Race # 1 - Skerlong overcomes incident and rocks to the top while Garza continues to impress.

After qualifying for the second of the doubleheader races earlier in the day and qualifying in the ninth and eleventh positions the US RaceTronics (USRT) team quickly turned their focus on the first race and the impending rain that looked certain to affect it.  Not to be deterred, US RaceTronics (USRT) drivers Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) and David Garza (#4 Axtel/Tecate/Madisa/USRT) were ready for whatever Mother Nature threw at them for the first race of a doubleheader race weekend at the Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland presented by Joe's Sports and Outdoors.

The race field gridded under wet and cold conditions and as the green flag dropped the field of twenty-seven drivers all cautiously entered the notorious first turn at the famed tracked and everyone seemed to make it unscathed until Kevin Lacroix (#10 Uni-Select) spun after the first turn which caused David Garza to take action to try to avoid hitting Lacroix.  Garza himself almost spun but was able to quickly take control of his Swift 016.a and continued on his way.  Skerlong had a more eventful first couple of laps thou, when on his second lap Skerlong and Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor) both got together which resulted in a mutual spin that left both with damaged cars.  Skerlong was able to continue while Bomarito's damage required him to visit the pits for repairs.  The spin relegated Skerlong all the way down to the twenty-fifth spot.

Garza was able to chip away at the field in front of him and eventually he found himself racing for the sixth spot with Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks).  Matos and Garza battled for the position with Matos eventually overtaking the spot.  Garza would go on to finish the race in the twelfth spot after spinning mid way through the race. And while not the result he was looking for, the race provided Garza with an education like no other and with the second race a day away Garza looks to improve from this finishing spot.

Skerlong's race was a stellar performance.  After a disappointing spin that shot him down to twenty-fifth he was able to make up incredible ground.  With each lap Skerlong continued to showcase his talent and his comfortableness with his "home track".  The King Taco machine was making incredible progress and soon the eighteen year old from Seattle, Washington was in the twelfth spot, and as the minutes ticketed away toward the checkered flag he found himself climbing up to the eighth spot where he would eventually finish.  Skerlong posted the second fastest race lap and during the race managed to make up seventeen spots after his earlier spin.

The day's last activity was the final Warm Up session before tomorrow's final race.  The track was still wet and the downpour was continual throughout.  Once again Skerlong showed how comfortable he in on this track in the rain.  He shot straight to the top and led the whole entire session and ended at the top.  Garza also improved from this afternoon's efforts and finished the session in eighth

Carl Skerlong - "It's unfortunate what happened between Jonathan and I earlier in the race.  He's a good racer and we respect each other as racers.  Overall I am pleased with our performance and result.  We came all the way from twenty-fifth to eighth with a damaged car.  The team did great and I know that tomorrow's race will be just as exciting."

David Garza -"I think it was a smart race on our part.  While we finished twelfth, we did get those valuable points, didn't damage the car, and I learned a great deal about racing in the rain. This will help me for tomorrow's race and further in the future.

About US RaceTronics: 2007 marks the third year of competition in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Series for US RaceTronics. Led by former Dorricott Racing Team Manager Shane Seneviratne, US RaceTronics enters the 2007 season with Monterrey Mexico native David Garza and American Carl Skerlong.  US RaceTronics is part of Pacific Coast Motorsports Jr. Team program

 For more information on US RaceTronics and its partners, visit www.usracetronics.com.  You can visit David Garza's website at www.david-garza.com and Carl Skerlong's website at www.cskerlong.com