JOLIET, Ill., Friday, Sept. 8, 2006 – Jay Howard fired the first shot in the final battle for the Indy Pro Series championship.
The Englishman claimed the SWE Race Car Parts Pole Award for the season-ending Chicagoland 100 at Chicagoland Speedway. It was the second pole of the season for the
driver of the No. 7 Lucas Oil/Isilon/Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry.
More importantly, Howard, who turned a lap of 28.9780 seconds, 188.774 mph, earned one point for his first pole position since the season-opening race in March, and
now leads Jonathan Klein by nine points in the point standings. Klein, a native of nearby Long Grove, Ill., qualified second in the No. 27 Klein Tools/Turn-Key
Forging entry with a lap of 188.285.
Rookies Akihira Okamoto and Alex Lloyd qualified third and fourth, while championship contenders Bobby Wilson and Wade Cunningham make up the third row.
The Chicagoland 100 is scheduled for 4:55 p.m. (EDT) on Sept. 9
DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:
The Chicagoland 100 is the fifth Indy Pro Series event at Chicagoland Speedway. Jeff Simmons was the 2005 race winner. Thiago Medeiros holds the qualifying record
with a lap of 28.6838 seconds, 190.770 set Sept. 10, 2004.
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There are no former Indy Pro Series winners at Chicagoland entered in the Chicagoland 100. Jeff Simmons, who won the Chicagoland 100 in 2005, is entered in the PEAK
Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean.
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The 2006 season has seen the most parity in Indy Pro Series history. A record seven drivers have won races while a record six drivers have earned pole positions.
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Bobby Wilson is the only driver to finish in the top 10 of every event so far in 2006. He’s also the only driver to have been running at the finish of each race and
the only driver to have completed all 541 laps.
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Nick Bussell and Jaime Camara will attempt to make their 26th consecutive starts in the Chicagoland 100. Arie Luyendyk Jr., holds the Indy Pro Series record with 31
consecutive starts. Bussell leads all drivers with 11 consecutive top-10 starts.
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Chris Festa is back in the No. 51 Cheever Racing/Formtek car after missing the Infineon Raceway doubleheader weekend (Aug. 26-27) with an illness.
“I feel fine. I came down with a case of acute tonsillitis and possibly mononucleosis, so the doctors wanted to watch me for a couple weeks,” said Festa, who was
second quick (191.044 mph) in the initial practice session for the Chicagoland 100 on Sept. 9. “I’m feeling good, strong. They cleared me to race this morning, so
here I am.”
Festa, who celebrated his 21st birthday Sept. 5, has five top-10 finishes in eight races this season. He’s looking forward to closing the year on a high note at
Chicagoland Speedway.
“I had to miss three races this year (also did not run at Milwaukee because of an infection), so to make it back for the final race of the season feels pretty good,”
he said.
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Sam Schmidt’s plane took off from a small airport in Wheeling, Ill. Moments later, the Indy Pro Series team owner “thought he was going to end up in China.”
The former IndyCar Series driver and Indy Pro Series team ownerhad the experience of a lifetime on Sept. 7, going up in one of the airplanes used in the Klein Tools
Air Show.
“We did everything,” Schmidt said. “We did a couple loops. We did several spins. We went vertical and did a stall and came back down straight towards the Earth. I
thought I was going to end up in China. Then probably the topper to it all, we flew upside down for probably a good minute-and-a-half. It was just a wild
experience.”
The experience came about from a conversation Schmidt had with Rick Klein in St. Petersburg, Fla. earlier this year. Klein is the father of Indy Pro Series driver
Jonathan Klein, and his company, Klein Tools, is a major supporter of teams in the Indy Pro Series and IndyCar Series.
“Down in St. Pete, they were giving rides to all of their sponsors.” Schmidt explained. “I was sitting there watching the show with Rick and said, ‘You know, one of
the biggest disappointments about being paralyzed is that a month after I got paralyzed I was all set up and supposed to go on an F-14 out at Nellis Air Force Base
in Nevada. When I got paralyzed, a few months later I’m thinking, ‘Damn, I missed my flight.’’ So I told that story to Rick down in St. Pete, and he said, ‘Hey, we’
ll get you in that thing no matter what it takes.’
“I can’t thank Rick Klein enough. It was kind of an emotional experience yesterday. It was definitely one to check off the all-time list.”
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Roland Beauregard was flashing a double “thumbs up” to the Indy Racing Experience crew before the two-seat IndyCar Series car coasted to a stop on pit lane at
Chicagoland Speedway.
“Can we do it again?” the 82-year-old Maine resident said as he leaned forward to thank Stephan Gregoire for a few thrilling laps on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval.
The ride was only the beginning of a fast-paced and exciting weekend for Beauregard and his guest, longtime friend Eldon Campbell. Beauregard, of Saint Albans,
Maine, was the winner of the PEAK Antifreeze 300 for the 300 Sweepstakes, which has a grand prize of $300,000 if Danica Patrick can guide the No. 16 Rahal Letterman
Racing Team Argent Dallara/Honda/Firestone to the checkered flag in the PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean on Sept. 10. He was picked from more than
30,000 entries.
“I liked it,” an out-of-breath Beauregard said after exiting the car to a phalanx of video and still cameras. “The G forces were a lot more than I expected
in the turns. I’ll tell you, she’s got guts.”
A minute later, Patrick greeted the one-time midget car (“for a short time after the war”) driver and U.S. Naval aviator.
“So, how was it?” inquired the 2005 Bombardier Rookie of the Year who has served as spokesperson for the PEAK brand since mid-2005.
“I don’t think I’d do what you do,” he said.
Beauregard and Campbell will watch the IndyCar Series season finale from a suite at Chicagoland Speedway, cheering on Patrick.
“I’ve been an (IndyCar) fan for more than 40 years,” said Beauregard, who noted he piloted charter flights to the Indianapolis for the 500 from North Carolina. “And
I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time. She’s courageous in a male-dominated sport. She told me she’s going to try hard to win.”
And what would Beauregard do if Patrick’s performance pays off?
“I’d probably take a world cruise,” he said.
With change to spare.
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Dario Franchitti’s weekend at Chicagoland Speedway isn’t going as planned. The Scot, who made his 50th IndyCar Series start and was runner-up in the Indy Grand Prix
of Sonoma two weeks ago, will watch the season-ending PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean instead of participating.
Franchitti sustained a concussion Sept. 1 during a qualifying session for the Goodwood Revival at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in England. A.J. Foyt IV will replace
him in the seat of the No. 27 Klein Tools/Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone.
“I’m a little bit tired, but I’m OK,” said Franchitti, 33, who is eighth in the standings with seven top-10 finishes in 13 races. “I got some interesting bruising
from the seat belts, but otherwise I’m fine. The knock on the head was a pretty good one.
“It’s the first time I’ve really followed doctor’s orders and I think they are the right thing. It’s just frustrating that had it happened a couple days before I
could have raced. I’ll be here to support the team this weekend, but it’s always difficult to watch a race when you’re supposed to be in it.
“You want to be out there racing. I want to be in the car. That’s what I love about it.”
Franchitti said he doesn’t have recollection of events leading up to the incident in which the left-front of the Jaguar E-Type vintage car made contact with a set of
tire barriers.
“I don’t really have any memory of the accident or about an hour leading up to the accident, so obviously it was a hard hit to the head,” said Franchitti, who missed
most of the 2003 IndyCar Series season because of injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident in Scotland.
“They’ll be able to fix the car, which is good. And I’ll be OK, so that’s good. The sad thing is with cars like that it’s not just a case that it’s an old car. It’s
a historic, very important car.”
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Sarah Fisher will make her 50th career IndyCar Series start and second of the season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Fisher, who turns 26 on Oct. 4, has a best finish
of 18th in four appearances at Chicagoland Speedway.
CHICAGOLAND 100 POST-QUALIFYING NOTES:
•This is Jay Howard’s second pole of the season and of his Indy Pro Series career. He also won the pole at the season-opening event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Howard earned a point for winning the pole.
•This is the 22nd pole position for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the Indy Pro Series. The team’s last pole position came at Homestead in March with Howard.
•Jonathan Klein will start second, his fifth-straight top-three start.
•Akihira Okamoto will start third in his Indy Pro Series debut.
•Alex Lloyd qualified fourth, his best-ever start on an oval.
CHICAGOLAND 100 POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES:
JAY HOWARD (No. 7 Lucas Oil/Isilon/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, SWE Race Car Parts Pole Award winner): “It's a good start to the weekend. We get one point for pole and
two for most laps led, so the plan is to lead as many laps as possible and once I get to the point where no one else can lead more laps, then I'm sure the plans will
change. I'm almost prepared to sacrifice the win once I know that the championship is in the bag. Obviously, I want to win. It's painful to even think about letting
someone else win to win the championship. I've got to keep my eyes on the big picture, and the big picture is the championship. We've started the weekend off great,
and I'm planning to stay up front, dominate and win the race." (About starting next to his closest competitor in the points) "I'd prefer him to be a couple of rows
back. It'll be a good race. I know it'll be nice and clean. He's one person I'd like to race against and have along side me. I have 110 percent trust in him, and I'm
s!ure the trust is returned to me. We'll race hard for sure, and it'll be close, but I'm planning on winning." (About going out first to qualify) "That was pretty
painful. When we got the draw that we were going out first, I did think to myself, 'This ain't good.' The track was different, different rubber down. That did upset
the car a little bit in the middle of the corners, but you have to deal with it and go out there and we did. We got the pole, which is kind of surprising. When I was
looking at the times of everyone else going around, I was quite surprised at how slow they were. That was by far the worst feeling, standing there. The anxiety was
unreal, standing there waiting to see if you get notched down. It was a pretty good feeling when I saw Tim (Neff), my engineer, smile and go, 'No, we got it.' I'd
much rather go out last and upset everyone, but it's a good feeling to set the time and have no one beat it."
JONATHAN KLEIN (No. 27 Klein Tools/Turn-Key Forging, qualified second): “He (Jay Howard) and I are still best friends. We're going to make sure that we play nice,
but I am going to tell him, ‘Look Jay, I'm going to race you hard.’ It's down to the wire, but I'm not going to put ourselves in a position where we can get into
trouble at the same time. I'm going to race him hard and race him tough, but we're still going to be safe and respectful. (About losing another point to Howard): “I
really needed that point.”
AKIHIRA OKAMOTO (No. 77 OAM/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, qualified third): “It’s a big step up from Formula Dream up to this. My team gave me a very good setup that
carried over from practice. The car was very comfortable to drive, and I got good advice from the team and from Roger Yasukawa. I’m very happy to be starting on the
second row in my first Indy Pro Series race.”
ALEX LLOYD (No. 26 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, qualified fourth): “Fourth is pretty good. We were just hoping to get into the top ten with this car. We weren't sure
how it would be for qualifying. The car was really good for the run. It's a really good race car, and obviously, it was very good in qualifying. We're very happy.
We'll have to see how tomorrow goes. I think it will be pretty good.”
BOBBY WILSON (No. 24 Kenn Hardley Racing, qualified fifth: “I feel pretty confident. The car has been great all day. We have a new engine in the car; we have a
different chassis. I think things are really coming together. I really excited for the race, so we will see how things go.”
WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 1 Brian Stewart Racing, qualified sixth): “Obviously in qualifying, we didn’t do a good job. We are quite a bit away from the pole time. We are
not going to be anywhere near the front row. I think we proved in the second session that we can get to the front and race hard. We have been doing that all year. I
don’t think there is a question that we won’t be in the front tomorrow.”
VERONICA McCANN (No. 3 United & Classic Trailers, qualified 16th): “I had a little bit of trouble with the gears in the car. I’ve never really had to change gears
while I was racing before. Qualifying is critical because you’ve only got two laps to get it done. It was my fault. There’s nothing wrong with the car. We were
third-fastest in the first session, but then we put it in the wall. The guys got the car out for the second session, and the car felt good. I’m just getting used to
traffic.”
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The final IndyCar Series event of the 2006 season is the PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean at 1:30 (ET) p.m. on Sept. 10 at Chicagoland Speedway. The
race will be telecast live by ABC and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPN Deportes. The IMS Radio
Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio channel 145 “IndyCar Racing” and www.indycar.com. The fifth season of Indy Pro Series competition concludes
with the Chicagoland 100 on Sept. 9 at Chicagoland Speedway. ESPN2’s coverage of the Chicagoland 100 will be televised at 2 p.m. (ET) on Sept. 14. Live streaming
video coverage of the weekend’s IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series practice and qualifying sessions and the Chicagoland 100 will be available at www.indycar.com.
