IRL: Texas pre-qualifying notes

For Immediate Release

STEWART LEADS WAY GOING INTO TRUE VALUE 500 QUALIFYING TONIGHT

FORT WORTH-DALLAS, June 4, 1997: Tony Stewart has the fastest lap of practice at 215.371 miles an hour going into tonight's one-hour Indy Racing League practice session and qualification runs for Saturday's True Value 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.. Stewart piloted the Glidden/Menards/Special to the fast practice lap during Tuesday night's first test for the IRL cars under the lights at the sprawling new superspeedway. Rookie Billy Boat, fresh off a seventh-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 in his first race in Indy-style cars, was second fastest Tuesday in the Conseco A.J. Foyt Racing entry with a lap at 214.337 miles an hour. Greg Ray, also a rookie, was third fastest in a Thomas Knapp Motorsports entry at 214.065. The teams will qualify tonight in a unique fashion with three timed laps and a pit stop. Speedvision, with Gary Lee and Indianapolis 500 veteran Derek Daly in the booth and Calvin Fish on pit road, will air the qualifying session live, 7:30-9:30 p.m. (local time). Most of the competitors praised their first experience in the cars under the lights at the new 1 1/2-mile oval. "I'm right at home here," said Boat, a veteran short-track racer. "This is what I do every Saturday night. You can really see the colors of the race track under the lights a lot better at night than during the day. "The lights are superb," said two-time Indy 500 runner-up Scott Goodyear. "This is the first time for Indy(-style) cars under the lights and the track is so well lit, it's just like running in daylight." "The lights are excellent," said reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk. "It's really quite a neat experience. It's fun." "This racing at night is pretty tough on a guy that goes to bed at 9:30 every night," said veteran Roberto Guerrero. "This is way past my bedtime." Rookie Allen May passed the first three phases of his driver's test Tuesday in the SRS/Young Chevrolet Dallara. Mike Groff, the reigning IRL driver point leader, suffered a puncture wound to his lower left leg and a fractured lower left tibia Tuesday night during an accident during practice. Groff was released this afternoon from Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth and flown to Indianapolis, where he will be admitted to Methodist Hospital for further evaluation. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is also on this week's card, with the Pronto Auto Parts 400 scheduled at 7 p.m. Friday. The True Value 500, scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, will be aired on a tape-delayed basis on ESPN2 and live by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

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