Jorge Diaz, Jr. Scores First Motorock Trans-Am Victory at Molson Indy Toronto


CORVETTE DRIVERS RANDY RUHLMAN AND RON FELLOWS SECOND AND THIRD

TORONTO, Ontario (July 10, 2004) ‹ Jorge Diaz, Jr. predicted at the
beginning of the 2004 Motorock Trans-Am Series season that he would win a
race before the end of the year. His prediction came true Saturday as the
young Puerto Rican driver won the Trans-Am in T.O., part of the Molson Indy
Toronto weekend. The 2003 Trans-Am Rookie of the Year, driving the No. 8
Puerto Rico Grand Prix Jaguar XKR, took the lead from Paul Gentilozzi on lap
30 when Gentilozzi spun, and he never looked back, beating second-place
finisher Randy Ruhlman (No. 49 Preformed Line Products Canada/Coyote
Closures Chevrolet Corvette) by 6.307 seconds.

Local driver Ron Fellows, in his return to Trans-Am competition after a
six-year hiatus, finished third in the No. 40 Molson Indy Chevrolet Corvette
after leading the first two laps. Fellows scored his 41st career Trans-Am
podium. Gentilozzi, who set a record fast race lap (1:12.149) was fourth in
a Jaguar XKR. Tomy Drissi was fifth, also in a Jaguar.

³This is the biggest accomplishment in my racing career,² said Diaz, who
with the win, closed the gap in the points race. Diaz now sits just two
points behind championship leader Gentilozzi.. ³I just followed Paul
(Gentilozzi) until I got the right opportunity. I didn¹t really relax until
the end of the race. We made a pretty big gamble coming into today. We made
four changes this morning. My team and my crew chief Millo Martinez worked
really hard and it paid off for us today.

³We are dedicating this season to my sister, Monique, who recently survived
cancer,² added Diaz. ³I¹m so proud to bring this first-place trophy back to
Puerto Rico for her.²

Ruhlman earned his second podium this season and third-straight top-five
finish.

³We learned a lot this season,² said Ruhlman, who moves to third in the
title chase, 16 points out of the lead. ³We run every week and we just keep
trying. We tried something different this morning and it didn¹t work. So, we
tried something different. (team owner) Jim Derhaag and the guys really
worked hard, and we got some input from Ron (Fellows) which was helpful. The
whole program is coming along. We¹re just really pleased to be up here.²

Fellows earned the Canadian Cup for being the highest-finishing Canadian
driver in the field. The Trans-Am Series will award the Canadian Cup at each
Canadian event this season.

³It was really great to be out running again,² said Fellows. ³I really have
to thank the people at Molson and (team owner) Jim Derhaag for allowing this
to happen. This deal came together on Wednesday afternoon, so Jim¹s guys had
to work really hard to put this together. I want to thank them for their
efforts.

³We struggled a little bit, losing second gear early,² added Fellows. ³We
were three speeding it. Second gear is kind of important here. We had a
decent car. I think we¹ll be a lot better prepared at the next race in
Trois-Rivières.²

Tommy Kendall took the lead from Fellows on lap three, but fell out with
mechanical problems on lap 20, handing the lead to Gentilozzi, who started
last due to his changing tires after qualifying.

Diaz earned the VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award for making up the most
positions during the race as well as the BFGoodrich Tires Take Control Award
for leading the most laps.

The caution-free race ran in a record one hour, 39.670 seconds at an average
speed of 85.058 miles per hour (136.887 kilometers per hour). Highlights
from today¹s race will run on Spike TV¹s ³Dangerous Curves² show on Sunday,
July 18 at 1:30 p.m. (EDT/PDT). The next race for the Motorock Trans-Am
Series is scheduled for July 30-Aug. 1 at the 35th Le Grand Prix de
Trois-Rivières in Quebec.

###

Motorock Trans-Am Series
Trans-Am in T.O./Molson Indy Race Results
Saturday
Molson Indy Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
Starting position in parenthesis

1. (3) Jorge Diaz, Jr., Jaguar XKR, 49, running.
2. (4) Randy Ruhlman, Chevrolet Corvette, 49, running..
3. (2) Ron Fellows, Chevrolet Corvette, 49, running.
4. (11) Paul Gentilozzi, Jaguar XKR, 49, running.
5. (5) Tomy Drissi, Jaguar XKR, 49, running.
6. (7) John Baucom, Ford Mustang, 49, running.
7. (6) Joey Scarallo, Chevrolet Corvette, 48, running.
8. (8) Charles Webster, Chevrolet Corvette, 47, running.
9. (10) Garrett Kletjian, Qvale Mangusta, 45, running.
10. (1) Tommy Kendall, Jaguar XKR, 25, mechanical.
11. (9) Blaise Csida, Chevrolet Camaro, 2, mechanical.

___

Race Statistics
Time of race: 1:00:39.670.
Margin of victory: 6.307 seconds.
Winner's average speed: 85.058 mph (136.887 kph).
Caution flags: 0.
Lead changes: four among four drivers.
Lap leaders: Fellows 1-2; Kendall 3-20; Gentilozzi 21-29; Diaz 30-49.

Points leaders
1, Gentilozzi 121. 2, Diaz 119. 3, Ruhlman 105. 4, Kendall 101. 5, Drissi
100. 6, Scarallo 99. 7, Baucom 98. 8, Pickett 83. 9, Philip Simms 61. 10,
Boris Said 58.
End