Northern Light IRL: Quotebook from Miami Testing

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

SARAH FISHER (#15 Walker Racing Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): (About afternoon accident): "I think it was my second lap on new tires. I don't think I got the heat up in the tires. It's extremely windy. You have to look at the windsock on the backstretch every lap. I think we are going to have a stable race car. We've been fighting an understeer all day yesterday and some today." (About the track): "I think it's a great track. It's flat and smooth. It'll be a good race. We will be able to get side by side."

BUDDY LAZIER (#91 Tae-Bo/Coors Light/Delta Faucet/Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone, defending Northern Light Cup champion): "Really, we ran our fastest time today in the wind this afternoon. We've learned a lot. We've tested here one time before. We feel good because we ran our fastest lap here in the wind, so we do feel good about that. This was a huge learning curve for us. We took in a lot (of data). It's been a very productive test." (About track's Open House): "It was great to see all the families out here at the track today. I think we are a good series for the track, and this track is good for our series."

GREG RAY (#2 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "The first day of the test we were getting to gel a little better, working together better. We were ok with the car, but not super happy. It's a very challenging track, and to get more consistency, it's going to be even more difficult. Even though we struggled with the wind today, you're still learning. This is a driver, team, setup, how you sleep the night before racetrack. I think if you win this race you're still not going to think you had a good car. This track is challenging and demanding, that's the bottom line."

ELISEO SALAZAR (#14 Harrah's/A.J. Foyt Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "We made some gains from yesterday. We changed the setup, put on new tires and did two quick laps. A.J. (Foyt) called me in, and I learned a famous phrase of his, 'It doesn't pay anything today.' We were waiting for the wind to die down, because you don't learn much in these conditions. The wind appears to have picked up though, so we're calling it quits (at noon). We have a private test set up next week in Phoenix, so we'll get ready for that." (About hometown race): "I always wished to have a home grand prix in Chile, so this will be the closest thing. I did a lot of interviews with Spanish-speaking journalists already, and I am sure come race weekend it will be a zoo of Chilean journalists. I am looking forward to it."

JEFF WARD (#35 Heritage Motorsports G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone): (About first test with Heritage Motorsports): "It's going very well considering they (the team) were working until midnight Thursday night to get ready for the test. It's a great testament to Mitch Davis (team manager) and the guys for them to have been able to put it all together and get up to speed so quickly. We've picked up two miles per hour from yesterday. I don't think we're going to try for any more speed. We don't quite have all the (chassis) updates since it was put together so quickly. Once we get all the (chassis) updates, we'll pick up that speed." (About the windy conditions): "It slows you down. It just pushes the car up in (Turn) 1. The more you try to fix that the more nervous it makes you in (Turns) 3 and 4."

Text Provided By Paul Kelly

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