Preview: Toyota Atlantic GI Joe's 200.

With two dominating wins and a third place finish over the past three races, RuSPORT rookie AJ Allmendinger currently enjoys a stranglehold on the 2003 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship as the series heads to Portland International Raceway for Saturday's GI Joe's 200.

However, if there is one team that has the ability to slow down Allmendinger's runaway locomotive in the series' visit to the Rose City, it's Dorricott Racing. The team is coming into this weekend still looking for its first win of the 2003 season, but its record over the past four years at the facility makes the two Dorricott drivers - Luis Diaz and Kyle Krisiloff - the favourites to take the chequered flag first.

In each of the past four years, Dorricott Racing has emerged victorious in Portland. The run began in the 1999 Dayton Indy Lights Championship event, where Austrian Philipp Peter claimed the victory ahead of team-mate Oriol Servia, who would go on to win the '99 Indy Lights title. In 2000, it was Australian Jason Bright's turn to shine for Dorricott, as he picked up the victory ahead of team-mate Townsend Bell in the Indy Lights event. Ireland's Damien Faulkner took the chequered flag first in 2001, while Bell started on the pole position in the final Indy Lights event at the venue.

The team managed to carry its success to Toyota Atlantic competition in 2002, as Diaz qualified on the pole and led every lap en route to his first career win in Toyota Atlantic competition. What's interesting to note, however, is that the same driver has not won the race the following year, so it stands to reason that Krisiloff might be in the pound seats this weekend. Both drivers are confident coming into the weekend, as both were extremely quick in testing earlier this spring at the 1.969-mile permanent road course.

While Dorricott has been the team to beat at Portland over the past four years, it is going to have a fight on its hands this weekend as it tries for 'one for the thumb'. After sweeping all 23 championship points that were available last weekend in the Grand Prix of Monterey and pulling away from the field on virtually every lap in the race, Allmendinger comes into the weekend at least on equal ground with the Dorricott team-mates as favourites to take the victory.

The rookie has been among the fastest in every race thus far in 2003, and he has yet to qualify outside of the top three starting positions, including two poles. Aside from a mistake on the opening lap in Monterrey, Allmendinger has not put a wheel wrong in the past three races, which has given him a solid eleven-point lead in the championship standings over Canadian Jonathan Macri.

Macri holds the distinction of being the only driver to have finished inside the top four positions in each of the first four races this season, a run that includes three podium finishes. While he has not yet claimed his maiden CART Toyota Atlantic Championship race victory, his chances of getting that elusive first win this weekend would seem to be pretty good, based on the fact that he qualified third and finished second in his inaugural appearance at PIR last year. If he is able to find the speed in qualifying, he may be tough to beat this weekend.

Another driver riding a hot streak is Scotland's Ryan Dalziel, as the second-year driver has two straight podium finishes coming into the weekend, including his first career Toyota Atlantic race victory on The Milwaukee Mile. Dalziel has only finished outside the top four in one of the past six races, dating to a third place run in the penultimate round of 2002 at Montreal, so he also remains a threat to take the victory this weekend.

While Macri is the only driver to finish in the top four in all of the races so far this season, he is joined by RuSPORT driver Aaron Justus as one of only two drivers to have finished inside the top five in all four races in 2003. Justus is another driver looking for his first career Toyota Atlantic win and, with the impressive resources available to him with RuSPORT, he could succeed at any time.

California's Alex Figge shared the front row with Allmendinger last weekend at Laguna Seca, and could also be a factor on another permanent road course this weekend. Last weekend's performance equalled Figge's career best in Toyota Atlantic competition, as he matched his career best starting position and tied his career-best finish with a fifth place run.

While none of the drivers hail from Oregon, the Pacific Northwest will be represented in the field Vancouver native Michael Valiante, who returns to race at PIR after missing last weekend's Grand Prix of Monterey with an illness. Valiante will once again be paired with Bryan Sellers, who will be making his second career start in Toyota Atlantic this weekend.

As is the case at every stop on the 2003 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship tour, Team Rahal rookie Danica Patrick is sure to get a lot of attention this weekend at Portland. In fact, Patrick will be the featured guest on Friday evening's nationally-televised Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain programme on SPEED Channel in the run-up to the event.

DSTP Motorsports' Joey Hand found the speed he was missing in rounds two and three last weekend in Monterey, but Lady Luck again turned her back on him in the race, as he crashed out on the first lap. However, the team persevered and got the #27 machine back into the action, allowing Hand to finish the race. With his fair share
of 'character building' weekends now behind him, Hand is ready to challenge for a race win on Saturday afternoon in Portland.

Venezuela's Alex Garcia and Canadian Eric Jensen come into the weekend in Portland fresh from career-best finishes at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and are looking for more of the same this weekend. Jensen welcomes his French Canadian team-mate Philip Fayer back to Toyota Atlantic competition for the first time since Long Beach, and Quebec will also be represented in the field by P-1 Racing's Toyota Atlantic veteran Stephan C Roy.