Sam Schmidt
Motorsports:
St. Petersburg Advance
'Experienced' is in the eye of the beholder;
Schmidt Motorsports boasts three top rookie drivers
Monday Mar 28, 2005
Holding three of the top five spots
in the series standings, Sam Schmidt Motorsports roars into the
St. Petersburg (Fla.)
Grand Prix this week for Sunday's Menards Infiniti Pro Series
race.
Travis Gregg, who drives Schmidt's #7
Lucas Oil Special, is second in the championship battle with 82
points, five behind leader Jon Herb. Gregg, 26, is a native of
Camden,
Ohio, and has won both poles
this season (Miami
and
Phoenix), and won the
Miami race.
Chris Festa, 19, is fourth with 60
points after his second-place finish at
Phoenix. Festa is from
Atlanta,
Ga., and is a freshman at
Florida
State
University. He drives
Schmidt's SpacePak, CareCentric entry.
Jaime Camara, 24, is a Brazilian
native living in
Miami, and holds fifth with 59
points. Driving Schmidt's CELG, Goias entry, Camara has captured
both outside poles this season and finished second in the
Miami race, right behind race
winner Gregg.
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 is what the drivers and owner
Schmidt had to say going into
St. Petersburg:
SAM SCHMIDT,
Owner, Sam Schmidt Motorsports:
"I have very high expectations for
all three cars. We've tested for the road courses and feel
pretty good about what we can do there. Also, since our entire
crew has several years of experience in road racing at the
highest level, they definitely know how to make the cars turn
right as well as left.
"Chris Festa and Jaime Camara have
run primarily road courses with similar equipment in their
careers. Chris has even raced on this particular circuit, so he
brings some additional experience to our team.
"With the background of these three
guys, it was our goal to come away from the first two oval races
at least where we are in the points, and hope to improve
positions on the road courses because of the experience our
drivers and crew has."
TRAVIS GREGG, #7
Lucas Oil Special, Sam Schmidt Motorsports Entry:
"Road courses are just a lot busier
than ovals. Better explained, there is just a lot more to do in
a shorter period of time. You leave one turn and you are setting
yourself up for the next. And you do that the entire race. You
have to pay a lot of attention to a lot of details all of the
time.
"I'm not saying one is more difficult
than the other or requires more concentration. They are simply
different and require different skills. You do things on a road
course that you don't need to do on an oval and vice-versa.
"Street courses add a whole new
perspective. The surface changes and tends to be rough in a lot
of places. That adds a whole new dimension into things.
"St. Petersburg
is wider than most street courses but there is still a pretty
big difference between a street course and a permanent road
course. Instead of a 'run off' area, you have a jewelry store.
There's a big difference in trying to work your way around a
gravel pit and work your way past a Starbucks.
"I think we're going to do fine. I'm
pretty excited about the chance to race at
St. Petersburg, and I know
Chris (Festa) and Jaime (Camara) are too."
CHRIS
FESTA, #19 SpacePak, CareCentric, Sam Schmidt Motorsports Entry:
"The
first street race I ever
ran was at
St. Petersburg in 2003, so
it's a nice feeling to be going back there for my first
Infiniti Pro Series street
race. It's a good course and it should be fun. It's definitely
my favorite street course.
"The course is wider than a lot of
street courses, which certainly helps the racing. It's not a
follow-the-leader type place like a lot of street courses. You
can be a little bit more aggressive there because it is wide,
and because it is a little smoother than a lot of street
courses. From a fan's perspective, it should be a fun race to
watch but, from a driver's perspective, I think it's going to be
a fun race to run too.
"I think you'll see some passing in
the Infiniti race and the Indy car race. There is room enough to
do that. The front is going to be the place to be the whole race
but if you are not up front, the course is set up so you will
have a chance at getting there. It doesn't have to be
single-file racing. I think you're going to see guys mixing it
up."
JAIME CAMARA, #1
CELG, Goias, Sam Schmidt Motorsports Entry:
"There is a difference between
oval-track racing and road-course racing, obviously. Road racing
is simply more complex. How could it not be? Instead of two long
corners you have 12 corners to negotiate.
"You are looking for balance on the
road course. Every corner is important every time you go through
it. That's the same as an oval but you have so many more corners
on the road course. If you make a mistake on an oval and it cost
you a tenth of a second in each turn, then you have lost
two-tenths of a second. If you make that same mistake for a full
lap on a 12-turn road course, you've lost over half of a second.
Big difference.
"There are just different skills
involved for road courses and for ovals. It takes a lot to be
successful on either one but what it does take is different too.
Many drivers run well on both. That's the type of driver I want
to be, one who is good on ovals or road courses. But it takes
time and experience. I have more experience on the road courses
but am learning more and more about the oval tracks every time
out."
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Richard N. (Chip) Williams, Williams
Company of America, Inc.
502 E. Center Ave.,
Mooresville,
NC 28115
(704) 660-0796 FAX: (704) 660-0886
email:
chip.williams@mindspring.com
www.williamscompany.com (digitized high-res photos
available for media downloading)
www.samschmidtmotorsports.com
www.samschmidt.org
goiasnet.globo.com/jaimecamara
www.travisgregg.com
www.chrisfestaracing.com
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