Atlanta Tuesday test pit notes

2005 CROWN ROYAL IROC SERIES FINALE PIT NOTES FROM ATLANTA

Hampton, GA (Oct. 25, 2005) -- The Crown Royal International Race of Champions Series began testing over the weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway in preparation for the finale round of the 2005 $1-million dollar All- Star series. Round four will take place on Saturday, October 29 at 1:30 p.m., ET, broadcast live on SPEED Channel.

The Crown Royal IROC team came off the truck with the chassis set up decided in the test last May and haven't turned a wrench to change it.

IROC President Jay Signore said, "We're real happy with the race cars and it looks like everything will stay pretty consistent throughout the week. The biggest change to track conditions will be more rubber, which should only help with making the cars even more stable than they already are, thanks to our test drivers, Dave Marcis, Jim and Jay Sauter. It's great to be back in Georgia at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Crown Royal IROC finale and it looks like it's going to be every bit as exciting as it was last year."

Test driver, Jim Sauter said, "The cars are stuck like glue and that's how they will be in cooler weather like this, which is looking to stay this way through the weekend. It's great racing weather. Goodyear has provided us with a great tire here and overall I'd say it's all looking pretty good. We had Max (Papis) and Danny (Lasoski) here today and they were very comfortable, so I think we've all done a good job and we're ready to go.

Jay Sauter agreed saying, "Right off the bat the cars have been real stable, you can go anywhere you want to go on the race track. The combination of Goodyear tire and our set up is great and I think we'll see a good race. Every driver has been comfortable and that's what we're looking for."

Crown Royal IROC Series competitors; Danny Lasoski and Max Papis arrived at Atlanta Motor Speedway to start practicing for the 65-lap final event.

Fresh from a race win in the season ending weekend of World of Outlaws racing, Danny Lasoski said, "I agree with Jim and Jay, the tire Goodyear provided is excellent and seems to have even better grip than the tire we had last year, which was already good. We've been running all over the track here and we've been mixing it up pretty good already, so. I do think this is going to be a terrific race. Max (Papis) hasn't been here before and he caught on real quick, he's going to be tough."

The 2004 Grand American co-champion Papis said, "This is my first time here at Atlanta Motor Speedway and it is a great track. I had a lot of fun running around here today, (Max looks over to Lasoski standing by) except for when I was running with Lasoski. He was really in the way all day. No, I'm just kidding, Danny (Lasoski), the Sauter's and Dave Marcis really helped get me up to speed quickly here today. Atlanta is really a good track for me already and the cars are so stable. I am definitely more comfortable here than any other track we ran this year. It also says a lot for the IROC team who put together a car that would allow a rookie like me here at Atlanta to run at a very competitive pace so quickly."

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