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Citgo renews with Howard Motorsports

Citgo Renews Sponsorship With Howard Motorsport For 2005 Grand Americans Rolex Sports Car Series CITGO Racing Announces All-Star Driver Line-up at Season-Opening Rolex 24 at Daytona. Tony Stewart, Dario and Marino Franchitti, Dan Wheldon and Jan ...

Citgo Renews Sponsorship With Howard Motorsport For 2005 Grand Americans Rolex Sports Car Series

CITGO Racing Announces All-Star Driver Line-up at Season-Opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Tony Stewart, Dario and Marino Franchitti, Dan Wheldon and Jan Lammers Will Join Season Regulars Milka Duno and Andy Wallace.

January 6, 2005 - For the second consecutive season, CITGO Petroleum Corporation and CITGO Racing have announced that they will continue to sponsor racing stars Milka Duno, Andy Wallace and the Howard Motorsports team in the 2005 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series.

In 2004, CITGO Racing sponsored Duno in the Rolex Sports Car Series, teaming with full-season co-driver Wallace and the Howard Motorsports team in their #2 CITGO Pontiac Crawford Daytona Prototype. In their first full season, Duno and Wallace scored two race wins, seven top-five finishes and eleven top-ten finishes. Duno also became the first woman in history to win overall a major sports car race in North America. The CITGO-sponsored team finished third in the Team Point Standings and Wallace and Duno finished third and fifth respectively in the Driver Point Standings. The effort also helped earn Pontiac a first-place finish in the Engine Manufacturers Standings and Crawford a second-place finish in the Chassis Manufacturer's Standings.

"We're excited to renew our relationship with Howard Motorsports, Crawford Racing, Milka Duno and Andy Wallace for the 2005 season," said Geoff Smith, Manager, Sponsorship Marketing and Sales Promotion for CITGO. "The strong performance of the team in 2004, the experience gained, and the strides that have been made during the brief off-season have fueled our enthusiasm - and our expectations are high."

"I'm very honored for the opportunity to race with CITGO sponsorship again in 2005 and I can't thank them enough," said Duno. "We had a great inaugural season in 2004 with CITGO's support and hope to build on the momentum we achieved last year. This is a first class racing effort and I expect big things in 2005."

"Everyone at Howard Motorsports is very excited about the upcoming 2005 Rolex Sports Car Series season and continuing our relationship with CITGO Petroleum Corporation," Rick Howard, President of Howard Motorsports stated. "With CITGO's support, we enjoyed a successful 2004 season and look to build on that success in 2005. We have a very talented driver line-up for the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the #2 and #20 CITGO Pontiac Crawford Daytona Prototypes and look forward to the entire fourteen-race Rolex Series as well."

CITGO Racing will kick-off the fourteen-race Rolex Series season with a two car effort and an all-star driver line-up at the Rolex 24 at Daytona on February 3-6. Joining Duno in the #2 CITGO Pontiac Crawford Daytona Prototype will be Indy Racing League IndyCar Series standouts Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon, as well as experienced road racer Marino Franchitti - brother of Dario. Teaming with Wallace for their second consecutive year at the Rolex 24 will be NASCAR's 2001 Winston Cup Champion Tony Stewart and Formula One and sports car veteran Jan Lammers of Holland.

"Just like last year when CITGO Racing launched their first season at the Rolex 24 with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon, they have again stepped up with another fantastic line-up," said Duno. "With Tony (Stewart) back, along with IndyCar stars Dario (Franchitti) and Dan (Wheldon), road racer Marino (Franchitti) and sports car veteran Jan (Lammers), I'm beyond excited for the start of the 2005 racing season at Daytona."

After the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Duno will again team with her 2004 driving partner Andy Wallace for the balance of the fourteen-race 2005 season, which includes races in Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York, Canada and Mexico City.

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 Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information on CITGO visit www.citgo.com.

-hc-

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