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© Oak Park Journal photo
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Milwaukee Mile IRL Race Weekend
July 23-25, 2004
A. J. Foyt, Legendary Driver, now owner and
namesake for the IRL Race at the Milwaukee Mile
in Wisconsin is looking forward to the weekend
and the event.
© Oak Park Journal photo
The Indy Racing League will coming to Milwaukee this
weekend and this is one of the best chances to see some of
the best drivers in open wheel racing in one of the friendliest
tracks in the nation. The Milwaukee Mile is small, friendly,
and down home fun and one of the best chances for getting a
close up look at your favorite driver. They are even making
reduced ticket sales for this inaugural event. (Below)
You never know who you'll see at an IRL
event ------Johnny Rutherford ?
( Sunday, July 25 North and South
Terrace bleacher seating starts at $20, with buy one, get one free
grandstand seating available in the 100 Level of the one year-new
Milwaukee Mile center grandstands. “We are making it affordable
for every fan to enjoy what is going to be a great open wheel racing
weekend,” exclaimed Mark Perrone, Vice President & General Manager
of the historic speedway. On-track activities start
Friday, with every ticket priced at $5 to witness practice and
qualifying for the much-anticipated return of the United States Auto
Club (USAC) National Midget Series and Silver Crown divisions.
The driving stars of the Saturday is “Husar’s House of
Fine Diamonds Pole Day,” with the first 10,000 fans, aged 18 and older,
a cubic zirconium (CZ) gemstone. One lucky fan will win an oval,
one karat diamond and setting valued at $14,000. For details, log
on to www.milwaukeemile.com.
The IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series qualifying session is set for The mighty USAC National Midget
Car Series 25-mile feature will take the green flag at
Saturday adult admission tickets range from
$10 to $35. The IndyCars warm-up on Sunday
morning from 10:00am until Sunday
race day tickets start at $20. For race tickets and more information on all the SPEEDFEST activities off the track surrounding the first visit of the Indy Racing Leage and the return of USAC racing to The Milwaukee Mile this weekend, log on to www.milwaukeemile.com. Friday, July 23 On Track Excitement Followed By Parade With Indy Driving Legends IRL IndyCar Series and IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice, plus the much-anticipated return of USAC Silver Crown and USAC National Midget Car Series, with their practice and qualifying sessions rounding out a full day of open-wheel action! ON-TRACK SCHEDULE: USAC Midget Practice 8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. USAC Silver Crown Practice 9:15 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series Practice 10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Indy Car Series Practice 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. USAC Practice and Qualifying 12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series Practice 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Indy Car Series Practice 2:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. “Cruisin’ With The Legends” Parade, Leading Into The “Carbeque” A good ol’ fashioned parade down Greenfield Avenue starts at 6:00 p.m. featuring an expected cast of Indy 500 race winners and driving legends including AJ Foyt, Rick Mears, Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, and Helio Castroneves! The parade features these driving heroes among vintage cars and muscle cars, low riders and more! The parade goes down Greenfield Avenue from 69th Street to 79th Street, leading into the Milwaukee Mile infield for a car show and down home “Carbeque,” featuring classic rock super group “Paul Revere & The Raiders” on stage with mouth-watering Mr. Porkchop-prepared barbeque! The “Crusin’ With The Legends” Parade and car show are free to attend. Proceeds from admission to the “Carbeque”, including food and musical entertainment, goes to Variety – The Children’s Charity of Wisconsin. Saturday, July 24 Husar’s House of Fine Diamonds of Downtown West Bend ‘Pole Day’ The first 10,000 fans aged 18 or older attending IRL IndyCar and IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series qualification day will each receive a cubic zirconium (CZ). One specially marked CZ will entitle the bearer to a one-carat, oval-shaped diamond valued at $14,000, which Husar’s of downtown West Bend will place into a setting! USAC National Midget & USAC Weld Racing
Silver Crown races IRL IndyCar
all-driver Autograph Session ON-TRACK SCHEDULE
  Above are some photos from the Milwaukee Mile race track and even though they are CART cars it lets you see some of the action that the IRL cars will have on this grand racecourse. © Oak Park Journal photo
MEIRA, MEDEIROS CAPTURE POLE POSITIONS AT MILWAUKEE WEST ALLIS, Wis., Saturday, July 24, 2004 – Rahal Letterman Racing driver Vitor Meira won his first MBNA Pole Award of the 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season as he claimed the pole position for the Menards A.J. Foyt Indy 255 at The Milwaukee Mile. Meira, driver of the No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Team Centrix Panoz G Force/Honda/Firestone, turned a lap at 21.5781 seconds, 169.338 mph, to win his first pole position since the 2002 season-finale at Texas Motor Speedway. “The car got better each time we went out on the track,” Meira said. “We got better two or three tenths every time. That shows the teamwork we have.” IRL IndyCar® Series points leader Tony Kanaan will start alongside Meira after lapping the 1-mile oval at 21.6730 seconds, 168.597 mph in his No 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone. Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice qualified third at 21.7149 seconds, 168.272 mph. Defending IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon will start 14th despite crashing in both practice and qualifying. Dixon was transported to Froedtert Memorial Hospital for precautionary X-rays on his right knee and left ankle. His status will be re-evaluated on July 25. Also Saturday, Thiago Medeiros captured his fifth consecutive Menards Infiniti Pro Series pole position, as he claimed the pole position for the Milwaukee 100. Medeiros, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on July 24, turned a lap at 24.8094 seconds, 147.283 mph, in his #11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infinti/Firestone. “It was a really good car for qualifying,” Medeiros said. “We were fastest in the practice session, and we were fastest in qualifying. It always feels good to start in the front, but it’s a long race, 100 laps.” Rookie Jesse Mason will start alongside Medeiros in the July 25 race, the first front-row start of his Menards Infiniti Pro Series career. Mason turned a lap of 25.2213 seconds, 144.878 mph in the No. 3 Segway Human Transportation Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. MENARDS INFINTI PRO SERIES MILWAUKEE 100 POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES: THIAGO MEDEIROS (No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/ Firestone): “It was a really good car for qualifying. We were fastest in the practice session, and we were fastest in qualifying. It always feels good to start in the front, but it’s a long race, 100 laps. The tires have a lot of grip, so we’ll push hard to get an advantage on second place, then try to keep the tires for the end of the race.” (About racing at The Milwaukee Mile): “It’s my first time (racing) here. It kind of reminds me of a road course. It’s a lot about the team, and it’s a driver’s track, so I like that.” JESSE MASON (No. 3 Segway Human Transportation Dallara/Infiniti/ Firestone): “It was a pretty good run. We’ve been pretty quick here. It’s more like a road course, which I like. It was a little bit hairy in (Turn) 4, but the car was good. The car was a little bit looser than I thought it would be. We got a front-row starting spot, which is what we wanted, so we’ll give it a shot it the race. It will be a long one, so hopefully, we can get out front early. I don’t think there will be much passing.” (What are your chances to beat Thiago Medeiros): “Thiago’s been super quick in qualifying, as we see, but we don’t know how good a race car he has. I think I may have a better race car, so hopefully, we’ll give him a shot. Hopefully, it will be a lot closer than it’s been in other races.” BRAD POLLARD (No. 64 Team XBOX/Pollard Racing Dallara/Infiniti/ Firestone): (About his spin): “We were going faster into Turn 3 than we’ve been going in past, and we were really trying to push it. I shifted it up into sixth (gear) to get quicker, but it pushed into the marbles and came around. I was just trying to keep it off the wall and bring it back.” (About the run): “Sam Schmidt and XBOX and everyone working on the car has been giving us a great car all weekend. We just keep getting better and better all the time.” INDYCAR SERIES MENARDS A.J. FOYT INDY 225 POST-QUALIFYING NOTES: • Vitor Meira is the fifth different MBNA Pole Award winner this season. Other pole winners this season are: Buddy Rice (4), Dan Wheldon (2), Helio Castroneves (1) and Dario Franchitti (1). • This is Rahal Letterman Racing’s fifth pole position of the season. Buddy Rice won the team’s four previous MBNA Pole Awards. • This is the third time that Tony Kanaan has started second in an IndyCar Series race this season. • Jaques Lazier recorded Patrick Racing’s best starting position this season – ninth. *** INDYCAR SERIES MENARDS A.J. FOYT INDY 225 POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES: VITOR MEIRA (No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Team Centrix Panoz G Force/Honda/ Firestone): “The car got better each time we went out on the track. We got better two or three tenths every time. That shows the teamwork we have. Centrix and (CEO) Bob Sutton came aboard. (Team co-owner) Bobby Rahal, everyone knows who he is, and he’s the man. (Teammate) Buddy Rice and I work well together really well. That’s what makes a good teammate.” TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “We struggled a lot in the test. We worked, the whole four guys together, to get a good setup, and I think we nailed it. We’re just working towards the race now. That’s the advantage to having three teammates. We work so well together. We have six engineers putting their heads together to make a good setup. I was extremely happy with our performance.” SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “We would’ve liked to have qualified a little higher, but Marlboro Team Penske has been working so hard on the handling of the car that I think we should be fine for the race. Milwaukee is one of those tracks where setup is key, and I am really happy with how my car is handling this weekend. It’ll be tough to pass out there tomorrow, so pit stops will be very important. The crew has been great all year, so hopefully we’ll be up near the front throughout the race.” HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “I was expecting to do a little better in qualifying, but the Marlboro Team Penske car had a tremendous push in Turns 3 and 4, which kept me from improving my time. We’re starting in the top five, and I think we’ve got a pretty good race car, so hopefully, we can bring home a strong finish. Based on practice, it’s been tough to pass, so we’ll have to execute clean pit stops, stay out of trouble and see how the day plays out.” TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Chevrolet/ Firestone): “That was one of the best qualifying runs I’ve ever had. I was flat out the whole way around. The car was so good, I was able to go flat even before the green flag. I just have to thank the Pennzoil guys and all the hard work they and Chevy have done to get this thing ready for today. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. We keep getting stronger and stronger each time out, and hopefully, the results will show tomorrow.” JAQUES LAZIER (No. 20 Patrick Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/ Firestone): “We were not with the (Patrick Racing) team when they tested here, so the entire weekend, we've been a little bit behind. We're playing a game of catch up. I'm very, very happy. They've taken me under their wing, and we're just starting to build the communication process.” ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (No. 5 Quaker State Telmex Tecate Panoz G Force/Honda/Firestone): “We didn’t have a very good first session this morning. The car was not very good, so we made some changes, and the car was pretty good in qualifying. Actually, I’m surprised at how stable the car was. I could have gotten a little more, but in general, I’m pretty happy with the speed we were able to do in qualifying.” DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “The ArcaEx car felt very good. I didn't feel the wind at all, but I'm surprised it wasn't a slightly quicker lap time. I might have been in the wrong gear. With these engines, it's critical to have the right gearing to maintain your momentum. I'm confident we'll have a good setup for the race, but we can finalize that during tomorrow morning's warmup.” BUDDY RICE (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Racing Pioneer Argent Panoz G Force/Honda/Firestone): “(Teammate) Vitor (Meira) really deserves the pole. Vitor has done an excellent job with this Centrix team, and he has been a very good teammate, too. This is a driver’s track and a handling track. We were behind a little on our short-oval setups early in the year, but I think you can see that we have improved on those settings now. Qualifying is always important, but we need to have good race cars. I think we have a strong car for Sunday’s race. We need to have a balanced car, so we can run long distances on a set of tires. I know they have run races here without many yellow flags. If that is the case again, we’ll need to be consistent throughout our fuel stints, but our Rahal Letterman team is in pretty good shape right now.” SCOTT DIXON (No. 1 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/ Firestone): (About crashes in practice and qualifying): “It’s very unfortunate to have that happen twice in one day. In this morning’s practice, I’m not sure if it was something on the track or I just got a bit loose on cold tires. The Target team worked very hard and quickly to get the back-up car ready for qualifying. I was on my second timed lap when it just wiggled a little, and I tried to catch it. My knee and ankle are a bit sore from being bumped around. The doctors will take a look at it, but I’m sure I’ll be good to go for tomorrow’s race. It’ll be tough to start from the back, but the team gave us a really good car that was fairly quick on Friday. I’m sure we’ll be able to do something with it.” DARREN MANNING (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone): “I got half way through my first timed lap when I had a bit of a moment through Turns 3 and 4. I completely lost any momentum, and that spoiled both my laps. It’s really disappointing, especially since we were quickest this morning and right up there yesterday, too. I know the Target team has given me a good car, so we’ll do the best we can with it.” *** SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local): 9:15 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Menards Infiniti Pro Series final practice 10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. IndyCar Series final practice (all cars) Noon Menards Infiniti Pro Series Milwaukee 100 2:30 p.m. IndyCar Series Menards A.J. Foyt Indy 225 (ABC and IMS Radio Network) World Wide Web: http://www.indyracing.com |
