SAM SCHMIDT MOTORSPORTS TOP THREE IN PRACTICE SESSION

March 4, 2005

HOMESTEAD, FL - Travis Gregg fastest in IPS  In preparations for the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series Homestead-Miami 100, Travis Gregg led a Sam Schmidt Motorsports sweep of the top-three spots.

Gregg posted a lap of 28.4137 seconds, 188.149 mph in the No. 7 Lucas Oil Products/Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. His teammates, rookies Jaime Camara and Chris Festa were second and third, respectively.

CHRIS FESTA (right) of Atlanta (#19 SpacePak, CareCentric, Sam Schmidt Motorsports Entry) talks with car owner Sam Schmidt prior to the start of Friday's practice sessions for Saturday's pole qualifying and Sunday's Menards Infiniti Pro Series automobile race. Festa was among the fastest in Friday's practice sessions. Schmidt's cars were three of the four fastest in the initial practice period.

FASTEST MENARDS INFINTI PRO SERIES SPEEDS OF DAY
Pos. Car Name C/E/T Speed
1. 7 Travis Gregg D/I/F 188.149 mph
2. 1 Jaime Camara D/I/F 187.418 mph
3. 19 Chris Festa D/I/F 186.780 mph
4. 21 Nick Bussell D/I/F 186.471 mph
5. 4 Marty Roth D/I/F 186.348 mph

POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:
TRAVIS GREGG (No. 7 Lucas Oil Products/Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "We weren't trying to get the fastest speeds out there today. What we wanted to do was get a good setup. We didn't work too much on qualifying. It just turned out that we were the quickest." (About leading a Sam Schmidt Motorsports sweep of the top-three spots): "This is a championship-winning team. They do a great job with setups and it shows. I expect us to be in the top-three, so today isn't a coincidence to me."

CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 SpacePak/CareCentric/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "We ended up third overall. We just wanted to work on our race setup during the first session and see how the car worked in dirty air. Unfortunately, we didn't get much of a chance to run in dirty air. My teammates did get to run in the dirty air, so we can take the information from them. The last session was more of a qualifying run. We thought we learned a lot about our car today, so things look good for qualifying tomorrow."

JAIME CAMARA (No.1 CELG/Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "The day was good for us, but we were trying different setups for the race. They were all very good, but I think our concern is qualifying. It's a different setup, and I think we have to do a good job to start up front. I think the race will be very difficult to pass. Everybody knows the track really well. I ran with (Marty) Roth for like 20 laps, and it was very difficult to pass."