For Immediate Release

November 25, 2008

Bangor, Maine USA

Last Ditch Racing clinched the 2008 Rally America Eastern Regional Championship in commanding form, taking top spots in both the Overall and Open Class rankings. Driver/owner John Cassidy and Co-driver Dave Getchell pulled off the best season of their careers so far.

The team maxed out their points total by winning three Eastern Regional rallies outright -- the icy Team O'Neil rally in New Hampshire, followed by the rough-and-dusty Mexico and Bethel regional events at the New England Forest Rally in Bethel, Maine.

The Team O'Neil Rally in Franconia, New Hampshire saw the LDR squad earn its first overall win. The LDR lads had some demons to exorcise at this event, especially after the 2006 O'Neil's rally where Cassidy slid wide on a greasy crest and center-punched a birch tree at 60mph. This year, things were different, despite exceedingly icy conditions on race day. "Those were some of the slippiest roads I've ever ridden on, much less raced on," says Getchell, "so I give John extra credit for not lifting into what's now known as Cassidy's Corner. Heh, I don't think he even looked at his tree!"

LDR arrived at their home event, the New England Forest Rally, with plans to push harder than they had in the past. "NEFR has become the centerpiece of our calendar over the past 9 years of competition," says Cassidy, "and it's where friends, family and team supporters always look for us to do well and we always strive to deliver." LDR traded stage times all weekend with PGT stars Pat Moro/Scott Crouch, BMX legend Dave Mirra/Alex Kihurani, and the late Jeff Moyle and his codriver Scott Putnam. "It was as if the stars aligned for us on this event," says Cassidy, "those sort of perfect rally days don't happen very often, and that made NEFR very, very special. The team and car were running at 110%. Dave and I clicked all weekend, and the team knew that my intensity level was cranked up a few notches." In addition to wins in both Regional events, NEFR brought the team a stellar fifth overall, their best-ever result in an American national rally.

2008 also saw LDR venture to Canada, where they've run for many years. At Rallye Baie des Chaleurs in Quebec the team ran conservatively to preserve the car for NEFR, a scant 10 days later. "We couldn't risk the car, but still wanted to put on a show for our Canadian fans and friends," says Cassidy. "Rallye Baie features a famous big jump at the end of the Camp Brule stage. We really like to push over the jump for the thousands of fans that gather there, but on the first pass we limped over lip on a flat tire. The second time we launched at the top of fifth gear with foot to the floor!" That second-pass jump involved some serious air time, and the LDR car landed off-camber so hard that co-driver Getchell was nearly knocked unconscious. The consolation was that they won the Longest Jump of the Rally Award--116 feet--besting the Subaru USA crew of Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino by a full 12 inches!

As a follow-up to the Eastern title, LDR will travel to the 100 Acre Wood rally in Missouri next February to battle top regional teams from around the country at the annual Regional Rally Championship. This will be LDR's second trip to the Regional Championships. 2007 saw them loose out on the title due to a penalty. "There definitely is unfinished business in the woods of Missouri," says Cassidy, "we'll load the rig up in a few months and head South to do what we can to get some closure. But this is rally, and we take nothing for granted."

The LDR team would like to thank their families, friends and fellow competitors, without whom this season would literally not have been possible. The Eastern Championship truly belongs to the crew that kept LDR going full tilt all season: Bronson Crothers, Duncan Matlack, Ken Anctil, Drew Simpson, Michael Rademacher, Rob Sockalexis and John Cassidy V.

The team would also like to express very special thanks to photographer Mark Fleming and videographer Kevin Sennett.

And finally, Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2008 Partners for so much support:
Triple Caution, LLC, http://www.triplecaution.us
Hydra EMS, http://www.hydraems.com
Team O'Neil Rally School, http://www.teamoneil.com
Mark Fleming Photography: http://www.markfleming.pixyblog.com/

For photos, videos, team blogs and more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com

For LDR Videos, check out out Youtube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/LastDitchRacing

To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit: http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing

I know, I know-it's been a bit since I've update you all on the goings on at Triple Caution Farm, LDR's world headquarters. It's been a busy couple of months and there will be an important press release to come, but first to some important items.

First, it's not really November. It's Mo-vember. A Mo is Australian slang for a mustache, and November turns into Movember in order to grow mustaches in order to raise awareness around prostate cancer and the importance of screening for all the dudes out there! You can visit http://us.movember.com/mospace/ and search for Last Ditch Racing. Please consider donating to the cause. As a medical professional, I'm on the front line of prostate screening and have been involved with patients in the past who were diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Are we growing Mo's!? Well, some of us are. Beards are forbidden by the rules, but damn, it's cold here in Maine, so I've gone for as much facial coverage as possible! :-) A couple of flattering pics of me on our Flickr page in my full Subaru cycling regalia.

We've had some illness on the team which has raised our awareness of health in general, but more importantly has cemented the reality that one of our most valuable assets is each other. It also brings home the importance of routine medical checks by your doc, PA or Nurse Practicioner. If you're due for a physical, call up and make the appointment. Heck, you can even call me if you're local! Feeling well is NO excuse! We can't have any ill fans! ;-) The converse is always true. If you don't feel well, DON'T chalk it up to getting older-get in to see your doctor!

What about JoMo's fitness quest?! Well, it's a continuous process. Some more weight has come off and the cardio has improved. Work continues with my trainer and I've ordered a carbon fiber(what else would I buy!?) road bicycle and hope to get an indoor trainer to put it on for the winter. Hopefully I can take a couple of spins on the road before the snow flies....

Karate continues and I continue to show the bruises. Honestly, it's not violent or rough, it's just that I have to keep my head protected and learn how to kick without putting my toes in harm's way! :-) Our second full contact kumite night was last night and I knew I should've just taken myself out before it started. I was tired and sluggish, and ended up being a human pinata! ;-) It's all part of the learning curve, and other than some really deep contusions to my chest and thigh, oh yeah-a bloody nose as well, I'm in good shape! Now where's my Bio-Freeze!?

We had planned to load T-4 onto a ship in New Jersey in order to contest Rally Jamaica in December, but shipping arrangements did not come to fruition in a timely enough manner. Very unfortunate, as we really wanted to celebrate our fantastic 2008 season with a trip out of the country. Maybe 2009 will see us abroad? Stay tuned....

We are sitting out one of our favorite events this weekend, the Tall Pines Rally in Bancroft Ontario. Unpredictable weather, great competition and season end let 'er rip attitude make the event difficult to miss.

We're hoping to make a showing at the Team O'Neil rally in New Hampshire in January of 2009 to defend our win from last year. This year it's a NASA sanctioned event, so perhaps we'll see more of the Irish lads than last year? We can only hope for more folks to come out and play.

100 Acre Wood in Missouri is our big focus for early 2009, as we'll be heading down to try and capture the 2008 Regional Rally Championship title. Regional Champions from all around the country are invited to attend in order to see who's got the speed on the fast Missouri roads. We had a great showing last year, but lost the RRC on a penalty. We hope we can show our speed there in 2009. This is rally though-it's not over until it''s over! :-)

This time of year, the team members obviously are involved in work, school and with family around the Holidays. There seems to be little time for car prep or modification(although my mental list is always long). We'll find a bit of time to make a couple improvements to Steel Tulip 4 in hopes of upping the pace for 2009.

Our best to all of you from all of us on the team for the 2008 Holiday season! May all your friends on Facebook be rally folk, all your turns be Scandinavian Flicks and your Mo's be long and bushy! :-)

If you have any questions for the crew, please e-mail us via the "about us," page. Also, please check out our videos on YouTube.com and please rate and comment on the videos. We're trying to up the production value and suggestions for what type of other content you might want to see is always welcome. :-)

Cheers! JoMo and the Equipe