Despite this being the driver's first win in the series, it doesn't nearly describe his accomplishments thus far. In this year's first five races, Diaz, Jr. has managed to finish on the podium three times. Just last year he became the Trans-Am Series Rookie of the Year, earning four top-five finishes in 11 races. Before that, he won the 1999 and 2000 GTU class Championship as part of the Club de Corredores de Circuito de Puerto Rico at the Salinas Circuit as well as the 2001 and 2002 Championship in the GTS class of the same series.
Driving the No. 8 Puerto Rico Grand Prix sponsored Jaguar XKR, Diaz, Jr. lead 20 of the 49 laps, the most led during the race by any driver, earning him the BFGoodrich Tires Take Control Award. He also won the VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award for making up the most positions during the race.
After starting on the inside of the second row, he worked his way into second place and finally took the lead from Paul Gentilozzi on lap 30 after a spin left Gentilozzi deep in the pack. Though Diaz, Jr. managed to put around 15 seconds between him and second-place driver, Randy Ruhlman, he slowed down near the end to ensure his car would finish the race intact. He crossed the line 6.307 seconds ahead of Ruhlman as the checkered flag was waved.
Averaging a speed of 85.058 miles per hour, Diaz, Jr. managed to finish the caution-free race in a record one hour, 39.670 seconds. He is currently two points behind Championship leader, Paul Gentilozzi.
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Jorge Diaz, Jr. was born on October 25th, 1976 and is from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is 5'8" in height and weighs in at 158lbs. He currently holds both an SCCA racecar driver's license and an FIA driver's license, as well as a driving school certificate from the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. He got the racing-bug from his father - also a racer.
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