Indy Lights: Dorricott Racing Preps for Milwaukee
4 June 1999
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - If early season momentum offers hints of what is to come, then Dorricott Racing might be on a winner's roll as the talented three-driver team prepares for the famed Milwaukee Mile and round four of the 12-race PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Championship, Sunday, June 6. The 97 lap/100.1 mile Indy Lights sprint is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. (CT) and is the primary weekend support race to the Miller Lite 225 CART FedEx Championship Series race held later in the day. Casey Mears, of Bakersfield, Calif., has distinguished himself this season through three consecutive top-five finishes including a season best third-place at Nazareth in round three. Mears, who is the son of legendary Off-Road World Champion and Dorricott Racing team manager Roger Mears, has crept up in the driver standings to third place with 34 points - only eight points shy of series leader Scott Dixon with 42 points. Despite impressive finishes, Mears first two races at Homestead and Long Beach were anything but a cake walk. A variety of mechanical problems forced him to start 12th in each race. He avoided trouble in maneuvering through traffic to score consecutive fifth place finishes in his Sooner Trailer/ American Racing Custom Wheels Lola T97/20. Everything fell into place at Nazareth, however, as his third place qualifying effort was rewarded with a podium finish. Consistency has been the glue holding Mears in the front of the pack. He and Dixon are the only two drivers who have completed every Indy Lights race lap (208 laps) and every mile (270.018 miles) run to date. Milwaukee looks particularly promising for Mears who was unofficially fastest in a two-day pre-Memorial Day testing session at the "Mile" with a fast lap of approximately 24.7-seconds. Mears teammate Oriol Servia, of Pals, Catalonia, Spain, moved back into title contention after he captured the pole and second place at Nazareth in the Catalonia/RACC/Elf Lola. Servia, who opened the year with a strong sixth place showing at Homestead and ninth place at Long Beach, scored 17 points at Nazareth to improve to fifth place overall with 26 points. Philipp Peter, of Monte Carlo, Monaco, etched his name in the Indy Lights record books via a second round victory at Long Beach in the Red Bull/Remus/ESTEBE/Chicco d' Oro Lola. Peter's victory was compelling in that it came on the heels of a painful season opener at Homestead where a crash during an early week testing session and a subsequent crash during a race weekend practice literally destroyed his cars. A near "all-nighter" by his crew provided Peter with a race-ready car for the race. Despite being hampered by a severely bruised left knee and ankle, Peter finished 13th place after starting 16th. Peter's eighth place finish at Nazareth replenished his championship pursuit by moving him into sixth place with 25 points. ESPN2 will provide same-day coverage of the Milwaukee Indy Lights race, Sunday, June 6, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT).
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