IndyCar
IRL: Phoenix testing 97-02-27
For Immediate Release SHARP FASTEST AGAIN IN "TEST IN THE WEST" PHOENIX, February 27, 1997 -- Scott Sharp was fastest for the second day in a row at Phoenix International Raceway with a quick time of 21.35 seconds, 168.618 miles per hour. His ...
Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:47 AM
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For Immediate Release
SHARP FASTEST AGAIN IN "TEST IN THE WEST"
PHOENIX, February 27, 1997 -- Scott Sharp was fastest for the second day in a row at Phoenix International Raceway with a quick time of 21.35 seconds, 168.618 miles per hour. His fast lap came during morning practice at the "Test in the West". Afternoon practice was canceled at 1:27 p.m. due to rain, after only a handful of practice laps. SCOTT SHARP: "We just kept on running today, Davey in the Dallara and myself in the G Force. AJ is making a lot of strides just doing different things to the suspensions on both cars. I think both cars are real close, a lot of it is just how you set the car up. The more we keep working with the cars, hopefully the quicker we'll keep going. (About testing on Friday morning): "It looks like we'll be out here tomorrow morning because we have some things we want to finish up with Goodyear and we want to get a little more feel of where we'll be right before the race. It certainly was great going as fast as we ran yesterday, and we certainly hope we can unload off the trailer and go out and go right that fast and then maybe work on dropping it a notch or two for qualifying. AJ never works on an ultimate qualifying set-up. I'm sure we'd all like to be fastest but what's important to him is how the car works in the race." *** Over 21 drivers have used the PDM '93 Lola/Menard for IRL rookie tests. The car was shaken down today by driver Tyce Carlson in preparation for rookie testing on Friday at PIR. Team owner Paul Diatlovich said, "That's almost 50% of the rookies who have passed the test in the IRL. We were out here (Phoenix ) in September and we ran nine drivers in four days. It was a lot of fun. We were fortunate to have John Paul, Jr. to coach all the drivers then. He straightened out a lot of the learning curve on the rookies to make sure they drove safely and appropriately. We have definitely put a lot of miles on this car, but then, it's a great car."
*** 1996 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World winner Buzz Calkins was second-quick (after Scott Sharp) in the morning practice session with a speed of 166.821, and fifth-quick overall for the test week. He talked about preparations for the March 21-23 Phoenix 200. BUZZ CALKINS: "I think we still have to figure out a couple of things, but overall I feel very comfortable coming back here. I like this track and we've done well here in the past. We should be alright. These cars give you a little more room for error. They're a little more predictable and they tell you what's going to happen before it actually happens. In last year's car there was a very small window you had to be in order to be quick. These seem to be a little more forgiving and a little more predictable."
*** TOP UNOFFICIAL TIMES FROM USAC TIMING AND SCORING
CAR DRIVER CAR NAME C/E/T LAPS TIME SPEED 1T Scott Sharp Conseco AJ Foyt Racing G/A/G 25 21.35 168.618 12 Buzz Calkins Bradley Motorsports G/A/G 77 21.58 166.821 2T Billy Boat Glidden/Menard/Special G/A/F 68 21.66 166.204 6 Scott Goodyear Treadway Racing/NORTEL G/A/F 92 21.71 165.822 4 R Kenny Brack Monsoon Galles Racing G/A/G 102 21.74 165.593 14 Davey Hamilton AJ Foyt/Power Team Racing D/A/G 46 21.79 165.213 18 John Paul, Jr. Tnemec Earl's Performance Products V-Line D/A/G 23 21.90 164.383 51 Eddie Cheever, Jr. FirstPlus Team Cheever G/A/G 49 22.19 162.235 77 Stephan Gregoire Miller-Eads Co./Chastain Motorsports G/A/G 36 22.45 160.356 16 R Sam Schmidt Blueprint Racing D/A/F 40 22.87 157.411 40 R Jack Miller AMS/Crest Racing D/I/F 4 shake down 5 Arie Luyendyk Treadway Racing/WavePhore G/A/F 9 shake down *18 R Tyce Carlson PDM Racing 93/L/M/G 11 21.79 165.213 *18 R Darrin Miller PDM Racing 93/L/M/G 3 shake down *Driver's Test Conditions.
Chassis Legend: D-Dallara; G-G Force Engine Legend: A-Oldsmobile Aurora; I-Nissan Infiniti Tire Legend: F-Firestone; G-Goodyear
...97TEST-30...
Website information is available at: www.brickyard.com/irl
For ticket information to the March 21-23 $1 Million-Plus Indy Racing League Phoenix 200 call 602/252-2227
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