CHAMPCAR/CART: Gugelmin Phoenix testing

(Phoenix, AZ) -- Pacwest Racing's Mauricio Gugelmin concluded his first oval test of the season at Phoenix International Raceway on Wednesday, January 24, the first of the two-day test for PacWest.

Gugelmin, driver of the #17 Nextel PacWest Toyota ran approximately 125 laps on the one-mile oval in Phoenix and posted a quick time of 21.48 seconds. PacWest spent the majority of the day running different set-ups on the Reynard chassis and still managed to put up impressive times comparable to a few of the other teams competing in the desert.

PacWest plans to test here again on Thursday, January 25, with rookie Scott Dixon.

MAURICIO GUGELMIN - # 17 NEXTEL PACWEST TOYOTA
"We had a pretty decent day on Wednesday," said Gugelmin. "We really spent a lot of time trying different things on the car, so our overall plan for the test was successful. We ran a 21.48 second lap, which put us in the middle of the pack of the nine to ten cars that were out there. A lot of time was spent on the set-up pad, and we worked diligently on testing springs, shocks, ride height, etc...We had just returned to the track with new tires when Gil de Ferran crashed towards the end of the day to bring out a red flag and ultimately end the session. The Toyota engine performed beautifully, and it was really nice returning to an oval after all of the road course testing we have been doing. Overall, we still need to work on finding more balance in the car, but we're learning a lot and definitely making progress. I'm confident PacWest will be on pace this year."

RUSSELL CAMERON -- PACWEST DIRECTOR OF RACE OPERATIONS
"We're pretty happy with our testing results thus far," said Cameron. "We had a virtually trouble free day, although Mauricio was struggling with push during his afternoon run. For our first session on a short oval with the new Reynard chassis, we primarily concentrated on running different packages and set-ups with the car. We ran both soft and stiff, and really we were all over the map testing various components all day. While our speeds were respectable, we weren't the quickest, but again, speed wasn't our primary focus. I must say the Reynard chassis can definitely do the speed. I'm anxious to see how Scott (Dixon) runs on Thursday, and I think we're progressing on schedule. We learned a lot from Mauricio - he's always great with his feedback to our engineers, and I know we are all excited to line the cars up in March."

-PacWest