San Jose: Greg Pickett qualifying notes

PICKETT QUALIFIED FOURTH FOR THE CYTOMAX SPORT DRINK 1OO TRANS-AM RACE

SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 29, 2005) -- Greg Pickett, driver of the #6 Cytomax/Muscle Milk Jaguar XKR, qualified fourth for tomorrow's Cytomax Sport Drink 100 Trans-Am race, part of the Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San Jose race weekend. Pickett, who made history with his recent win in Edmonton as the only Trans-Am driver to ever win a race in each of four decades, will actually start second on the grid with the Trans-Am Series Fast Five inverted start.

Pickett, who has two podium finishes in addition to his win in four starts this season, also debuted the new 5.1-liter, 310 c.i. Hasselgren electronic fuel-injected pushrod Ford V-8 this weekend.

"I'm pretty happy with this qualifying session," explained Pickett, who stands fifth in points despite missing the Cleveland race due to a previous commitment. "We were looking at trying to qualify fifth or fourth to start up front, which will be of considerable importance at this track. Actually, this is deja vu; Joey Scarallo and I started on the front row at Edmonton and we know how that race turned out."

"I got some clean laps and I was going a little easy. Our gearing was a bit off; it was a little lazy," revealed Pickett, who hails from nearby Alamo, Calif. "My hat's off to the folks at Hasselgren for providing us with a great engine package which delivered exactly what we needed."

"I'm not a great 'stab and squirt'guy, which is the driving style this track favors; I'll admit that," continued Pickett, who won the 1978 Drivers' Championship. "I'm getting used to how the car handles on this track. So far, I feel really good about where we are. We've got some more left; we'll be just fine."

"Starting up front is important here. But it's a high risk opportunity to try to pass under braking going into Turn 1 at the start. This is definitely not the place to get in a hurry early. Just like in Edmonton, I plan to be near the front early and at the front by the end," concluded Pickett. "It would be my privilege to win the first Trans-Am race here."

Pickett, who made his Trans-Am debut in 1975 at Road America with a fifth-place finish, has amassed an impressive resume in Trans-Am competition. His career statistics include 16 wins, 19 poles, 51 top-three, 83 top-five, and 120 top-ten finishes and 15 fastest race laps in 170 starts.

The Cytomax Sport Drink 100 race is scheduled for Saturday, July 30, and begins at 4 p.m. PDT. The race will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on August 7 at 1 p.m. EDT on SPEED Channel.