Michael Jordan Breaths New Life Into Pridmore’s AMA Superbike Career Rain Washes Out Practice, Qualifying At DIS DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (March 9, 2005) – Mid-way through the 2004 racing season Jason Pridmore was ready to hang up his racing leathers and pursue a professional golfing career. Basketball star Michael Jordan stepped in and changed all that. “Four races in, I was over the whole thing,” Pridmore admitted as he sat under a hospitality tent after rain washed out Wednesday’s practice and qualifying at historic Daytona International Speedway. “The only reason I hung around was because of my sponsors and the people that stood by me. But I got my golf game really sharp over the summer and that was my plan. There are so many good tours out there. “But then I met MJ (Michael Jordan) at Road America and we got to be really good friends. We played golf a ton during the summer and I struck up a friendship. He kind of heard some things about what was going on. I told him I was going to miss the final two races because we just didn’t have the funding. He helped me out for the last two. From that point on, we just thought how we could blend something.” As a result of those early talks Pridmore became a member of the Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki squad. With Pridmore’s contacts in the industry and the financial backing of Jordan, the team is perhaps the strongest independent in the history of AMA Superbike. “We went from no resources last year to all of the sudden now I’ve got one of the better crew chiefs in the paddock in Ammar Bazzaz and I’ve got this unbelievable great people around me,” said Pridmore, a two-time AMA road racing titlist and the son of three-time AMA Superbike champ Reg Pridmore. “This team is amazing. I’m with Suzuki and this team for two years. We’re going to build a foundation right now. If there’s anybody around that knows teamwork, it’s Michael Jordan.” Pridmore was 10th fastest in the first AMA Superbike practice session Wednesday morning on the new 2.95-mile DIS motorcycle course. He thinks having such a major celebrity like Jordan can only help raise the exposure of Superbike racing in the United States. “We want to let everyone know that MJ is in this for the long run,” Pridmore said. “He’s doing this as a business. It’s not just him coming in and playing around. He loves our sport and wants to help it grow. I’m just happy to be a part of it.” Jordan is expected in town this week to watch his second-year team, made up of Pridmore, Steve Rapp and Montez Stewart, compete in this year’s Daytona motorcycle races. Even though Pridmore is thankful for his new lease on life in racing, he explains being so closely associated Michael Jordan has its benefits and drawbacks. “You end up finding you had a lot more friends than you thought you did,” he says with a smile. “All of the sudden, you’re phone is ringing. It’s gotten to the point of being ridiculous for me because I have three movie scripts on my desk at work. I don’t even know how they got a hold of me.” So for now the pro golf tour will have to wait. Thanks to Jordan’s backing Pridmore is happily pursuing his road racing dreams for at least a few more years. Wednesday’s activities at the Speedway will not be rescheduled. Fans with a ticket for Wednesday’s AMA events may: — Present Wednesday AMA Superbike Practice ticket at the Grandstand gates for general admission seating for Thursday’s Qualifying and Superstock/Supersport events at Daytona International Speedway. — Exchange and upgrade ticket for $15, at Tunnel 1 or 4 on Thursday, for an infield ticket for Thursday’s Qualifying and Superstock/Supersport events at Daytona International Speedway — Visit the Daytona International Speedway Box Office to complete a refund offer and receive a full refund by mail. Tickets for any of the motorcycle events at Daytona International Speedway are available at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.