Cleveland, OH, (February 1, 2002) Parker Hannifin and the ParkerStores has announced that it will discontinue their primary sponsorship of dirt late model standout Jimmy Mars after the 2001 season due to economic pressures.

"This is really disappointing for all of us," said John Strand, Market Specialist for Parker Hannifin. "We have hand picked the teams that we have sponsored, and it is really tough when the relationship ends. We have had five great years together and a lot of success. We are like any other company, when business conditions take a downturn, discretionary spending is the first thing that is looked at, and racing is in that category."

Mars has had some very impressive wins while competing under the ParkerStore banner. The biggest win would be the $100,000 'Dream' in 1997. Mars also picked up his first ever UDTRA series win in 2001 at the Texas Motor Speedway. The ParkerStore sponsored team captured the 'Rookie of the Year' title in the Nascar Re/Max Series in 1999. Mars also competed in several ASA events in 1999 wearing the recognizable ParkerStore colors.

The ripple effects of the current economy are being felt in raceshops and at racetracks around the country. Funding that was once used for promotional efforts, is now being closely guarded just to keep companies profitable. The tightening of the 'purse strings' is going to be seen at all levels of motorsports in 2002.

"Jimmy and the team have done a very nice job representing the ParkerStores," stated Harry Waldron, Distributor Services Manager. "It is a very unfortunate situation, but when people's jobs are at stake, these kinds of difficult decisions have to be made. We wish Jimmy the best of luck with his future racing efforts. He has the talent and personality to be extremely successful in the racing business and will be an excellent representative for any future sponsor."

With annual sales exceeding $6 billion, Parker Hannifin is the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of commercial, mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs more than 45,000 people in 45 countries around the world. For more information, visit the company's websites at http://www.parker.com/racing/ or http://www.parkerstore.com/