Temple of VTEC Rumors and News - Nick Esayian Signs With RealTime Racing

Nick Esayian Signs With RealTime
-Will go for Touring Car Rookie honors in Acura RSX-

April 13, 2004 � Saukville, Wis.

SCCA SPEED Touring Car Championship Rookie of the Year candidate Nick Esayian will drive a second RealTime Racing Acura RSX for the remainder of the 2004 season, beginning May 28-31 at Lime Rock Park.

Esayian, 36, of Encinitas, Calif., joins Victor Gonzalez Jr. in RealTime�s pair of Acura RSX race cars. Both are aiming for the Rookie honor.

�It is exciting to be involved with the most successful team in World Challenge history,� Esayian said. �RealTime has the manpower and mechanical resources to make a good driver a successful one. I have to keep it all in perspective, though, because now it is up to me.�

Esayian brings to the team backing from TotalTrolleyRacing.com, a manufacturer of a collapsible combination hand cart/step stool/truck, and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

�The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is a charity which assists families of those killed in the Middle East conflict, and my share of the winnings will go to that fund,� Esayian added.

�Nick came to us at Sebring and wanted to drive one of our cars,� Team Manager Nathan Bonneau said. �We had a back up Acura Integra available, so he hopped in it right before qualifying. To our pleasant surprise, he gridded 29th in a 35-car field, raced two seconds a lap faster than he qualified, and finished 18th, earning him the race�s Sunoco Harder Charger award.

�We�re looking for even more improvement from him at Lime Rock, now that he�s had considerable testing time in our Acura RSX,� Bonneau added.

Esayian began racing in 1993 and won an SCCA Regional title in his rookie year. After securing 40 podiums in SCCA National racing, he joined the professional ranks in 2002, competing in two World Challenge Touring Car races.

RealTime Racing will field four cars throughout the 2004 season � the two RSX coupes, and two A-SPEC equipped Acura TSX cars for three-time Touring Car Driver�s Champion Pierre Kleinubing and 2003 season Rookie of the Year Matt Plumb.

Round Two of the ten-event Touring Car Championship takes place Memorial Day weekend at Connecticut�s Lime Rock Park, the historic 1.53-mile momentum circuit where RealTime�s World Challenge drivers have been victorious on seven previous occasions.

The RealTime Racing Touring Cars are sponsored by the Acura Division of American Honda, A-SPEC Performance Parts, Red Line Oil, Eibach Springs, BOSCH, Sparco, Hella, Brembo, Gemini Technologies, Goodridge, Hawk Performance, and Acura Genuine Parts.

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