Portland: Greg Pickett qualifying notes

GREG PICKETT TO START THIRD IN TRANS-AM SERIES ROSE CITY 100

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 17, 2005) -- Greg Pickett, driver of the #6 Cytomax Jaguar XKR, qualified third for tomorrow's Rose City 100 Trans-Am race at Portland International Raceway in an abbreviated session due to a red flag situation. Pickett, who finished second in the season opener at Long Beach, will also start third with the Trans-Am Series Fast Five inverted start.

Pickett has a history of success in Portland. The 1978 Trans-Am Drivers' Champion is looking for his second Trans-Am win here. After starting on the pole and posting the fastest race lap, Pickett took the flag-to-flag win in 1984 in a Roush Racing Mercury Capri. He's also qualified on the pole five times, including a track record four consecutive times (1981-1984).

"It's simple for me -- I'll start in the same place I qualified. We all got caught out a little with the red flag deal so we all just a got a couple of laps in," said Pickett, who can make history with a win tomorrow as the only Trans-Am driver to win a race in each of four decades of competition.

"Actually, I had forgotten that the clock keeps ticking on the session while we were red-flagged. My pit stall is way down and I sat there waiting for the other guys to get away," explained Pickett, who has three podium and six top-five finishes here. "That worked well last time. But we waited a little bit too long; I was the first guy to get the checkered flag. My guys said 'three minutes to go' and I said 'uh-oh'. I don't like to do anything in three minutes -- I'm an old guy!

"But the car felt good," continued Pickett, who also qualified third last year but had to pit to replace a cut tire, and finished seventh. "I think it'll be good the whole way and we'll have a lot of car left at the end."

"I'm really looking forward to an interesting race. Klaus (Graf) was bad fast at Long Beach but then bad stuff caught him -- that won't happen often. Our big, long-legged V-8 might just be the way to go tomorrow. Technically speaking, I think we're in for some fun racing tomorrow," concluded Pickett, who currently ranks second in the driver standings.

Pickett, who made his first Trans-Am start in 1975 at Road America with a fifth place finish, has amassed an impressive resume in Trans-Am competition. His career statistics include 15 wins, 19 poles, 48 top-three, 79 top-five, and 116 top-ten finishes and 15 fastest race laps in 166 starts.

-wg-