The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE — Mazda North America chose the 2010 Chicago Auto Show to raise the profile of their racing series, Star Mazda Championship. The exhibit’s focus was the Wabash Capital/Team Apex USA race car. Team owner Jim Exline, executive vice president at Wabash Capital, was contacted by John Doonan, Motorsports Team Development, two weeks before the event requesting use of the car.
“Team Apex was very pleased to have our high-tech racing car selected by Mazda North America Motorsports to be part of the Mazda display at the recently concluded Chicago Auto Show,” Exline said. It is estimated that over 2.5 million people visited the show Feb. 12-21, making it North America’s largest venue for automakers to display their newest technology. According to Exline,: “The Team Apex and Wabash Capital brand was seen and photographed by thousands of guests and car enthusiasts.”
The race cars, resembling IndyCars but slightly smaller, are filled with the latest technology. Weighing 1,335 pounds with driver, they are powered by Mazda “Renesis” rotary engines. Reaching top speeds of 160 mph and accelerating 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds, cars are fitted with a carbon fiber chassis, fully-adjustable ‘pushrod’ suspension, 6-speed gear box and Goodyear radial racing tires.
Wabash Capital — a registered investment advisor in Terre Haute, providing investment advice and professional portfolio management to individuals, corporations, banks, trusts, retirement plans and endowments — sponsors Team Apex USA as they begin competition in the Star Mazda Championship this month. The season starts with two Florida races including 12 Hours of Sebring on March 19, followed by the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 26.
The stakes are high for Team Apex in 2010, their first year of competition in this series. Prize money of $1.5 million is one of the richest in any open-wheel development series with prizes paid down to 15 th place and the championship team pocketing $100,000. Exline sees a lot of similarities between his office job at Wabash Capital and his ownership of Team Apex. “Racing shares much in common with investing — preparation, teamwork, risk and return, attention to detail and at the end of the day, performance.”
