Tomy Drissi Earns First Trans-Am Pole; Will Start First in Albertsons Trans-Am 100

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOMY DRISSI EARNS FIRST TRANS-AM POLE; WILL START FIRST IN ALBERTSONS
TRANS-AM 100 

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 18, 2004) ‹ Tomy Drissi earned his first Motorock
Trans-Am pole Friday, in qualifying for Saturday¹s Albertsons Trans-Am 100.
Drissi was elevated to the pole due a technical infraction that placed Paul
Gentilozzi, who timed first, at the back of the field.

Gentilozzi was penalized in post-qualifying technical inspection for his car
violating Rule 9.12.4 ³Maximum height rear wing² in the 2004 Trans-Am Rule
Book. The penalty moves Tommy Kendall (No. 11 Jaguar XKR) to second on the
grid, ahead of Jorge Diaz, Jr. (No. 8 Jaguar XKR), Greg Pickett (No. 6
Jaguar XKR) and Randy Ruhlman (No. 49 Chevrolet Corvette).

³To be on the front row, I¹m happy,² said Drissi. ³The guys had a problem
with the clutch at the last minute and in the less than an hour and 15
minutes, they changed the clutch and we went out not knowing if everything
was tight. The crew did a great job today.²

Kendall, who is driving a car equipped with Jaguar¹s four-valve,
stock-block, overhead-cam, fuel-injected engine, said he was getting up to
speed with the new powerplant.

³At the end, we were pretty close,² said the Series¹ only four-time
champion. ³We have a few adjustments to make on the engine to be really
good. I feel really good about tomorrow¹s race.²

The Albertsons Trans-Am 100 is set for tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. The race will
air in one-day, tape-delay basis on HDNet Sunday, June 20, at 11 a.m. PDT (2
p.m. EDT) as the lead in to the Champ Car World Series broadcast. A
highlights package from Portland will also air in the popular ³Dangerous
Curves² timeslot on Spike TV on Sunday, June 27 at 1:30 p.m. on both the
East and West Coasts. Please check local listings for availability and times
in other areas.

The Motorock Trans-Am Series features closed-fendered, production-based,
V-8-powered sports cars, competing on permanent road courses, and temporary
street and airport circuits throughout North America. The Trans-Am Series is
America¹s oldest continuously running road racing series and celebrates its
39th year of competition in 2004.

###