch Series races of the season for McGill Motorsports, Papis’ agent, Doug Barnette, denies any such rumor.
“Obviously Max would love to drive in NASCAR again this season and we’ve talked to a lot of teams, but McGill Motorsports is not one of them,” Barnette said. “Max has never been shy about telling people about the great experience we had with McGill, but in no way is that indicative of us racing there again this season. McGill Motorsports already has a sponsor and a driver, so there is obviously no opportunity for us to do anything there. We want teams to understand that Max is available and he would like to run the last three races of the season and we do not want this unfounded speculation to make people think we already have something in place.”
Papis, who has secured minimal funding, desires to run the final three races of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season, which will include Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead. He is currently searching for additional sponsorship that would make this possible.
A native of Como, Italy, Papis moved up the ladder of European formulas during his late teens and early 20s before finding a Formula One test ride with Lotus and Honda in 1994. The following year, he competed in seven Formula One races with Arrows.
In 1996, Papis posted three wins in IMSA World Sports Car, then joined CART, where he won three races in five years. Since then, Papis has been one of the top competitors in American sports-car racing. He posted an overall win at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2002, a Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series championship in 2004, and class wins at the
12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona and two runner-up finishes at the 24 Hours of LeMans. Papis also drives in the Crown Royal IROC Series, does road course testing in NASCAR, and he made his NASCAR debut on August 12, 2006, at Watkins Glen.
For more information about Max Papis, please visit: www.maxpapis.com or www.pmifirm.com.