Sam
Schmidt Motorsports Ready for Infineon Debut
Pepperdine/SCCA Alum Schmidt Has Full Week in Bay Area
Sam Schmidt, a
graduate of Malibu, California's Pepperdine University and a
former SCCA and IndyCar racer, is bringing his three-car
Menards Infiniti Pro Series race team to Infineon for the
series debut, hoping his rookie drivers love the track as
much as he does.
Schmidt has
become one of the best known figures in open wheel racing,
partly in response to the success of Sam Schmidt Motorsports
in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series and partly because of his
own success as a winning driver prior to his devastating
crash five-and-a-half years ago, but mostly because of the
way he overcame tragedy in the development of the Sam
Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, which has become a leader in
representation of those suffering from spinal cord injuries.
In addition,
Schmidt has three of the top names in the Infiniti Pro
Series, the IRL development series for top young open-wheel
racers.
Travis Gregg,
27, from Camden, Ohio, drives Schmidt's #7 Lucas Oil
Special. Gregg, who has a long-standing tradition of doing
backflips in celebration of his race wins, has five pole
positions (Miami, Phoenix, Texas, Kentucky), three victories
(Miami, Texas, Kentucky) and has led 221 laps in the MIPS
this season, the most of all the series drivers. Gregg is
second in the championship battle with 350 points.
Jaime Camara,
24, a Brazilian native residing in Miami, Fla. He is third
in the standings with 311 points. Driving Schmidt's #1 CELG,
Goias entry, Camara has three pole positions (Indianapolis,
Nashville, Milwaukee), three outside pole positions
(Homestead, Phoenix, Kentucky), two wins (Indianapolis,
Nashville). Camara secured the team's qualifying efforts on
the two road course races this season (fifth at St.
Petersburg and IMS road course).
Chris Festa, 19,
of Atlanta, Ga, the youngest of Schmidt's drivers, is sixth
in the series standings with 274 points. Festa led his
first MIPS lap at Texas, where he qualified second. He
holds the team's best finish on a road course this season,
grabbing a podium finish at the series' debut on the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course in June, finishing
third. Festa has another third place finish at Texas, and
his best finish of the season is second at Phoenix. The
teenager drives Schmidt's #19 SpacePak, CareCentric entry
and resumes classes at Florida State University following
this weekend's race.
Sam Schmidt
Motorsports is also a means of promoting and publicizing the
Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation. The Foundation was created
by Schmidt to help individuals overcome spinal cord injuries
and other neurological disorders. Schmidt is currently
recovering from serious upper spinal cord injuries suffered
in a testing accident on January 6, 2000 while practicing
for the season-opening Indy Racing League event at Walt
Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. Further information
is available at
www.samschmidt.org or (317) 236-9999.
Here are some
thoughts from the drivers and owner heading into the
Infineon Raceway debut:
SAM SCHMIDT,
Owner, Sam Schmidt Motorsports:
"We are very
excited to be going to Infineon Raceway for the inaugural
Menards Infiniti Pro Series event. The Bay area is known
for its concentration of high tech companies. The high
speed of the Indy Cars and Infiniti Pro Series and the
incredible technology behind them is a natural fit with the
area.
"Also, growing
up in California, I raced at Sears Point several times in
the 90's and I think the track is incredible from a driver's
standpoint. I know the team and the drivers have been
working extremely hard to improve our road course
performance. Hopefully we will see some positive results
from that effort and the drivers will all leave Infineon
with the same appreciation for the track as I have."
TRAVIS GREGG, #7 Lucas Oil
Special, Sam Schmidt Motorsports Entry:
"Infineon Raceway is a very
challenging track. It has elevation changes, off camber
turns and blind corners. The track looks like it should be
a lot of fun in our Menards Infiniti Pro Series race cars.
I'm hoping it's what I need to really step up my road course
performances so I can stay in the points chase.
"It's awesome that we'll be
racing in California's wine country, but it's going to be
kind of bittersweet. We'll get to enjoy the scenery but no
fruits of labor from any of the vineyards since drinking and
racing probably isn't the best combination - though I have
to admit, champagne in Victory Lane is incredible. I'll
have to save the rest of the sampling for another trip."
JAIME CAMARA,
#1 CELG, Goias, Sam Schmidt Motorsports Entry:
"Infineon is a
new track for everybody (in our series), so whoever works
the fastest, and the best, in finding the best setup is
going to be the one to beat. It's very important to start on
the front row there because it's a track that is hard to
pass. I have visited Infineon Raceway and I learned some
tricky things about the track that can help me at the race
weekend. Most importantly, we've got to get the Sam Schmidt
Motorsports cars all up front on the starting grid since
track position will be so critical."
CHRIS FESTA,
#19 SpacePak, CareCentric, Sam Schmidt Motorsports Entry:
"If people are
watching our race at Infineon and they have only ever seen
the track when NASCAR races there, they'll notice they are
seeing a different racing circuit. Our cars have much
better turning capabilities, so we will take a few different
corners than the stock cars take.
"I think the
race at Infineon is going to be great. The track is a very
good road course with a lot of different elevation changes,
different turns - there are high-speed and low-speed turns.
I'm looking forward to the race, I think our Menards
Infiniti Pro Series cars should work very well there,
providing some great racing action for the Sonoma-area race
fans."
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION: Williams Company of America, Inc. (704)
660-0796