Sears Point: Chip Ganassi Racing qualifying report

DIAZ QUALIFIES COMPUSA LEXUS-RILEY FOURTH FOR SONOMA 250

SONOMA, Calif. (August 25, 2006) -- Luis Diaz qualified fourth for Saturday afternoon's Sonoma 250 after posting a best lap time of 1:28.798 (102.164mph) on his sixth of 10 timed laps around the 2.52-mile layout at Infineon Raceway.

Diaz will start tomorrow's inaugural Rolex Series event in Sonoma from the same position he qualified two weeks ago in Watkins Glen, where he and CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammate Scott Pruett recorded their series-leading fourth win of the season.

Although this will be Diaz' first trip to Infineon Raceway, Pruett is the hometown favorite having grown up in nearby Sacramento, Calif. The 2004 Rolex Series Daytona Prototype champion has two Trans-Am wins in Sonoma, and has placed on the podium in all three series he's run at the facility (IMSA, Trans-Am, and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup).

Tomorrow's Sonoma 250, the penultimate round of the Rolex Sports Car Series season, airs Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET on SPEED Channel (TAPE-DELAY).

CGRFS Driver Quoteboard

LUIS DIAZ "I think today was frustrating for me because I wasn't able to get a good lap in practice due to traffic. I knew I could get a good lap in, but I started thinking about it, and had to just put one together. The car has definitely improved from the morning session for sure. Although we were fourth today, more importantly I think we have a very strong race car for tomorrow. I hope we can keep the championship fight alive,"

-credit: cgr