Team Rahal and New Century announce partnership.

Team Rahal, a franchise member of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and New Century Mortgage Corporation, a subsidiary of New Century Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: NCEN), announced today a partnership to be an associate sponsor for the upcoming Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The logo of New Century Mortgage Corporation will be placed on the Champ Car of Michel Jourdain, Jr., the driver of the Gigante car, Team Rahal's Ford-Cosworth powered Lola Champ Car, featuring Bridgestone Potenza tyres, which enters the Grand Prix of Long Beach fourth in the 2002 CART championship.

"We are very excited about partnering with Team Rahal and being a sponsor of a world renowned race team for the Grand Prix of Long Beach," said Patrick Flanagan, President of New Century Mortgage Corporation. "This is a unique opportunity for New Century to be a part of this annual event and to receive national exposure," added Flanagan.

"We are pleased to join in a partnership with New Century Mortgage for the Grand Prix of Long Beach," said three-time CART champion and Team Rahal co-owner Bobby Rahal. "New Century Financial has proven to be one of the leaders in the specialty finance market and we are honoured that they have chosen to utilize Team Rahal and CART as a promotional and marketing tool to spread the word about their services. In my conversations with the leaders of New Century Mortgage, I have found them to be a dedicated and driven group of individuals that have aggressive plans for the continued growth of their company. These are the kind of like-minded partners that we seek here at Team Rahal."

New Century Financial Corporation is a leading nationwide specialty mortgage banking company that, through its subsidiaries, originates, purchases and sells residential mortgage loans secured primarily by first mortgages on single-family residences.

Driver Michel Jourdain Jr. holds the distinction of being the youngest driver in Champ Car history, an honour he secured when he made his CART debut in the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 1996 at the age of 19.

Jourdain finished fourth in the 2002 CART season opener at Monterrey, Mexico, his highest finish on a road or street course in CART.