DANA COMPLETES ROOKIE ORIENTATION AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Paul Dana, driver of the No. 91 Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone entry in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, today completed the four-phase rookie orientation program at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway during opening-day ceremonies for the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. All newcomers to the Speedway must complete a ten-lap run at each speed range of 195-200 mph; 200-205 mph; 205-210 mph; and 210 mph and above.
Dana’s top speed was 211.786 mph around the 2.5-mile circuit. The top speed of the day was over 221 mph, and pole speed will likely be in the 226 mph range. “Mission accomplished. We did it, and we did it real quick,” Dana said. “We got through it pretty easily. I’m pretty sick actually, so we knew that as soon as we cleared the minimum we needed to do to get through the rookie day that we were going to park it. I need to get home and get to bed. We’ll come back tomorrow and start taking some wing out of it and see how fast we can go.
“The Hemelgarn team has a lot of experience around here. They’ve won it. Tim Wardrop, our engineer, has won here several times, so they know what they’re doing. The team just put a lot of downforce in the car and nailed it to the track, so it was pretty much as stable as it’s ever going to be. When we start taking the wing out, it’ll start getting touchy, but maybe I’ll be a little sharper. I’m kind of knocked out right about now. “It’s a special day. It’s something that you think about and work for your whole life. To do it is really cool. I really want to thank the ethanol industry and our other sponsors Remy and Life Fitness for giving me this opportunity. It’s a long, long month, and we need to qualify for the race, and we need to finish the race, so today is a milestone, but there are much bigger ones to come this month, and I’m just focusing on those.”
Practice continues all week and qualifying begins with MBNA Pole Day on Saturday, May 14. The race itself is Sunday, May 29 1:00 PM Eastern and is televised live on ABC Sports. Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing is backed by a group of companies within the fast- growing ethanol industry, led by the major ethanol design-build firms Fagen Inc., ICM Inc., and Broin Companies. Ethanol is a high octane, high performance fuel that is clean burning, renewable and made in America.
As a growing component of the United States' gasoline supply, it delivers improved vehicle performance while reducing emissions and improving air quality. The IndyCar Series has announced that it will switch to ethanol as its fuel source beginning with a 10% blend in 2006 and moving to 100% fuel-grade ethanol in 2007. The team’s 2005 roster of supporting partners under the ethanol banner is being finalized and will be announced later this week. Remy International, Inc. and Life Fitness are associate sponsors for the #91 Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing entry. Remy International, Inc. is headquartered in Anderson, Ind. (USA). The company designs, manufactures, remanufactures and distributes electrical, powertrain and related components and provides core exchange services for automobiles and light trucks, heavy-duty trucks and other heavy-duty, off-road and industrial applications. Products include starter motors, alternators, engines, fuel systems and hybrid drive systems.
