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CITGO Racing's VIR Race Report

Duno, Franchitti and team charge for 11th-place finish


April 23, 2006, Los Angeles, CA...In the first race with their new #11 CITGO
Pontiac Riley, Milka Duno, co-driver Marino Franchitti and the CITGO Racing
team earned an 11th place finish in the VIR 400 at Virginia International
Raceway this Sunday. Their hard-charging finish was only 0.483 seconds shy
from what would have been their second top-ten finish of the young 2006
season.

At VIR this weekend, the Rolex Series tried a new qualifying format that is
likely to be used at select events during the season. Instead of the usual
15-minute Qualifying Session where cars earn their place on the starting
grid in order of their fastest lap times, the qualifying format for VIR was
a 30-minute race on Saturday with the finishing order becoming the starting
grid for the main race on Sunday. Marino was selected to drive in the
Qualifying Race and under wet conditions scored a 19th-place finish.

The #11 CITGO Pontiac Riley, starting the race 19th and with Milka behind
the wheel, was hit by another competitor even before the green flag dropped.
During the reconnaissance laps for the start of the race the #09 DP made
contact with the #11 CITGO Racing DP - which forced Milka to the pits for
repairs. As a result of this unfortunate incident Milka and the team found
themselves starting the race from the end of pit road and in the 26th
position.

Milka charged through the field in an effort to not only regain positions
lost due to the disappointing starting position - but to rally the team and
take the car as far up the field as possible. Advancing as high as 11th
overall, and scoring her fastest lap on lap 25, Milka pitted on the second
caution of the race on lap 32 and delivered the car to teammate Marino in
14th-place - after a gain of 12 positions.

Marino, now in the cockpit and on the track, was able to take the new CITGO
Pontiac Riley up to 12th and, with only four laps remaining in the race, to
11th - less than second away from 10th.  During the remaining laps Marino
fought hard to capture 10th - getting as close as 0.404 seconds from edging
past the competitor in front.

Milka Duno

"It was a great race with a lot of drama for us. We were 9th overall in the
final practice before the race so we knew that all our hard work was paying
off and the #11 CITGO Pontiac Riley was getting quicker. We were very
excited for the race to start. Then I was hit by another car during the
warm-up laps and we found ourselves back in the pits for repairs and
slipping back to a 26th-place start. I just didn't want our hopeful debut
effort with the new car to be wasted, or the hard work and positive energy
of the team to be discouraged. I drove my heart out hoping that we could
overcome this obstacle. Then Marino got in and he got so close to getting
10th it was unbelievable.  The team worked so hard to get the new car worked
in and I can't thank them enough. Thanks also to my teammate Marino for an
incredibly exciting finish!"

Marino Franchitti

"26th to 11th! My teammate Milka drove a fantastic first stint; the CITGO
guys were flawless as usual in the pits. We had a very fast race car on its
own, but when we caught the traffic, we had just a little bit too much
downforce. We couldn't quite get enough on the straights to get them under
braking. But I think our new engine and new car worked very well. The
CITGO/SAMAX guys have got more confidence and the Riley-Pontiac worked well,
so I'm looking forward to Laguna."

Milka, Marino and the CITGO Racing team will now head west for the next
round of the 2006 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series Championship - the
U.S. Sportscar Invitational at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA May
6-8, 2006.

CITGO, based in Houston, Texas, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of
transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, refined waxes, asphalt and
other industrial products.  The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the
national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more
information on CITGO visit www.citgo.com .

Milka is currently featured in Pontiac's largest ever Spanish language
advertising campaign. Pontiac is a division of General Motors Corporation
(NYSE: GM) and markets the Bonneville, GTO, Grand Prix, Grand Am, G6, Vibe
and Sunfire. In 2003, Pontiac sold more than 475,000 vehicles, ranking third
among GM divisions in total sales. 2004/2005 will see Pontiac launch an
exciting new range of vehicles including the Montana SV6, G6 coupe, G6
convertible and the  Solstice roadster. More information on Pontiac and its
products can be found at www.pontiac.com . Information in Spanish can be
found at
www.pontiac.com/sp .

Milka is also the Latin American spokesperson for Sony's Xplod car audio
brand. Sony Corporation of America is a leading manufacturer of audio,
video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer
and professional markets. Its music, motion picture, television, computer
entertainment, and online businesses make Sony one of the most comprehensive
entertainment companies in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual
sales of approximately $67 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31,
2005. You may visit the Sony Corporation website at http://www.sony.net/ .
Sony Latin America has a regional office in Miami, Florida, and subsidiaries
in numerous countries, including Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. You may visit the
Sony Latin America website at
http://www.sony-latin.com/index_.crp
.



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