Northern Light IRL: Solid performance for Cheever and new Infiniti at Phoenix

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

March 17, 2001

Phoenix, AZ - #51 Excite@Home driver Eddie Cheever Jr. qualified 12th for the opening round of the 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series championship, the Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Cheever's effort marked the first ever qualifying run for the new Infiniti Indy 35A.

The Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200 will be broadcast live on ABC at 4:00 p.m. EST March 18. Catch the pre-race action on Indy Racing 2Day, live on ESPN2 at 11:30 a.m. EST.

Eddie Cheever Jr.: "We've been working a lot on our race set-up - this is a very difficult place - so our qualifying is not a big issue. This new Infiniti is going to be a good engine. The 35A has run well with no reliability problems. It's hard to get a good balance on empty tanks but I think the #51 Excite@Home car will be fine in the race. We just needed a few more laps to get the tire temperatures up. The wind was a bit goofy out there today, but it was the same for everyone."

Text provided by Ashleigh Higgins

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