Edmonton: Practice one notes

GRAF TOPS FIRST-ROUND TRANS-AM PRACTICE AT EDMONTON

EDMONTON, Alberta (July 15, 2005) -- German Trans-Am rookie Klaus Graf set the fastest time in first-round practice Friday for Saturday's Festival City 100 at Finning International Speedway. Graf (No. 7 Jaguar R Performance XKR) turned in a 1.17.863-minute lap (85.658 miles per hour) during the early afternoon session at the temporary airport circuit.

"We can still improve the car a little," said Graf. "We can change the gearing a little and do a few more things to the car. The track is very nice; it's quite technical, actually. I am looking forward to this; it looks like it is a very nice event. There is a really big crowd here for a Friday."

Points leader Randy Ruhlman set the second fastest time (1:19.371) in the No. 49 Preformed Line Products Chevrolet Corvette. Tomy Drissi (No. 5 Supercross -- The Movie Jaguar XKR), Paul Gentilozzi (No. 1 Jaguar R Performance XKR) and Greg Pickett (No. 6 Cytomax Jaguar XKR) completed the top five.

Second-round practice is scheduled for this afternoon, at 3:15 p.m., followed by qualifying at 5:30 p.m. The Festival City 100, Round 5 of the 2005 Trans-Am Championship, is scheduled for Saturday, July 16 at 4:45 p.m. MDT. Saturday's race will air on a tape-delayed basis, Sunday, July 24 at 1 p.m. EDT on SPEED Channel.

Quoteboard:

Paul Gentilozzi (No. 3 Jaguar R Performance XKR) "It is an interesting race track. It will be more difficult to pass than you think because everything is momentum. Our gearing was I bit off but we'll change that and improve this afternoon."

Tomy Drissi (No. 5 Supercross -- The Movie Jaguar XKR) "The speed will go up in second-round practice. I did my fastest lap with 105 miles on my tires. I still need to get comfortable with the track. What a great track. We are glad to be here and there a so many fans here already. This weekend will be a huge success for Edmonton."

-transam