Denver: Final practice notes

Kendall Sets Fastest Time of the Weekend in Final Trans-Am Practice at Denver

DENVER (Aug. 14, 2004) -- Tommy Kendall backed up his record time in qualifying yesterday by knocking nearly one full second of his time in final-practice Saturday for this afternoon's Cytomax Sport Drink 100, Round 8 of the Motorock Trans-Am Series championship. Kendall (No. 11 Jaguar R Performance XKR) turned the 1.657-mile temporary street course in one minute 12.531 seconds.

In fact, the top four in final practice were all faster than Kendall's 1:13.072-minute pole lap. Second fastest was Jorge Diaz, Jr. (No. 8 Puerto Rico Grand Prix Jaguar XKR), ahead of Tomy Drissi (No. 5 TAXI -- The Movie Jaguar XKR) and Paul Gentilozzi (No. 3 Jaguar R Performance XKR). Randy Ruhlman rounded out the top five in the No. 49 Preformed Line Products Chevrolet Corvette.

The session was red flagged for eight minutes, 10 seconds during the scheduled 30-minute session when Philip Simms (No. 24 Simms Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette) lost his rear bodywork and spun in turn five.

The Cytomax Sport Drink 100 is scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m. MDT today. The Trans-Am Series is part of a full weekend of racing, which also includes the featured Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford, as well as the Toyota Atlantic Championship Presented by Yokohama, Formula BMW USA and Colorado Vintage Racing.

The race will be broadcast LIVE on HDNet, with tape-delayed highlights coverage on Spike TV's popular "Dangerous Curves" timeslot, Sunday, Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. (EDT, PDT).

The Motorock Trans-Am Series features closed-fendered, production-based, V-8-powered sports cars, competing on permanent road courses, and temporary street and airport circuits throughout North America. The Trans-Am Series is America's oldest continuously running road racing series and celebrates its 39th year of competition in 2004.

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