IRVINE, Calif., June 30, 2003 – Raw determination has kept Kia in the game for a series championship in the Best in the Desert Silver State series. This past weekend at the Vegas to Reno race, despite suffering two significant mechanical setbacks, which collectively cost the team about four hours, driver Darren Skilton and the team did what many at the race thought they couldn’t…finish. With crashes and mechanical failures taking out much of field, Team Kia not only finished, but took fourth place in the prestigious Trophy Truck class.

“We got a finish at the longest race of the year,” said Skilton. “We’re still in the hunt for the championship, and our never-say-die attitude is as strong as ever.”

The Kia team finished the 500-plus mile race in approximately 14 hours, securing a fourth-place finish in class and bumping their total series points to an impressive 123, just 11 points behind the front-runner. An all-new engine, producing nearly 400-horsepower, along with revised gearing, kept the Sorento Trick Truck more competitive than ever in a class comprised of 700-plus horsepower monsters.

“We’ve been giving up top end to these guys all season long,” noted Skilton. “With the new motor and gearing we were much closer, running up to 20 mph faster.”

After Pit 2 Skilton stopped to check out a possible flat tire, but found that everything was intact. At Pit 4 Skilton elected to get a five gallon “splash” of fuel, and planned to do a full fill at the next pit. The team, however, would be delayed almost two and a half hours after a routine three-point turn took a turn for the worse when reverse gear broke.

“When we left Pit 4 I was very happy with our position,” said Skilton. “I think if reverse hadn’t failed, we’d have finished second.”

As the race progressed, several competitors dropped by the wayside. The course was faster than years prior, and many teams apparently underestimated the challenge before them.

Right around Pit 11 the Sorento Trick Truck experienced an axle problem prompting many at the race to write the Kia team off. An hour and a half later Team Kia was off and running again, tapping into the willpower that’s been so typical of this team all season. The team stopped at all the remaining pits as a precautionary measure to do inspections and ensure that they would finish the race.

Skilton and Team Kia now prepare for the Baja Mex 300 August 22-24. The team plans for another new engine to be completed by then with a billet crankshaft and other improvements, which promise to bump power and durability even more.

“This Mexico race is going to be the key to the whole season,” remarked Skilton. “We’re going to address the mechanical failures to ensure that they don’t happen again. We’re going to make improvements to the vehicle all around. And we’re going to spend a solid week in Mexico prerunning the course so it will be permanently burned into our minds.”

Kia Motors America is the U.S. sales, marketing and service arm of Kia Motors Corp. in Seoul, South Korea.