Kendall Marks Return to Trans-Am Competition at Long Beach with 40th Pole

CONTACT: Justin Anderson,
Ph: 704-348-9400, Cell: 704-589-2100

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 KENDALL MARKS RETURN TO TRANS-AM COMPETITION AT LONG BEACH WITH 40TH POLE

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 17, 2004) ‹ Tommy Kendall proved he hadnıt lost
much in the five years heıs been away from Motorock Trans-Am Series
competition by winning his 40th career pole Saturday for Sundayıs race, part
of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Kendall, driving the No. 11 Jaguar R
Performance XKR, recorded a 1:44.657-minute lap at 67.695 miles per hour
around the 1.968-mile temporary street circuit in wet conditions.

Boris Said was second quickest in the No. 33 New Century Mortgage/GE
Access/ACS Express Ford Mustang, ahead of 2003 Rookie of the Year Jorge
Diaz, Jr. (1:46.736). Paul Gentilozzi (No. 3 Jaguar R Performance XKR) and
Michael Lewis (No. 12 Autocon Engineering Jaguar XKR) completed the top
five.

Kendall, who ended the session on BFGoodrich Tiresı wet tire compound,
recorded his quick time on the very last lap.

³This is better than I could have imagined,² said Kendall, who earned his
second pole at Long Beach, the fourth-straight pole for Jaguar here, and the
second-straight pole for Jaguarıs stock-block, overhead-cam, fuel-injected
AJ-V8 engine. ³I was very happy with the car yesterday, though we missed the
gearing a little bit. Things really fell my way today. We put on the rain
tires late in the session and we went back out.

³The secret to going fast in the wet is finding weird places for grip,²
added Kendall. ³The line is where you can get grip. Itıs really about
launching off the turn.

³My radio wasnıt working, so I just went out and ran every lap,² concluded
Kendall. ³I didnıt know what happened until I came in and everyone was
giving me the thumbs up.²

Said earned his second-straight Long Beach pole. Interestingly, Said won
from the outside pole here last year.

³Street circuits are really slippery in the rain, so we just did a few laps,
recorded a pretty good time and parked it,² said Said. ³We had a really good
car in the dry, so hopefully tomorrow weıll have some of that typical sunny
California weather and weıll put on good show for the fans. Iım really
looking forward to going up against Tommy.²

Diaz equaled his best career qualifying effort, set last year at Denver.
Diaz ran his first two laps on slicks before switching to rain tires.

³It was fun to drive,² said Diaz. ³Iım proud to be here next to Tommy and
Boris. There are no better drivers in this Series. I know itıs going to be
tough tomorrow, but weıre looking forward to it.²

The qualifying session was shortened to 30 minutes due to inclement weather.
Instead of the usual two-group format, all cars qualified in one group. Wet
tires were declared optional for the session. Teams were therefore allowed
to use either wet-compound or slick tires.

The times turned in by John Baucom (No. 86 MAP Quality Engineering Ford
Mustang) and Greg Pickett (No. 6 Cytosport Jaguar XKR) were disqualified due
to post-qualifying technical inspection. Both were cited for violating Rule
9.11 ³Ground Clearance.² They will start at the back of the grid.

Final practice for the Motorock Trans-Am Series is scheduled today from 3:45
p.m. to 4:15 p.m. The Trans-Am race is scheduled to take place tomorrow,
immediately following the Champ Car World Series event.

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