Professional Skateboarder Bucky Lasek Takes Pole Position for the 30th Annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race

LONG BEACH, Calif.--April 7, 2006--Bucky Lasek turned the fastest lap (1:48.044) in today's qualifying session at the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race to take the pole position for the 30th Anniversary of the fan-favorite event on Saturday, April 8. The top professional driver was Todd Bodine, with a lap time of 1:47.535.

In addition to winning the coveted inside front-row position for the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, Lasek also was awarded the ninth annual PEOPLE Pole Award. Presented by PEOPLE magazine, the award honors the top-celebrity qualifier for the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race with a $15,000 donation to the pole winner's charity of choice. Lasek designated International Campaign for Tibet, an organization that promotes human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet, to benefit from the PEOPLE Pole Award.

The starting grid for Saturday's Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race is as follows:

Celebrity Category                     Qualifying Time               
1.    Bucky Lasek                      1:48.044                      
2.    Dave Mirra                       1:49.358                      
3.    Antonio Sabato Jr.               1:49.509                      
4.    John Elway                       1:50.346                      
5.    Martina Navratilova              1:50.427                      
6.    Thom Naito                       1:50.900                      
7.    William Shatner                  1:51.419                      
8.    William Fichtner                 1:51.926
9.    Vinnie Jones                     1:51.945                     
10.   Bo Bice                          1:52.016                      
11.   Xzibit                           1:52.125
12.   Roger Cross                      1:52.488
13.   Shannon Miller                   1:52.810
14.   Paul Caine                       1:53.244

Professional  Category                 Qualifying Time
1.    Todd Bodine                      1:47.535
2.    Johnny Greaves                   1:47.613
3.    Patrick Dempsey                  1:47.726
4.    David Reutimann                  1:48.603
5.    Frankie Muniz                    1:48.642
6.    Tom Rudnai                       1:48.688
7.    Jeff Kincaid                     1:50.006

-- The Professional Category will start 30 seconds behind the 
   celebrities on Saturday.

The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race will begin at approximately noon on Saturday, April 8 with a field of 21 drivers. The 10-lap race will be broadcast in its entirety on pee Channel on April 22 at 2:30 p.m., EST.

PEOPLE revolutionized personality journalism in 1974 and is today the world's most successful and popular magazine. Each week, PEOPLE brings more than 40 million readers the latest news, inside scoops, exclusive interviews and in-depth reporting on the most compelling people of our time. For more information visit www.people.com.