WHAT: Phoenix 100, 2nd race in 14-race 2005 IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ season.
WHERE: Phoenix International Raceway, 1-mile asphalt oval
WHEN: 1 p.m. (EST), Saturday, March 19
DISTANCE: 100 laps/100 miles
CARS: Dallara chassis; Infiniti V8 engines; Firestone tires
PREVIOUS RACE WINNERS:
2004 – Thiago Medeiros
2003 – Mark Taylor
2004 SERIES CHAMPION:
Thiago Medeiros
TV:
ESPN2, 3 p.m. (EST), March 24
Announcers: Dr. Jerry Punch, Robbie Buhl
Pit reporter: Cameron Steele
SCHEDULE: (all times local; subject to change)
Friday, March 18
7 a.m. – Garages open
9:15-9:45 p.m. – Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice
11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice
2:15 p.m. – Menards Infiniti Pro Series qualifying
5-5:15 p.m. – Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice
Saturday, March 19
6 a.m. – Garages open
11 a.m. – Phoenix 100 Menards Infiniti Pro Series race (100 laps/100 miles)
STORY IDEAS:
• Abbott is first woman to compete in Menards Infiniti Pro Series: Mishael Abbott is the first woman to compete in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. Abbott, 23, began karting when she was 14. She also has competed in USAC Midget events, Formula Mazda competition and the SCCA National Runoffs. Abbott is studying elementary education at Florida Atlantic University. She qualified fourth and finished eighth in her Menards Infiniti Pro Series debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 6.
• Sam Schmidt Motorsports defends title: Former IndyCar Series driver Sam Schmidt continues defense of his team’s 2004 Menards Infiniti Pro Series title with a four-car effort in the Phoenix 100. Schmidt teammates Travis Gregg and Jamie Camara finished first and second at Homestead-Miami. Chris Festa ran as high as fourth in the race. Scott Mayer makes his season debut at Phoenix.
• Winning the pole is key to victory: In two Menards Infiniti Pro Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, the pole sitter has led every lap en route to taking the checkered flag. In 2003, Mark Taylor led all 100 laps and beat Thiago Medeiros by 1.0758 seconds. Last year, Medeiros captured the pole with a record speed of 156.836 mph. He not only led every lap in the race, he lapped the entire field.
• Drake looks to convert Copper World success into IRL success: Jay Drake, the 2004 USAC Valvoline National Sprint Car champion, is a rookie in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. Drake competed in the Copper World Classic at PIR earlier this year, finishing second in the midget race and 16th in the silver crown race. Drake has finished in the top five in both of his Menards Infiniti Pro Series races. Drake is a former USAC Western States champion, which ran numerous times at nearby Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix.
• 2005 season features road courses, two races at Indy: The Menards Infiniti Pro Series continues to grow. Just three years ago, the Menards Infiniti Pro Series staged its first event as part of a seven-race program. After expanding to 12 races for the following two seasons, the series grows to 14 races in 2005, four of which will be on road/street courses and two of which will take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Menards Infiniti Pro Series will join the IndyCar Series at St. Petersburg, Fla. for a street-course race on April 3, and at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International for road-course events on Aug. 28 and Sept. 25, respectively. The Pro Series drivers also will race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the United States Grand Prix on June 19, becoming the first series to compete at IMS twice in the same year since 1916.
• Drivers graduate to IndyCar Series: The Menards Infiniti Pro Series continues to graduate drivers to the IndyCar Series. Menards Infiniti Pro Series champion A.J. Foyt IV (2002) and series runner-ups Ed Carpenter (2002, 2003) and Paul Dana (2004) are regulars in the IndyCar Series. Last year’s Indianapolis 500 featured five drivers who had competed in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series.
PRE-RACE QUOTES:
MISHAEL ABBOTT (No. 91 Hemelgarn Johnson Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Being the first woman to compete in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series means the world to me. I’ve always been proud of my accomplishments, being the first female to win a professional shifter kart race in the United States, being the first to test the Infiniti Pro Series car at Las Vegas two years ago, and now the first woman to actually compete in the series fulfills one of my life long goals.”
(About adding Phoenix to original five-race schedule) “After the Homestead-Miami race, I debriefed with team owners Ron Hemelgarn and Roger Johnson. Based on my performance, they want me to change my schedule to include the race at Phoenix. I'm very happy to add Phoenix to my schedule. Their vote of confidence is such a thrill, and I really look forward to the uniqueness of the D-oval configuration.”
NICK BUSSELL (No. 21 JL West Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Phoenix should be a true test for us. It is a difficult track, one of the most technical in the series. I have raced the road course there with Formula Renault, so I know Turns 3 and 4, but 1 and 2 will be new to me. We haven’t tested there, so I really don’t know what to expect, other than it will be tight, wheel-to-wheel racing, different altogether from Homestead. With only two short practice sessions, it will be a challenge for us to adapt quickly. I’m confident the guys will give me a good car with the right setup, so it’s up to me to do the rest. I want a podium spot. If we can qualify strong like we did in Miami, then we should be in good shape.”
JAMIE CAMARA (No. 1 CELG-Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “It will be one of the most difficult races of the year, as it is a tricky course. I have been fastest there on the pre-season official test session, and obviously now I want to win, but it will be very hard. It is a very peculiar oval. We have to lift every lap, unbalancing the car. We must find a setup to be fast the whole race. It is hard to pass, so it is even more important to qualify on the front row.”
JAY DRAKE (No. 20 Vision Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Now that we have one race under our belt with Vision Racing, I think we’ll have a better understanding of what to expect. Hopefully the many laps I have at Phoenix in the Silver Crown and Sprint cars will be beneficial.”
TRAVIS GREGG (No. 7 Lucas Oil Products/Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Some of the keys, just be a little patient and make sure you get a good race car setup. That way, it’s comfortable. Turns 3 and 4, and 1 and 2, it’s a little bit tighter and has a little bit, you know, a tight corner coming off of 2. But I think to just stay focused on being smart and not trying to do anything silly, it’s only the second race of the year and just try to do that. At the Phoenix Open Test, Jaime (Camara) was the front runner and (Jeff) Simmons was up there, too. So I think it's going to be a very competitive race.”
JON HERB (No. 6 AERCON Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “We’re really looking forward to Phoenix. We tested there a few weeks ago, and it went very well. Our fastest lap came right at the end of the test, so we’re looking forward to picking up from where we left off, because we definitely had some more left in the car. We’ll come back and optimize the shocks a bit better and work with the setup, and I’m sure we’ll be faster. I’ll be able to drive the car a bit harder. I really like Phoenix. It’s challenging because of the different banking and geometry in the turns. It’s a driver’s track.”
JEFF SIMMONS (No. 24 Team ISI Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Obviously we did not start the season the way we would have liked to. The Homestead race weekend was a very frustrating one, but you can be sure that everyone at Kenn Hardley Racing will be doing what it takes to ensure that Phoenix will be a different story. We were quick in testing, so expect us to be near the top of the charts right from the start.”
IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series™Phoenix 100At Phoenix International Raceway1 p.m. (EST) Saturday, March 19, 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 TBA TBA Brian Stewart Racing D/I/F Brian Stewart Racing Mo Larsen4 Marty Roth Toronto Roth Racing D/I/F Roth Racing Rick Duman6 Jon Herb Chicago 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.11 Scott Mayer (R) Franklin, Wis. ABC Supply-QPS Staffing D/I/F Sam Schmidt Motorsports Tim Whiting19 Chris Festa (R) Atlanta SpacePak/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 Winkle25 TBA TBA Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. D/I/F AFS Racing Jayson Madison27 TBA TBA Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. D/I/F AFS Racing Jayson Madison33 Wade Cunningham (R) Auckland, New Zealand Visit New Zealand D/I/F Brian Stewart Racing Dave Metcalf36 P.J. Chesson Far Hills, N.J. Genoa Racing Special D/I/F Genoa Racing Mike West91 Mishael Abbott (R) Coral Springs, Fla. Hemelgarn Johnson Motorsports D/I/F Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsports Chuck Buckman
Legend: Chassis: D=Dallara. Engine: I=Infiniti. Tire: F=Firestone. (R)=Rookie.
