Wallace, Duno Ready for California
Challenge
CITGO
Racing Team has high hopes at Fontana
Denver, NC (March 29, 2005) It's been nearly one month since the last Grand
American Rolex Sports Car Series event at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, and
the CITGO Racing Team of Andy Wallace and Milka Duno are anxious to get back
on track. They'll get their chance this weekend at the California Speedway
in Fontana, California at the running of the Rolex 400 on Sunday afternoon,
April 3rd. However, the talented duo knows that the California track
presents a major challenge.
"The California Speedway is a tough track to drive," Wallace stated. "The
car needs to be low drag for the banking and straights, but then it also
needs good mechanical grip for the infield and odd shaped braking areas.
Front wheel locking was a big problem last year, so we have been working
hard on that for this year's race."
"It is a very challenging track," Duno agreed. "Anytime we have a road
course that uses part of an oval, it presents a challenge setting the car
for a combination of flat and banked surfaces. The first turn from the oval
onto the infield portion is pretty challenging, especially at the start of
the race when the cars are all bunched up."
Last October at the season-ending Rolex Series event at Fontana, the CITGO
Racing Team qualified 14th, experienced problems early in the race, but
battled back to a 9th-place finish. This year, Wallace and Duno have higher
hopes.
"I quite like the track and think it will suit our car well," Wallace
commented. "We were excellent over the bumps at Homestead, so we should be
in good shape for the bumpy final turn section of the track where it meets
the oval onto the front straight."
"I always enjoy racing in California and the California Speedway is an
excellent race track," Duno added. "Our car has been very competitive in our
first two races, and would have had better results if not for some bad luck.
I'm really looking forward to see what we can do at this race."
The Rolex 400 is the third of fourteen events on the Grand American Rolex
Sports Car Series schedule for 2005. And, even though it's still early in
the season, the CITGO Racing Team knows the importance of a strong finish at
California Speedway this weekend.
"We scored valuable points at the Rolex 24 (Daytona), but didn't get the
result we were after at Homestead," Wallace concluded. "We need to be front
runners at this event to stay in the championship hunt."
Practice and qualifying for the Rolex 400 will be held on Friday and
Saturday, April 1st and 2nd. The Rolex 400 is set for a 4 p.m. ET start on
Sunday, April 3rd with live television coverage on Speed Channel.
CITGO, based in Houston, Texas, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of
transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, refined waxes, asphalt and
other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc.,
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.,
the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more
information on CITGO visit www.citgo.com .
Milka is currently featured in Pontiac's largest ever Spanish language
advertising campaign launching an all-new sports sedan - the Pontiac G6.
Pontiac is a division of General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) and markets
the Bonneville, GTO, Grand Prix, Grand Am, G6, Vibe and Sunfire. In 2003,
Pontiac sold more than 475,000 vehicles, ranking third among GM divisions in
total sales. 2004/2005 will see Pontiac launch an exciting new range of
vehicles including the Montana SV6, G6 coupe, G6 convertible and the
Solstice roadster. More information on Pontiac and its products can be found
at www.pontiac.com . Information in Spanish
can be found at www.pontiac.com/sp .
For additional information on Milka and Andy please visit www.milkaduno.com or www.andywallace.com ,
respectively. For more information on the Rolex
Sports Car Series log on to www.grandamerican.com .
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