Liberty Challenge, sixth race in 14-race 2005 IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ season.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.605-mile road course - 5:45 p.m. (EDT), Saturday, June 18 - 25 laps/65.125 miles
CARS: Dallara chassis; Infiniti V8 engines; Firestone tires
PREVIOUS RACE WINNERS: Inaugural event
2004 SERIES CHAMPION: Thiago Medeiros
TV:
ESPN2, 1 p.m. (EDT), Thursday, June 23
Announcers: Dr. Jerry Punch, Robbie Buhl
SCHEDULE: (all times local; subject to change)
Friday, June 17
7 a.m. – Paddock open
9-9:45 p.m. – Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice/qualifying session 1
12:30-1:15 p.m. – Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice/qualifying session 2
1:20 p.m. – Menards Infiniti Pro Series SWE Race Car Parts Pole Award presentation
Saturday, June 18
7 a.m. – Paddock open
4:45 p.m. – Menards Infiniti Pro Series Liberty Challenge (25 lap/65.125 miles)
2005 MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES STATISTICS
Driver Points
1. Travis Gregg 191
2. Wade Cunningham 187
3. Jaime Camara 151
4. Jon Herb 149
5. Chris Festa 143
Entrant Points
1. Sam Schmidt Motorsports # 7 191
2. Brian Stewart Racing #33 187
3. Sam Schmidt Motorsports #1 151
4. Racing Professionals #6 149
5. Sam Schmidt Motorsports #19 143
Wins
1. Travis Gregg 2
2. Marco Andretti 1
Jaime Camara 1
Jon Herb 1
Pole Positions
1. Travis Gregg 3
2. Marco Andretti 1
Jaime Camara 1
Laps Led
1. Travis Gregg 154
2. Jon Herb 70
3. Jaime Camara 33
4. Wade Cunningham 24
5. Marco Andretti 22
- Series returns to Indy 22 days after Futaba Freedom 100: The Menards Infiniti Pro Series is the only series in the world to compete twice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the same year and the only series to compete on both the 2.5-mile oval and the 2.605-mile road course. The third Futaba Freedom 100 was contested on the oval on May 27. The inaugural Liberty Challenge is June 18. The “double duty” allows Menards Infiniti Pro Series drivers to showcase their talents in front of IndyCar Series fans and owners as well as Formula One fans and owners.
- Camara eyes Indy sweep: Jaime Camara, a 24-year-old rookie from Brazil, will attempt a sweep of the races at Indianapolis when he competes in the Liberty Challenge. Camara earned his first Menards Infiniti Pro Series victory in the Futaba Freedom 100 at IMS on May 27.
- Andretti reigns on road courses: Marco Andretti has his eyes on a “sweep” of his own. The 18-year-old won his Menards Infiniti Pro Series debut April 3 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first and only road/street race in Menards Infiniti Pro Series history. The Liberty Challenge will be Andretti’s third race in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. He finished 16th in the Futaba Freedom 100. Andretti is the grandson of 1978 Formula One World Champion Mario Andretti and the son of Michael Andretti, the last American to compete in Formula One.
- Unique qualifying format in place for Liberty Challenge: The Menards Infiniti Pro Series will utilize a unique qualifying format for the Liberty Challenge. Each car will be gridded for the race based on its fastest lap from the two 45-minute practice sessions. League officials felt this format would make better use of the allotted on-track time than conducting a single-car qualifying session. Cars will pass through technical inspection following both sessions.
- Four points separate Gregg, Cunningham for series points lead: Travis Gregg regained the Menards Infiniti Pro Series points lead with a victory June 11 in the Firestone 100 at Texas Motor Speedway. Gregg, who has led the point standings after three of the five races, passed fellow rookie Wade Cunningham for the points lead. Cunningham is second on the strength of three consecutive second-place finishes. He is the only driver to finish in the top five at all five races this season. Cunningham, a former world karting champion, may hold an edge on Gregg on the road course at Indianapolis. Gregg has raced primarily on ovals for the past five years.
• This is the most competitive season in Menards Infiniti Pro Series history, with four race winners in five races. After five races in 2004, 96 points separated first and second place. In 2003, the top two drivers were separated by 61 points after five races, while that gap was 40 points in 2002.
- Sam Schmidt serves as inspiration: Team owner Sam Schmidt continues to serve as an inspiration to many people inside and outside of racing. A former IndyCar Series driver, Schmidt was paralyzed in a practice crash in 2000. He came back one year later as a team owner. Last year, his team dominated the Menards Infiniti Pro Series winning the championship. The team has won the last two Futaba Freedom 100 races at Indianapolis. Schmidt was inspired by Formula One owner Frank Williams.
PRE-RACE QUOTES:
MISHAEL ABBOTT (No. 91 Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Having competed in the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I cannot wait to compete on the road course at the Speedway. With my racing background being on road courses, I feel we will have an advantage. I am looking forward to a great race and finish at this race.”
JAIME CAMARA (No. 1 CELG-Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “It’s going to be tough. The race is going to be really tough. It’s going to be different because there’s more drivers that are competitive on the road course. They will do their best to win there. I’ll do my best to win there because if I do, that’s going to be really good win, two times in the same year. But it’s going to be very competitive. If I can do a good job there, it's going to be perfect.”
WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 33 Visit New Zealand Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “It’s going to be great. It’s not going to be a big oval, so it’s going to give some of us other drivers an opportunity to do well over there. I think it will be a good race for sure. Some more drivers will come back. (Marco) Andretti and some others will be there, so it should be a good race.”
CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 SpacePak/CareCentric/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Personally, I’m a bigger fan of the road courses. It’s what I’ve always raced, and I just enjoy the challenge of them a lot. Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course is my favorite of all the road courses I’ve ever driven. Road Atlanta was my favorite, but Indy’s track is much more technical. It takes a long time to recover from a mistake in a corner at this track. You have to know when to go slow and when to push. It’s more of a driver’s road course than any I’ve driven.”
TRAVIS GREGG (No. 7 Lucas Oil Products Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “The Indy road course is a first-class track. Since we are racing the same weekend as F1, it will be very exciting, especially with all the international fans watching the event. At the (March 24) Open Test for the road course, things went well, and hopefully we will be stronger for the race. There are many drivers in the series with more road course experience than I have, so it’s my goal to steer clear of trouble and get a top-five finish.”IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series™Liberty Challenge At Indianapolis Motor Speedway 5:45 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, June 18, 2005
Car - Driver - Hometown - Car Name - C/E/T - Entrant - Chief Mechanic
1 Jaime Camara (R) Goiania, Goias, Brazil CELG – Sam Schmidt Motorsports D/I/F Sam Schmidt Motorsports John Worth3 Arie Luyendyk Jr. Scottsdale, Ariz. Firestone Special D/I/F Brian Stewart Racing Mo Larsen4 Marty Roth Toronto Roth Racing D/I/F Roth Racing Rick Duman6 Jon Herb Orlando, Fla. AERCON D/I/F Racing Professionals Joe Barlum7 Travis Gregg (R) Camden, Ohio Lucas Oil Products/Sam Schmidt Mspt D/I/F Sam Schmidt Motorsports John Roof Jr.9 Ed Carpenter Indianapolis Vision Racing D/I/F Vision Racing Richard Armour19 Chris Festa (R) Atlanta Western Union – CareCentric - SSM D/I/F Sam Schmidt Motorsports Chris Griffis20 Jay Drake (R) Val Verde, Calif. Vision Racing D/I/F Vision Racing Richard Armour21 Nick Bussell (R) Ionia, Mich. JL West Motorsports D/I/F J.L. West Motorsports Tony Mizialko24 Jeff Simmons Hartford, Conn. Team ISI D/I/F Kenn Hardley Racing Butch Winkle26 Marco Andretti (R) Nazareth, Pa. Vonage D/I/F Andretti Green Racing TBA33 Wade Cunningham (R) Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand Automobile Club D/I/F Brian Stewart Racing Dave Metcalf36 Larry Connor (R) Bellbrook, Ohio Genoa Racing/The Connor Group D/I/F Genoa Racing Mike West91 Mishael Abbott (R) Coral Springs, Fla. Hemelgarn Johnson Motorsports D/I/F Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsports Dave Taylor
Legend: Chassis: D=Dallara. Engine: I=Infiniti. Tire: F=Firestone. (R)=Rookie.
