Priestley, Kelley Racing enter Infiniti series.

Indy Racing League front-runner Kelley Racing will field the No.7 HomeMed Pharmacy entry for actor Jason Priestley in the 2002 Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series, team owner Tom Kelley announced April 16.

"When I became involved with open-wheel racing six years ago, I knew that we were becoming involved in one of the most thrilling racing series in the world - the Indy Racing League," said Kelley, who fields a two-car Indy Racing League effort with two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Al Unser Jr. and 1996 Indy Racing League co-champion Scott Sharp.

"Each day presents more exciting challenges, and I can't express how pleased we are to be announcing our entry into the Infiniti Pro Series. Jason has proven himself as a competitive racer, and I'm delighted to have such an excellent company as HomeMed coming on board to complete the picture."

Priestley, 32, has competed in various forms of motorsports, including IMSA, the SCCA Pro Rally Series, the Magna Enduro Series and the FIA World Rally Championship. In 1998, he earned his first career victory driving a Grand-Am sportscar at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and finished 10th in the 24 Hours of Daytona for Multimatic Racing.

"I'm really excited to be racing in the Infiniti Pro Series with what I deem the premier team in Indy Racing," said Priestley. "It's going to be a big challenge for me learning another discipline in racing, but I'm certainly going to get a lot of help from Al Unser Jr. and Scott Sharp. It's going to be great having those guys around."

"I will be on a rather steep learning curve at the beginning of the year, but I think I'll catch up pretty quickly."

Well-known for his portrayal of Brandon Walsh in the hit television series Beverly Hills 90210, Priestley recently combined his interests in television and motorsports when he joined veteran announcers Bob Jenkins and Larry Rice in the broadcast booth during the entire 2001 Indy Racing League season.

HomeMed, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based Standard Management, is a full-service, direct-delivery pharmacy and provider of prescription and over-the-counter medications. In addition to the primary sponsorship of Priestley's Infiniti Pro Series entry, HomeMed will serve as an associate sponsor of the No. 7 Corteco/Bryant car driven by Al Unser Jr. in the Indy Racing League.

Vision Questing: Turning Dreams into Realities, a new book by Ron Hunter, Chairman of Standard Management, will be featured as an associate sponsor on Priestley's car.

The inaugural season of the Infiniti Pro Series will begin July 7 at Kansas Speedway and culminate with the Sept. 14 season finale at Texas Motor Speedway. Nashville Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Gateway International Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway also will play host to Infiniti Pro Series events in 2002.

The 100-mile Infiniti Pro Series "sprints" will take place at the same track and on the same day as Indy Racing League events except for the Texas race, which will take place the day before the IRL's season-ending Chevy 500.

Infiniti Q45 engines will power new Dallara Automobili chassis built for the series, with Firestone Firehawk tires used exclusively on all cars. The V8 engines will produce approximately 450 horsepower for the single-seat winged chassis, providing an ideal training ground for the 650-horsepower, single-seat winged cars of the Indy Racing League.