Pruett Fastest in Morning Warm-up, Ready for MotoRock Mile High 100



Aug. 31, 2003


DENVER ‹ Scott Pruett continued his climb up the Denver speed charts for the
MotoRock Mile High 100 during Sunday¹s morning warm-up. Pruett, driver of
the No. 7 MotoRock Jaguar XKR, set a 1:12.329-minute lap on the 1.647-mile
temporary street course, the fastest lap of the weekend. Interestingly, the
lap was the third this weekend that was under last year¹s qualifying record
(1:13.612) set by Stu Hayner.

The warm-up session was extended by 10 minutes due to the lost time in
qualifying yesterday. The move was made to allow teams to further dial in
their cars for this afternoon¹s race.

³The track is a little green,² said Pruett. ³I¹m glad we were able to get a
few more minutes in this morning. That helped after we didn¹t have
qualifying. Overall, the car is good. It¹s always tough to make a decision.
You¹re taking a gamble because the track will change from this morning after
the Atlantic and Champ Car race. We¹re going to go back, think about it a
little bit, and make the best change we can for the race.²

Johnny Miller (No. 64 Eaton Cutler-Hammer Jaguar XKR) was second fastest,
ahead of Hayner (No. 2 GMAC Commercial Finance Chevrolet Corvette), Boris
Said (No. 33 ACS/GE Access/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang) and Michael Lewis
(No. 12 Westward Tools/The Crank Jaguar XKR).

³It was really frustrating yesterday not being able to qualify,² said
Miller. ³We didn¹t think we were able to find a benchmark this weekend
because of the shortened sessions. We went out this morning, set our
benchmark, and then scuffed in our race tires. Yesterday is over, and I am
ready for a good race.²
³We made some changes on the car, and they seem to be going in the right
direction,² said Hayner. ³I think we¹re faster than we were last year, and
we were on the pole. We¹re making gains as far as our preparation and our
program as a whole. All in all, I think we¹re improving.²

The MotoRock Mile High 100, Round 9 of the 2003 MotoRock Trans-Am Tour for
the BFGoodrich Tires Cup, will take the green flag today at approximately 4
p.m., following the Champ Car World Series race.

Notebook:
n Scott Pruett¹s chances to clinch his third Trans-Am championship
evaporated yesterday when qualifying was canceled. Pruett, driver of the No.
7 MotoRock Jaguar XKR, had to earn maximum points this weekend (36=2 points
for the pole, 1 point for leading the most laps, 2 points for leading a lap,
1 point for the Fast Five bonus, and 30 points for winning the race), while
his closest pursuer, Johnny Miller (No. 64 Eaton Cutler-Hammer Jaguar XKR)
would have to finish last and earn no bonus points. As no qualifying points
were awarded, Pruett will have to carry his championship hopes to Round 10,
the MotoRock Miami 100, part of the Grand Prix Americas, on the Miami street
course.

n Today¹s Trans-Am autograph session will feature a Denver street magician
named, interestingly enough, Stuart E. Hayner. The magician is planning to
saw Trans-Am driver Stu Hayner in half, and will do other magic tricks for
all in attendance. The autograph session is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to
12:15 p.m. today.

n Bobby Sak, driver of the No. 10 Revolution Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette,
proposed to his girlfriend Jenny Boyd this weekend at Denver. Word is that
Jenny gave Bobby the ³green flag,² although a date hasn¹t been announced.

n The fastest laps set in this weekend¹s three practice sessions were all
under the track qualifying record (1:13.612) set by Stu Hayner last year.
Trans-Am spec tires supplier BFGoodrich Tires Engineer Gary Blalock said the
grinding out of bumps on the course allowed it to ³rubber in² earlier than
last season. Interestingly, the fastest race lap (1:12.261) also set by
Hayner last year, was faster than the qualifying lap.