LUIS DIAZ QUALIFIES FOURTH AT LONG BEACH ATLANTIC RACE

        

        LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 12, 2003) - Luis Diaz, of Mexico City,
maintained a steady, high-speed pace throughout qualifying and will start
fourth on the starting grid in tomorrow's Toyota Atlantic Championship race
at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

        Diaz drove the Dorricott Racing-Telmex Swift 014a to a best lap of
1:16.459 (92.661 mph) around the 1.968-mile, 11-turn seaside street
circuit. This marked the fourth
time in the past five races that he has qualified inside the top four
positions. He enters tomorrow's second round of the 12-race Atlantic
Championship seeking his third career race victory in the CART Toyota
Atlantic Championship.

        "This was a tight session," reflected Diaz afterwards. "We were
barely two-tenths of a second off the pole but many others are within reach
of that time too. We have a set-up that is well suited for this track and
if it rains on Sunday, I believe we qualified our car with the best set-up
for that type of condition."

        The pole position went to A.J. Allmendinger, who broke the
one-day-old track record held by teammate, Aaron Justus, with a best lap of
1:16.267 (92.895 mph). It was the second time in as many Toyota Atlantic
races in which the rookie has qualified inside the top three positions, and
was the quickest a rookie has qualified on the pole since
Diaz took the pole in his first series start in Monterrey last year.

        As a result of Allmendinger's result, Justus will start on the
outside pole based on Friday's quick time of 1:17.260 (91.701 mph).
Qualifying third was second-year Atlantic driver Ryan Dalziel, who posted a
best lap of 1:16.331 (92.817 mph). 

        The race day schedule for Sunday's Atlantic race at Long Beach
calls for a 15-minute warm-up session beginning at 8:00 a.m. PT, and will
be followed by a projected race start at 10:30 a.m. (PDT)

        PEE Channel will feature live television coverage of the race,
which is scheduled for 32 laps but is subject to a 50-minute time limit.