NorthernLight IRL: Ray and Oldsmobile Take Atlanta IRL Pole
15 July 2000
MIDAS 500 CLASSIC TOP SIX QUALIFIERS
Driver Entrant Engine Speed
1. Greg Ray Team Menard Oldsmobile 216.104 mph
2. Eliseo Salazar A.J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 213.194
3. Donnie Beechler Cahill Auto Racing Oldsmobile 212.850
4. Jeff Ward A.J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 212.448
5. Sarah Fisher Walker Racing Oldsmobile 211.839
6. Jeret Schroeder Tri Star Motorsports Oldsmobile 211.698
RAY MARCHES TO ATLANTA IRL POLE
Oldsmobile to Start on Pole for 36th Consecutive IRL Race After Greg
Ray Captures Pole by 2.9 mph Margin
ATLANTA - Deep in the heart of stock car country, Oldsmobile's 3.5-liter
IRL Aurora V8 propelled reigning IRL champion Greg Ray to another
pole-winning performance tonight when the Indy cars returned to Atlanta
Motor Speedway. Starting on the pole for the 36th consecutive IRL race,
Oldsmobile is aiming to begin a new winning streak in Saturday's Midas 500
Classic after Nissan scored its first IRL victory in the preceding race in
Colorado.
Ray overcame the heat and humidity of the Georgian summer to capture
the pole with a stunning 216.104 mph lap around the 1.5-mile high-banked
speedway. Using the smaller displacement, faster-revving 3.5-liter version
of Oldsmobile's IRL Aurora V8 engine, Ray nearly duplicated Billy Boat's
216.107 mph pole-winning performance in last year's race at AMS with a
4.0-liter motor. Ray's speed was 2.91 mph faster than the lap turned by the
second fastest qualifier, Eliseo Salazar, who will start A.J. Foyt's Rio
Oldsmobile Dallara on the outside of the front row.
"That speed even surprised me!" declared Ray, who will start on the
pole for the fifth time this season and the ninth time in his career on
Saturday night. "We did a 214 mph lap in practice, and I told the crew to
leave the car alone. They made some changes anyway, and they all worked -
the car was wonderful.
"Butch Meyer (head of Team Menard's engine shop) and all the guys
have been working their tails off all year long, but we just haven't had
the results we wanted," Ray conceded. "We took a step back after the last
race and decided to focus on the small details instead of worrying about
the big things."
Eliseo Salazar came close to giving Indy car legend A.J. Foyt his
third straight pole in Atlanta. Salazar turned a fast lap of 213.194 mph,
and his teammate Jeff Ward was fourth fastest at 212.448.
"We knew Greg was really tough to beat," said Salazar. "The race is
going to be a repeat of the race in Texas with 12 or 14 cars running at the
front. I hope that Greg and I can disappear into the distance, but I don't
think that's going to happen."
Donnie Beechler continued to impress, turning in the third
fastest qualifying speed with Cahill Auto Racing's Oldsmobile Dallara at
212.850 mph. "We were good in practice, but this was the fastest we've run
here," said Beechler. "When the track cools off, you gain grip which
actually slows the car down a little bit. You have to find the happy
medium. We're very satisfied with the car. With the caliber of drivers and
equipment in the series, I think you'll see a race as competitive as the
one in Texas."
Oldsmobile's IRL Aurora V8 dominated qualifying for the Midas 500
Classic as the seven fastest drivers relied on Oldsmobile power. The
fastest Nissan driver qualified eighth with a speed 4.613 mph slower than
Ray's pole-winning time. Twenty-three of the 25 starters (92 percent of the
field) are using Oldsmobile engines.
Oldsmobile is racing for its 35th IRL victory in Saturday's Midas
500 Classic. Oldsmobile won 34 consecutive IRL races before Nissan's first
victory in the preceding race at Pikes Peak International Raceway on June
18. Oldsmobile has won the two previous IRL events at Atlanta Motor
Speedway and all 14 IRL races contested to date on 1.5-mile superspeedways.
The Midas 500 Classic is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. EDT on
Saturday, July 15. The 208-lap, 320-mile race will be televised live by
ESPN and broadcast live on the Indy Racing Radio Network.
OLDSMOBILE QUALIFYING QUOTES:
Jeff Ward, A.J. Foyt Racing Harrah's Oldsmobile G-Force, qualified
fourth: "The gearing was perfect, but the wind on the back straight was a
little tough. We just touched the rev limiter after A.J. made the call to
go up on the gearing - a smart call. The car stayed on the bottom all the
way around the race track, which was why the qualifying time was faster
than we practiced. If you hit the rev limiter for a couple of hundred feet
the speed drops instantly; if you can hit it just as you turn into the
corner, you've done it perfectly."
Sarah Fisher, Walker Racing Cummins Special Oldsmobile Dallara,
qualified fifth: "It's really great to qualify this well because we've
never tested here and I've never been around this track before this
weekend. It reflects how this team can come to a new venue and do well. My
mindset is to get up to speed as quickly as possible; that's from my midget
and sprint car background."
Jeret Schroeder, Tri Star Motorsports Kroger Oldsmobile Dallara,
qualified sixth: "We've gone faster every time we've been on the track.
It's the same thing we go through at every track because we didn't test
here. Larry Curry has the experience and he gives me a great car every
time. I think this is going to be a good race; I hope we can pick up some
more speed and have a great finish."