A Day in Indiana
Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park
Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Rain Out
© Oak Park Journal photo
The Rain was on and off all morning long.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Eddie Cheever's keeps working through the rain, and they even
kept the doors open so that folks that bought a garage pass could
have a look. A.J. Foyt and others had their garages locked up from
the public.
© Oak Park Journal photo
© Oak Park Journal photo
This Garage of clean up materials was open and ready
for
some work
© Oak Park Journal photo
Eddie Cheevers outside of garage, between the
showers.
© Oak Park Journal photo
I spoke with Eddie Cheever a few minutes in between the showers of the morning, and the first thing that came to
mind was whether or not he had seen any good movies lately. He paused a moment and noted that nothing to much had
caught his eye. I said that the "Interpreter" was good and
that I would recommend the Orlando Bloom film, "Kingdom
of Heaven," was also good. I asked if he was a Star Wars
fan or not and then he came to life. Eddie Cheevers loves
Star Wars, when it first came out he saw it twenty times,
three times the first day. Needless to say Mr. Cheevers
(owner of Red Bull Racing Team) is eagerly looking forward to the latest Star Wars epic coming out this week on Thursday.
Eddie Cheevers has also seen Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy, and recommends it.
Danica Patrick Had a Large Crowd of Fans Outside
of the Rahal/Letterman Garage.
© Oak Park Journal photo
We weren't able to get too close to this hot driver,
there were just too many people in the area, even
in the rain. Her driving is getting better and
better, and she couldn't get any cuter, even if
she wanted to. She is already the best looking driver
that the league has ever had (coming from a
man's perspective) and her behind the wheel work
for Rahal - Letterman could get them another
victory this year.
We were not happy to hear that the track was shut down
at about noon today, though it may make your official
MBNA Pole position pins worth more-since there was
no qualifying today at all (at least not at this track).
A FEW MILES AWAY AND AN HOUR LATER THINGS ARE UNDERWAY AT THE INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK.
Indianapolis Raceway Park, also in town and only about 6 miles
from the Brickyard.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Today Was a Qualifying Day at the Indianapolis Raceway Park
© Oak Park Journal photo
Even Canada Geese are Welcomed in the Infield at the Indianapolis Raceway Park, and today is the Northern Race Teams-so they may have
interest too.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Inspections are underway while the track is dried with jet engines.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Brandon Lollis is surrounded by attractive women who are
Helping Him get ready for the Qualifying Rounds, one is
his wife (above) and the other, his mom.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Mr. Lollis is from Altus, Oklohoma and works for the
Department of Defense, at the US Altus Air Force Base.
Brandon Lollis is not new to racing, but he is a rookie
in this series. USAR Hooters ProCup Series will be run
on May 15th and today is just perfect weather for the
qualifying. The United Speed Alliance Racing teams
average about $250,000.00 for the whole year of racing,
instead of that for just one race. Advertising comes
a little harder for the smaller league players, but they
are more than willing to get a sponser for even one or
two races. The owner of the car is Kim and Roger
Leesekamp of Oklahoma City, OK of James Overhead
Door.
Altus, Oklohoma is not a large town, it has only 21,000
people in total population. That means that for now
the primary sponsor is the owner of the car. This was
the first race for the young rookie driver and the
team of Kim and Roger Leesekamp (from James Overhead
Door ). They would have more than likely made the
final cut if the team had been in more races and acquired
more provisional points, but the 80 points garnered were
still twice as much as some of the others in the event.
The 83 Team looked good and next time should run well
in the United Speed Alliance Racing Hooters Pro Cup
Series.
Brandon Lollis getting some adjustments to the rear of his race car, they
are trying to get some laps shorter than the 24 second bracket.
© Oak Park Journal photo
Brandon Lollis handles the car well, but today was not his day.
© Oak Park Journal photo
http://www.usarprocup.com/
2005 USAR Hooters ProCup Series Driver Roster
United Speed Alliance Racing
2005 Northern Division Standings
Car # 83 Brandon Lollis (Rookie) from Altus, OK 80 points
Shelby Howard Paces Final Practice
USAR
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Indianapolis, IN—Shelby Howard paced the final practice session for Sunday’s running of the Lucas Oil 200 presented by Hare Auto Group at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Shelby Howard, who recently signed to drive for Tony Stewart’s newly-formed Pro Cup effort, drove the No. 20 Tony Stewart’s Smoke Bar-B-Que Sauce Pontiac around the .686-mile layout in a time of 22.953 sec. at 107.594 mph to lead the 46 cars that took times during the two-hour session.
Mike Laughlin Jr., driver of the No. 7 Titan Industrial Ford, jumped to second on the speed charts late in practice with a lap of 22.974 sec. at 107.495 mph.
Jeff Agnew, driver of the No. 73 NGA Hooters Golf Tour Ford, was third quick with a lap of 23.065 sec. at 107.071 mph.
Mardy Lindley, who won last year’s event, finished the practice session with the fourth quickest time. Lindley, driver of the No. 16 Hooters Air Ford, turned a lap of 23.124 sec. at 106.798 mph.
Benny Gordon, driver of the No. 66 Predator Performance Ford, rounded out the top five with a lap of 23.126 sec. at 106.789 mph.
The session went incident-free until the final 15 minutes when Woody Howard, driver of the No. 55 Dean Motorsports Chevrolet, slapped the Turn 1 wall. The team is evaluating the damage and may need to go to a backup car for qualifying.
Practice Results Below
1. Shelby Howard 22.953
2. Mike Laughlin Jr. 22.974
3. Jeff Agnew 22.065
4. Mardy Lindley 23.124
5. Benny Gordon 23.126
6. Joel Kauffman 23.131
7. Clay Rogers 23.193
8. Brian Ross 23.225
9. Gary St. Amant 23.361
10. Mart Nesbitt 23.375
11. Johnny Rumley 23.376
12. Gabi DiCarlo 23.391
13. Tim Bainey Jr. 23.393
14. Lonnie Rush Jr. 23.409
15. A.J. Frank 23.493
16. Joe Gaita 23.473
17. Travis Miller 23.488
18. Vince Fanello 23.514
19. Danny Sammons 23.531
20. Sam Fullone 23.534
21. Leslie Law 23.576
22. Randy Humphrey 23.617
23. D.J. Kennington 23.618
24. Glenn Gault 23.729
25. Woody Howard 23.732
26. Eric Corbett 23.756
27. Mike Hampton 23.888
28. Robby Marhefka 23.936
29. Jason Mignonga 23.938
30. Chris Limerick 24.006
31. Brandon Lollis 24.018
32. Michelle Theriault 24.031
33. J.J. Pack 24.036
34. Logan Dernoshek 24.062
35. Jeremy Miller 24.077
36. Greg Van Alst 24.125
37. Jim Crabtree Jr. 24.242
38. Jimmy Spencer Jr. 24.273
39. Roger Blackstock 24.289
40. Jeff Oakley 24.308
41. Mike Wilson 24.414
42. Aaron Pierce 24.436
43. Scott Drake 24.443
44. Joe Harrison Jr. 24.457
45. Randy VanZant 24.757
46. Eric Fitzpatrick 25.430
The Day is almost over and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
© Oak Park Journal
published by Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
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