Dara Torres Becomes First Woman to Capture Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race

    LONG BEACH, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--April 13, 2002--

Torres and Pro Danica Patrick Make History as the First Two Women Ever
    to Earn Top Finishes as Part of the 26Th Annual Event

    For the first time ever, two women captured the top two finishes during the 26th annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Nine-time Olympic medalist Dara Torres took the overall checkered flag from a field of celebrity and professional drivers to win the overall race in the streets of downtown Long Beach. Open wheel racer Danica Patrick won in the professional category.
    "With two women dominating today, this certainly goes down as one of the most memorable races in our 26 years of running this event," said Les Unger, national motorsports manager with Toyota Motor Sales. "Dara Torres is an unbelievable competitor and it was great to see her do well after coming so close to winning last year. Danica Patrick is a young, up-and-coming open wheel competitor who also made an incredibly strong showing."
    Torres, who yesterday earned the PEOPLE Pole Award as the top celebrity qualifier, led the race from start to finish but had to fend off tough challenges early on from former pro wrestler Goldberg and "Malcom In The Middle" star Christopher Kennedy Masterson, who finished second overall. Stars Dule Hill (The West Wing) and Christopher Titus (Titus) also ran strong races, finishing third and fourth, respectively in the celebrity category.
    In the professional category, Patrick battled former pro driver Tommy Kendall and Indy car racer Sarah Fisher, winning the top spot for the pros and finishing third overall.

	   The final standings for the field are:

    Overall Winner:
    Dara Torres - 18:21.70 minutes

    Celebrity Category:
    1.   Dara Torres - 18:21.70
    2.   Christopher Kennedy Masterson - 18:25.01
    3.   Dule Hill - 18:49.60
    4.   Christopher Titus - 18:56.27
    5.   Dave Pasant - 18:59.87
    6.   Keith Crain - 19:05.38
    7.   Bryan Cranston - 19:05.68
    8.   Goran Visnjic - 19:06.36
    9.   Jacob Young - 19:16.75
    10.  Patrick Stewart - 19:30.32
    11.  Patrick Warburton (DNF/6 laps)
    12   Bill Goldberg (DNF/4 laps)

    Pro Category
    1.   Danica Patrick - 18:28.30
    2.   Tommy Kendall - 18:29.77
    3.   Sarah Fisher - 18:36.54
    4.   Mark-Paul Gosselaar - 19:05.15
    5.   Tom Rudnai (DNF/8 laps)

    During the last eleven years, Toyota has raised more than $1 million for "Racing for Kids," a national fund-raising program to benefit children's hospitals in Long Beach and Orange counties through its involvement with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The 10-lap race will be broadcast in its entirety on ESPN Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m. EDT and again on ESPN2 Sunday, May 12 at 7 p.m. EDT.