Gentlemen, Fix Your Engines: Automotive Students Vie for State Championship - Rain or Shine!

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WHAT:   Racing against the clock and each other at Irwindale
        Speedway, 10 teams of the Southland's finest high school auto
        technology students will work on identical Ford Taurus
        vehicles to diagnose and repair deliberately placed
        malfunctions during the state finals of the 2005 AAA/Ford
        Student Auto Skills Competition. The team with the highest
        score will represent California in the national finals in
        Washington, D.C., on June 27.

WHY:    Trained automotive technicians are among the most
        sought-after and highly paid professionals in today's job
        market, but many high schools are scaling back or eliminating
        their automotive programs due to lack of funding and/or
        trained teachers. 

WHEN:   10 a.m. Friday, May 6. Awards presentation will follow at 1
        p.m.

WHERE:  Irwindale Speedway, 13300 E. Live Oak Ave. Doug Stokes, PR,
        626-358-1100.

WHO:    Twenty of the Southland's top high school automotive
        technicians (two students per team) representing the
        following:

School                                      City

Agoura High School                          Agoura Hills
Arroyo Grande High School                   Arroyo Grande
Arvin High School                           Arvin (near Riverside)
Morro Bay                                   Morrow Bay
Paso Robles                                 Paso Robles
Ramona (2 Teams)                            Ramona
San Luis Obispo High School (2 Teams)       San Luis Obispo
Sultana                                     Hesperia

ONSITE OR TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS OF CONTESTANTS OR ORGANIZERS ARE
AVAILABLE PRIOR TO 9:45 A.M. AND AS CONTESTANTS COMPLETE THE CONTEST.