MILKA DUNO’S STRONG PERFORMANCE CUT SHORT DUE TO INCIDENT AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

Miami (March 30, 2008) -  Milka Duno, IndyCar Series driver with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, finished early in lap 125 of 200 at the IndyCar Series season kickoff GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, March 29. 

She was forced to exit as a result of an incident caused by the car #34 driven by Franck Perera of Conquest Racing.  The Frenchman unexpectedly changed lanes between turns one and two as Duno was setting up to pass inside and took away the air from Duno’s front wing causing her to spin and make contact with the outside wall.

Duno, who started the race from the 16th position, drove a flawless first half of the race, climbing as high as 12th position out of the 25-car field.  After two pit stops, Duno was comfortably running in 15th before the incident with Perera.

"I am very disappointed with the result of last night's race, especially after a good practice and qualifying," said Duno.  "I was running hard on the track, until I went inside to pass and #34 crossed inside.  I did not have a choice to what happened next.  The team had all done a fantastic job preparing the car to make a consistent race and I really want to thank them all.  I have a lot of confidence in the team behind me."

"Milka was doing a good job before losing air and getting forced to leave the track," said team co-owner, Robbie Buhl.  "It would have been nice to keep the momentum she was building during the first half of the race.  We did well during practice, made some adjustments to the car and felt we had a strong contention to finish strong."  

Duno’s next scheduled race is at Kansas Speedway, Sunday, April 27.

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, marketer and transporter of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, refined waxes, asphalt and other industrial products.  The company has been a major sponsor of American racing for 21 years in such series as NASCAR, Grand-Am Racing and now the IndyCar series.  CITGO 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.

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