POUGHKEEPSIE, NY, JUNE 8, 2004 -- Chris Dyson announced plans today to supplement his primary2004 commitment to the American Le Mans Series with a campaign in the Toyota AtlanticChampionship, beginning with the June 18-20 Toyota Atlantic Championship doubleheaderat Portland International Raceway. Dyson Racing recently obtained a pair of Swift.014 chassis, and last week completed a successful two-day test at Sebring InternationalRaceway. Dyson will contest selected events on the remainder of the Toyota Atlanticseries that do not conflict with the ALMS schedule.

"My career is stilldeveloping, and at this point I want to be racing as much as possible," said,Dyson, 26. The 2003 ALMS LMP675 champ noted that the Toyota Atlantic series hasprovided an important stepping stone for some of history's great drivers, includingGiles Villeneuve, Keke Rosberg, and Danny Sullivan, but has also helped advancethe careers of current open-wheel stars such as Sam Hornish and Buddy Rice. Andtoday the series represents an opportunity to compete with many of the other up-and-comingNorth American road-racers. "Many of the drivers that I'll be competing withthrough the course of my career are now in the Toyota Atlantic Championship, andI'm looking forward to further developing my driving skills by racing with themstarting this month in Portland."

Sponsorship of the Toyota Atlanticprogram will be an extension of Dyson Racing's existing ALMS program with Thetford/ Norcold, it was announced by Mike Farmer, the company's Vice President of Salesand Marketing.

"Thetford / Norcold has been very pleased with our relationshipwith the Dyson team, and we believe that this extension of it into some key marketswith Chris Dyson in the Toyota Atlantic Championship will help us reach more ofour wholesale and retail customers," Farmer said.

Thetford / Norcoldis the world's leader in RV sanitation and care, and America's premier manufacturerof gas absorption refrigerator/freezer units.

Complementary Programs

TheToyota Atlantic program is being run from Dyson Racing's shop in Poughkeepsie,alongside the team's existing ALMS program. Dyson noted that this factor, alongwith rule changes made by the series' organizers permitted the single-seater programto be conducted in a cost-effective fashion.

"Dyson Racing has alwaysbeen a very lean organization," Dyson noted. "But the ALMS schedulehas enough breaks in it that we can add several additional events without needingmuch more in the way of staffing or equipment. It makes sense to us. And VickiO'Connor and her team at the Toyota Atlantic Championship have made a number ofchanges to how the series is run that put an emphasis on driver skill and race-engineering,rather than on the size of a competitor's budget. No one wins in this series becausethey can afford better equipment. The engines are all the same and so are thechassis. The differences come in how well you can drive and how well you can workwith your engineer on chassis setup."

Michael White, whose relationshipwith the team goes back to 1995, will manage the Toyota Atlantic program, whilePeter Weston, Dyson Racing's head of race engineering, will direct that aspectof the team's new single-seater effort as well.

Encouraging Test At Sebring

Rainthe first afternoon of the June 2-3 test made for a green track the second day,and made it difficult for the team to compare times with known benchmarks establishedby other Toyota Atlantic teams in previous test sessions.

"But we'repleased with the results," Weston said. "The car responded to the setupchanges we made in the way we would have predicted. Chris put in 160 miles onWednesday and 180 miles on Thursday. We built a very useful database for futureraces, and I think we're ready for Portland."

Dyson harbors no illusionsabout the task facing the team when it arrives in Oregon next week. "We'rekeeping our expectations realistic," he said. "There's a lot of talentin the Toyota Atlantic series, and everybody else has more time with their carsthan we have. A lot more at this point, and three races under their belts thisseason alone. We expect to be on the steep part of the learning curve at Portland,but the best way to climb that curve is to get out there and race."

OnTo Le Mans

But before making his Toyota Atlantic debut next week, there'sthe matter of the world's most prestigious sportscar race, the 24 Hours of LeMans. Dyson will be making his debut at Le Mans as teammate to former Le Manschampion Jan Lammers in the Racing For Holland Dome-Toyota.

"I can'ttell you how much it means to me to be competing in this race," Dyson said."It's a dream come true. And to be doing it in a car that has a realisticchance to win is just fantastic. Jan and I enjoyed driving together when he joinedDyson Racing for Sebring back in March, and I think we'll have a good race herewith his team this weekend."

Scrutineering for Le Mans takes placetoday, with practice and qualifying sessions set for Wednesday through Thursdayevenings. Friday is a day off, with the green flag for the race dropping Saturdayafternoon at 4:00 pm local time (10:00 am EDT.) The race will be carried liveon the Speed Channel.