IPS: Milwaukee: Friday practice notes

Mason leads opening day at Milwaukee

WEST ALLIS, Wis., Friday, July 23, 2004 -- Jesse Mason led the opening day of practice for the Menards Infiniti Pro Series Milwaukee 100 with a lap at 25.8723 seconds, 141.232 mph.

Mason, driving the No. 3 Segway Human Transportation Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, posted his best lap in the afternoon session. His lap was slightly better than that of points leader Thiago Medeiros, who had the top time of the morning session, at 25.8769 seconds, 141.207 mph.

"We didn't put on new tires (in the morning session)," Mason said. "We thought we'd save it for (the afternoon) session, see if we could get a go on them. I was satisfied with our time, and I knew that new tires would give us some time, and it did. We made some changes, got it to where we like. There's still a little push, and the track got a little bit greasy, but No. 1 is as good as she gets."

Qualifying for the Menards A.J. Foyt Indy 225 and Milwaukee 100 will take place on July 24. Both races will take place on July 25.

JESSE MASON (No. 3 Segway Human Transportation Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "It was good. We worked really good this morning. We didn't put on new tires. We thought we'd save it for this session, see if we could get a go on them. I thought the Hoosier (Tire) rubber would do worse for us, but it was OK this morning. I was satisfied with our time, and I knew that new tires would give us some time, and it did. We made some changes, got it to where we like. There's still a little push, and the track got a little bit greasy, but No. 1 is as good as she gets. It looks good going into tomorrow. I'm happy. Hopefully, we can get a pole and stop Thiago's (Medeiros) streak."

THIAGO MEDEIROS (No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "We learned quite a bit on the race setup. We were working on it. The car feels better right now, but we still have to go look at the data to see what we can do for qualifying tomorrow." (About The Milwaukee Mile compared to other tracks): "It is a lot different. It is a very flat track. Some side winds affect the car a lot. It makes a lot of difference. The track is completely different. It seems like a road course."

PAUL DANA (No. 91 Ethanol/Hemelgarn Johnson Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone) "That was a frustrating session. We struggled real bad. The car had very little grip. It was pushing in certain places, loose in other places. It was really, really hard to drive. I'm just happy it's in one piece. We've just got to sit down and talk about it and figure out what happened."

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