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Simona de Silvestro Stuns Crowd With Fourth Place Finish


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Image courtesy Track Chic and Theresa Earnheart

St. Pete., March 27, 2011: Simona de Silvestro started her sophomore season with an exciting run and an amazing fourth place finish in the #78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

De Silvestro - the 2010 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year - set out to prove that she's got the talent to run at the front of the field.

"I'm really happy," she said. "I never would have thought, after starting seventeenth, that we'd finish fourth, and we were running second for quite awhile there.

About her team, de Silvestro added, "I'm happy to be working with Brent Harvey because he's really calm on the radio, which I liked. The team also did an unbelievable job. We had a few new issues to overcome in the beginning of the weekend, but during the race, everything went according to plan. They did great pit stops and I'm really proud to be part of this team."

In addition to her talent, Simona may have had one additional good luck charm: a large group of executives from Entergy (her sponsor) and the Nuclear Clean Air Energy campaign.

"Having all the Entergy people here is just unbelievable," she said. "They have to come to more races now!"

In two weeks, the IZOD IndyCar Series moves on to Barber Motorsports Park, where de Silvestro will again compete for a top spot.