Diaz is Sixth at Long Beach Atlantic race

        LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 13, 2003) - Luis Diaz, of Mexico City,
fell victim to  another's error for a second consecutive race but still
defied odds to claim sixth place in round two of the 12-race Toyota
Atlantic Championship on Sunday, April 13, at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long
Beach.

        Diaz, who suffered an opening lap incident in Atlantic's first race
this season at Monterrey, Mexico, had his checkered flag ambitions sliced
on lap seven of the 32-lap by others who mixed it up. Marc DeVellis
rear-ended his Sierra Sierra Racing teammate, Ryan Dalziel, on lap seven.
Both were forced to retire from the race but that didn't help Diaz as he
struck DeVellis from behind in a nose-to-gearbox collision.     

        Diaz and DeVellis were flying through a blind corner when they came
upon Dalziel's  car that was stopped in the center of Turn One after it
slid into a tire barrier. DeVellis didn't have any room to evade contact
and the domino effect caught Diaz. Diaz was fortunate that his car-to-car
contact was fairly light and his front wings were undamaged. He was able to
resume the race after shifting his No. 33 Dorricott Racing-Telmex Swift
into reverse and backing out.
        
        "I didn't see the spin in front of me," said Diaz. "It happened too
fast because the corner hid it. I came on the scene so fast that I couldn't
make a defensive maneuver. It was fortunate that my nose took the direct
hit instead of a front wing."

        Diaz, who started fourth, dropped to 12th as a result of the
skirmish with Dalziel and DeVellis but then mounted another aggressive
comeback in the closing stages of the race. Diaz moved to within six spots
of the leader and eventual race winner, A.J. Allmendinger. He even avoided
yet another incident when he narrowly missed striking Danica Patrick's car
after she slid into the tire barrier in Turn 1 on Lap 19.

        "As for Danica's crash, well, it was too bad for her," said Diaz.
"At least I was able to swerve out of the way and avoid hitting the tail of
her car."

        Sunday's race was also the first time that drivers from the same
team swept the top two finishing positions since the event at Road America
last year, in which Diaz and Jon Fogarty finished 1-2 for Dorricott Racing.

        "This was obviously another tough luck day for Dorricott Racing,"
reflected Diaz later in the day. "I really try to avoid problems on the
track but so far this season somebody or something has always found me. I
know we have a fast car. I know I have a great crew. I also know this is
something that happens in racing. Let's hope it happens more to others for
the rest of the season."

        Last year series runner-up, Michael Valiante, remains the Toyota
Atlantic Championship leader with 33 points. Diaz is not far behind in
sixth place with 17 points. 

        The CART Toyota Atlantic Championship now takes a seven-week break
before its next event, The Milwaukee Mile 250 at the historic Milwaukee
Mile in West Allis, Wis. on Saturday, May 31. The race will be televised on
a tape-delayed basis on SPEED Channel on Sunday, June 1.