FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sam Schmidt Schweeps!
First 1-2-3 Start In Infiniti
Pro Series History;
Gregg, Camara, Festa Qualify
At Front
March 18, 2005
AVONDALE, Ariz. - Sam Schmidt Motorsports became the first team
in Menards Infiniti Pro Series history to sweep the first three
starting spots Friday at the one-mile Phoenix International
Raceway.
With Travis Gregg keeping a personal streak alive and leading
the way, he was joined by teammate Jaime Camara on the front row
for Sunday's Phoenix 100. Schmidt's third car, driven by
Chris Festa, will start third.
"Guess they're going to have to start making the front row
wider," laughed team owner Schmidt, a former winning Indy Racing
League driver who was paralyzed from the shoulders down
following a crash in practice at Orlando, Fla., just over five
years ago.
PHOENIX 100 QUALIFYING MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES RESULTS |
Pos |
No |
Driver Name |
Best Time |
Best Speed |
Best Lap |
Total Laps |
1 |
7 |
Travis Gregg |
23.0334 |
156.295 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
Jaime Camara |
23.1695 |
155.377 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
19 |
Chris Festa |
23.2100 |
155.106 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
Jon Herb |
23.3990 |
153.853 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
20 |
Jay Drake |
23.5005 |
153.188 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
24 |
Jeff Simmons |
23.5913 |
152.599 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
4 |
Marty Roth |
23.6495 |
152.223 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
5 |
Arie Luyendyk Jr. |
23.6982 |
151.910 |
2 |
2 |
9 |
33 |
Wade Cunningham |
23.8979 |
150.641 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
3 |
Al Unser |
24.4189 |
147.427 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
21 |
Nick Bussell |
24.5214 |
146.811 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
36 |
P.J. Chesson |
0.0000 |
0.000 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
27 |
G.J. Mennen |
0.0000 |
0.000 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
91 |
Mishael Abbott |
0.0000 |
0.000 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
11 |
Scott Mayer |
0.0000 |
0.000 |
0 |
0 |
Gregg won the pole for the season-opener two weeks ago at
Homestead, Fla. With Friday's qualifying effort, he now has
three poles and two outside starts in his five career starts in
the Infiniti Pro Series. Gregg led every lap of the Homestead
race with teammate Camara, who started on the outside pole at
Homestead too, running second every lap. The pair built an
11-second lead by halfway before a caution bunched the field;
they beat the third-place car by almost seven seconds.
"It didn't really look like it was going to be that good of a
day for our car," said Gregg, a Camden, Ohio, native. "I was
figuring Jamie or Chris would end up leading the way for us. Our
speeds in the practice sessions just weren't where we wanted
them to be."
Gregg said the team made a few changes prior to qualifying but
he also had a talk with himself.
"I did change my driving style a little bit," he said. "I got
mad at myself a little bit. Maybe that made me drive a little
harder. Still, I was as surprised as anybody when they said we
had won the pole."
Camara, a Brazilian native living in Miami, Fla., was smiling
after his second consecutive outside pole run.
"Phoenix is a good track for me. It's tricky but I'm looking
forward to the race," Camara said. "We tested here and all three
of us tested pretty well. We felt we would have a good shot at
winning the pole and maybe even a shot at the first two or even
first three.
"The car is pretty good. We'll look at some different things for
the race but I believe we have a pretty good start right now,"
he added.
Festa, a 19-year-old native of Atlanta, Ga., who is a freshman
at Florida State University, was pleased with his run as well.
"The
car was good. It felt pretty good all of the way around," he
said. "I'm really happy for Travis and Jaime, and everybody at
Sam Schmidt Motorsports. This is a pretty big day for Sam and
everybody associated with our teams.
"We had a few additional fans today, too, which was really
great," he added.
Schmidt's Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation and Andretti-Green
Racing hosted approximately 75 people with spinal cord injuries
at a "Day At The Races" event. The group from three
organizations - Joni and Friends, Arizona Spinal Cord
Association and Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Hospital - toured
the speedway, were the guests of Andretti-Green Racing for
lunch, and met various drivers, including the Sam Schmidt
Motorsports drivers.
"It is really important for people to see that life continues
after a spinal cord injury, and it can continue pretty well,
regardless of your circumstances," said Schmidt. "There is hope.
That's what the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation is all about -
continuing to work to help people overcome injuries that today
might look overwhelming. There have been tremendous strides,
amazing strides, made in treating spinal cord injuries in just
the past few years. While that research and work continues, we
want all of those affected to know there is hope for the
future."
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Williams Company of America, Inc.
(704) 660-0796 |