NorthernLight IRL: Blueprint Racing Belterra Resorts Indy 300 Notes and Quotes
22 August 2000
* Blueprint Racing will carry a new look this weekend in the Belterra Resorts Indy 300. The 2000 G Force chassis will now be painted black with gold accents. * Blueprint Racing and Jimmy Kite received the “KECO Challenge” Award for the most recent Indy Racing Northern Light Series event, the Midas 500 Classic from Atlanta Motor Speedway. The award, given by Keco Coatings of Indianapolis, celebrates the effort that Blueprint and Kite put into the Atlanta race. The team overcame engine problems in practice- which resulted in missing qualifications- to race in the top-ten and finish twelfth. The award donates $1,000 in Jimmy Kite’s name to the “Racing For Corey” charity. “Racing For Corey” helps raise awareness of non-profit organizations, and to help support their cause of making the wishes of children diagnosed with terminal or life-threatening illnesses come true. The award will be presented during driver introductions for the Belterra Resorts Indy 300. * Jimmy Kite was a special guest of Paramount King’s Island on August 19th and 20th to celebrate the Belterra Resorts Indy 300. He signed autographs for many of the park’s 30,000 visitors each day and then enjoyed the rides of the Mid-west’s favorite amusement park. * Following the Midas 500 Classic, Kite set a Featherlite Modified track record at Lanier National Speedway in Braselton, Georgia. Joining Kite was 1996 and 2000 Indy 500 starter, Richie Hearn and motorcycle racer Mike Hale. All three successfully broke the track record in a car prepared by the FinishLine Racing School. However, Kite turned the quick time to have the honor of being the track record holder with a lap of 12.96-seconds around the 3/8ths mile, banked oval. * Blueprint Racing started 25th and would finish 12th in the most recent Northern Light Series event, the Midas Classic 500, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Blueprint was forced to start at the back of the 25-car field, despite being one of the quicker cars in practice, following a burnt piston late in the practice session just prior to qualifications. The engine change forced the #27 Blueprint Racing Special to miss qualifications necessitating the last place start. Kite worked the #27 G Force/ Oldsmobile up to seventh overall late in the race when the team was forced to retire with six laps to go due to a second burnt piston. * Blueprint Racing returned to the 2000 G Force chassis at Atlanta after two races- Texas and Pikes Peak- with the 1999 G Force. The car performed flawlessly after repairs made by G Force Technologies LTD. at their West Sussex, England facility. The second 2000 G Force chassis, damaged in an accident at Texas, has been repaired at their Braselton, Georgia workshop here in the United States. The car is currently undergoing final preparations. * Blueprint Racing is one of only three Indy Racing Northern Light Series teams currently building their own engines. Blueprint Racing Engines is led by Ed Rachanski Sr., Sonny Meyer and Frank Russo. Jimmy Kite, driver About running at the new Kentucky Speedway; “I’m looking forward to it. I hear Kentucky Speedway is a lot like Vegas and we ran great at Vegas. We were cheated there with the crank trigger problem so, maybe we’ll get that returned to us at Kentucky.” About the remaining two races of the year; “I still want to win one. That was my goal going into this year and I think we still can. I know that the team can win; I know that I can win. We just need to have our luck turn-around and we’ll get that first Northern Light Series victory in the last two races of the year.” About his feelings on the season; “We said we were going to use this year as a building year and we sure have. We have found our strong links and our weak links in the chain. With that, I feel strong going into next year. Ed (Rachanski, team owner) and Keith (Sanders, team owner) along with Brad (McCanless, team manager and engineer) have been making the tough decisions all season and they are starting to pay off. The potential is there with this team. We’ve had bad luck this season but Blueprint Racing is a good team and a good team will turn bad luck around.” About the challenges he has faced in the 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series Season; “All I can think is ‘thank God Mom and Dad raised such a hard-headed boy.’ You always see others struggling and having a bad year and you feel sorry for them. Now, I have an even better idea of what it is like. We have shown we have potential. This Big Daddy’s BBQ car can win. We have proven Blueprint Racing has the crew to get it done, we just need to have our luck turn.” Ed Rachanski, Sr., co-owner About his feelings on the Belterra Resorts Indy 300; “We have two races left and we are looking forward to going into Kentucky and putting on a good show. I understand it will be a full house and that is good for the Indy Racing Northern Light Series and we are excited about that. It is a high-speed track and Jimmy always runs well on high-speed tracks so we are looking forward to going in there and leaving with a top-10 finish.” Brad McCanless, team manager and engineer About the racing at a new track; “The biggest thing about going to a new track without testing, I feel, is the driver. I have enough good set-ups with Jimmy to figure out something by race day, but if the driver has never been there, it takes many laps just to sort out the best line for the car. Which of course is based on the set-up. It's sort of a catch 22.”