ARCHER WINS POLE FOR TOMMY BAHAMA 125 PORTLAND TRANS-AM

For Immediate Release - August 3, 2001
Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup Fast Five Qualifying Story

ARCHER WINS POLE FOR TOMMY BAHAMA 125 PORTLAND TRANS-AM

Gentilozzi, Said, Simo and Lewis Round Out Fast Five for Tomorrow’s Race

	PORTLAND, Ore. – Tommy Archer (#36 Motor City True Performance Dodge Viper)
earned his first pole of the 2001 Trans-Am season at the Tommy Bahama 125
qualifying this afternoon at Portland International Raceway in Portland,
Ore.  Archer led the field with a time of 1:13.905 (94.695 mph) on the
12-turn, 1.944-mile road course.  He has four top-five finishes so far this
season and will be looking for his first win.

	Back in the cockpit after missing the last race due to injuries from
testing, Archer said he is still feeling sore, but is excited to be here.
“It is the first time in the car since my injury, so it really feels good to
come back and get the first pole for the team in the Viper.  The track
conditions were pretty good -- I was able to get the power down,” he said.

“I need every point for the rest of the season to make up for missing the
Sears Point race,” said Archer. “The Cinjo (Racing) guys have put in a lot
of work into the car this year, so it is great to get the pole.”  Archer is
currently is sixth place in the Drivers’ Championship points standings.  He
has previously finished second at Portland on two separate occasions – in
1992 and 1993.

Paul Gentilozzi (#3 Johnson Controls/HomeLink-Jaguar XKR), the current
points leader and previous Portland Trans-Am winner (1992), will start in
second place.  “We messed up a bit.  We got our fast lap early and instead
of coming in or slowing down, we ran three or four more hard laps,” he said.
“But then the track got better, and we didn’t.  We just went too fast two
soon.  We also had too much push, too much wing.  We didn’t have a balanced
car yet.”

Boris Said (#33 Applied Computer Solutions Panoz Esperante) qualified third.
“We’re happy to be up near the front again,” he said.  “This is still a new
car to us and it keeps getting better and better.”

	Brian Simo, pole winner and race winner at Sears Point on July 21, will
start fourth.  “We’re happy with how things went in practice and qualifying
today,” he said.  “Every car in the top five is capable of winning this
race, so it will be very competitive tomorrow.  There’s one more session yet
today to make things even better for us.”

	Michael Lewis (#12 AmeriSuites Jaguar XKR) rounds out the top five
starters.  “I feel like we’re finally getting our feet underneath us with
this car,” he said.  “We’re going to go back and look at the data and then
take another shot at it.”

	The Tommy Bahama 125 is part of the Grand Prix of Portland and will take
place on Saturday, August 4 at 4 p.m. Eastern time.  It will be broadcast
live on Speedvision from 4-5:30 p.m. (ET).
# # #

Portland, Oregon -- The provisional qualifying positions for Saturday's
64-lap, 124.416 mile Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Cup Round Number 7,
at Portland International Raceway, with starting position,  driver, hometown
and fast lap with speed.
1. Tommy Archer,Duluth,Mn, 1:13.905, 94.695.
2. Paul Gentilozzi,Lansing,Mich., 1:14.156, 94.374.
3. Boris Said, Carlsbad,Calif., 1:14.732, 93.647.
4. Brian Simo,Carlsbad,Calif., 1:14.738, 93.639.
5. Michael Lewis, San Diego, Calif., 1:14.917, 93.415.
6. Johnny Miller,Johsonson City, Tn., 1:14.981, 93.336.
7. Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, Tex., 1:15.003, 93.308.
8. Randy Ruhlman,Greensboro,, 1:15.264, 92.985.
9. Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, Calif., 1:15.561, 92.619.
10. Leighton Reese,Minnetonka,Mn., 1:15.602, 92.569.
11. Justin Bell, London, Eng, 1:15.671, 92.485.
12. Dan Miller, Vancouver, Wash., 1:16.091, 91.974.
13. Steve Pelke, Lansing, Ill., 1:16.530, 91.446.
14. Bob Ruman, Munroe Falls, Oh., 1:16.598, 91.365.
15. Don Sak, Bloomfield, Mich., 1:16.916, 90.988.
16. Mike Davis, Huntington Beach, Calif., 1:17.006, 90.881.
17. Shane Lewis, Jupiter, Fla., 1:17.037, 90.845.
18. Tom Miller, Sherwood, Ore., 1:17.097, 90.774.
19. Simon Gregg, Jacksonville, Fla., 1:17.182, 90.674.
20. Kerry Alexander, Indianapolis, Ind., 1:17.630, 90.151.
21. Jim Matthews, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1:17.795, 89.960.
22. Mike Rockett, Mikilteo, Wash., 1:18.086, 89.624.
23. Claudio Burtin, Atlanta, Ga., 1:18.983, 88.606.
24. Todd Harris, Lake Oswego, Ore., 1:19.376, 88.168.
25. Paul D. Fix, Buffalo, N.Y., N/T, N/T.

Colleen Miller
Trans-Am Series®
transampr@compuserve.com
(303) 204-0598