Pruett Rocks First-Round Practice at Trois-Rivi =?ISO-8859-1?B?6A==?=res

CONTACT: Justin Anderson
(704) 348-9400
Cell: (517) 927-3614
Fax: (704) 348-9444

Aug. 1, 2003

PRUETT ROCKS FIRST-ROUND PRACTICE AT TROIS-RIVIÈRES

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Quebec ‹ Scott Pruett set the fastest time during
first-round Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich® Tires Cup practice at Le
Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. In fact, the driver of the No. 7 Jaguar R
Performance XKR was the only driver in the session to break the one minute,
five second mark with a 1:04.900-minute lap (84.353 miles per hour) turned
late in the session.

Tomy Drissi, who finished third in last year¹s Trois-Rivières race, was
second fastest in his No. 5 Stuck on You, The Movie Jaguar XKR with a lap at
1:05.046 minutes. Local favorite Claude Bourbonnais was third quickest with
a 1:05.272-minute effort in the No. 3 Rocketsports Jaguar XKR. Randy Ruhlman
was (No. 12 Preformed Line Products Canada/COYOTE Closures Chevrolet
Corvette) and Michael Lewis (No. 12 Westward Tools/The Crank Jaguar XKR).

³The car seemed really good,² said the two-time Trans-Am Series champion
Pruett. ³The shock change during the session was planned. The first session
early in the morning at a street circuit is kind of write off. You can get
confused if you try to make too many setup decisions based on a green track.

³I¹m a little rusty,² added Pruett, who has only one previous Trans-Am start
here. ³We¹ll figure it out in the next few sessions. I just don¹t remember
that much and don¹t have much history here. So we¹ll be breaking some new
ground.²

Bourbonnais was pleased with his first laps in a Trans-Am Series car.

³Well, now I¹ve made my Trans-Am practice session debut,² said Bourbonnais.
³The track was pretty much what I expected for a Friday morning practice
session at a street circuit. But it was easier for me because I know the
track so well; like I know my own house.

³I only tested briefly in the Jaguar prior to this race, so I still have to
figure some stuff out and learn how to manage the tires,² added Bourbonnais.
³But every session we¹ll be better.²

Second-round practice is scheduled to take place today at 1:45 p.m.,
followed by a 45-minute qualifying session at 3:35 p.m. Le Grand Prix de
Trois-Rivières, Round 7 of the 2003 Trans-Am Series championship, will take
the green flag Saturday, Aug. 2 at 1 p.m. The race will air LIVE on SPEED.

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