Northern Light IRL: Indy Racing Northern Light Series Notebook

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

April 13, 2001

Ray even quicker in final night of Atlanta test

INDIANAPOLIS - Greg Ray continued to dominate the two-day private test April 10-11 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, turning the fastest lap of the session - 24.98 seconds - on the final evening.

That time was nearly identical to Ray's MBNA Pole lap of 24.988 from this event last July.

Ray's previous best during the test was 25.17 seconds earlier in the day April 11 in the No. 2 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone.

1999 Indy Racing champion Ray and other drivers tested on the 1.5-mile AMS oval in preparation for the Atlanta 500 Classic on April 28 at the track. Ray stayed in Atlanta on April 12 to conduct a media tour in Atlanta and then answer phones in the track's ticket office, talking to fans who order seats for the upcoming Indy Racing event.

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Cheever launches site with new partner: Cheever Indy Racing has partnered with Indianapolis-based information technology specialist Eviciti for the development of all Cheever Internet and marketing materials for the 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series season, team owner/driver Eddie Cheever Jr. announced recently.

The collaboration involves the design and development of the all-new, recently launched team Web site (www.cheeverindyracing.com), press kit and autograph card.

The Cheever Indy Racing site has been completely redesigned for the 2001 season and features some of the most robust technologies available today. The site's content management system allows members of the Cheever staff to easily update sections without any programming knowledge, while the new message board feature enables fans to post messages and questions for Cheever and the team.

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Gateway selling tickets on Web: Fans can now purchase tickets for the inaugural Indy Racing Northern Light Series event at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis on the track's Web site, www.gatewayraceway.com .

Tickets for the Aug. 26 race also can be purchased by calling (866) 35-SPEED.

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Hot laps: Bradley Motorsports and driver Buzz Calkins won the Coors Light "Pit Performance Award" for the fastest pit stop at the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami presented by 123.com Americatel on April 8 ... "Casey Mears Central" is now featured in the Auto Racing section of cbs.sportsline.com. In the new feature, columns and chats with Mears are featured. Click on the Open Wheel tab of the Auto Racing section. SportsLine.com sponsors Mears' Galles Racing entry ... 1999 Indianapolis 500 Bank One Rookie of the Year Robby McGehee is interacting almost daily with fans at a new forum on his Web site called "Ask Robby." To post a note to McGehee in the forum, go to http://www.robbymcgehee.com/forum/default.asp .

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On the road: Upcoming appearances by Indy Racing drivers and cars (all times local): ·April 13: An Excite@Home Indy Racing car will be on display from 6-10 p.m. at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis during "Indy 500 Night" at the Indiana Pacers-Boston Celtics NBA game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Indy Racing Northern Light Series drivers Eddie Cheever, Jr. and Shigeaki Hattori will sign autographs from 5:30-6:45 p.m. in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pavilion area and then take part in pre-game and mid-game activities.

·April 13: A Johns Manville Indy Racing car and an Indy Racing Simulator will be on display from 4-7 p.m. during "Atlanta Hawks Motor City Madness" on Philips Drive, next to Philips Arena, in Atlanta before the Atlanta Hawks-Detroit Pistons NBA game.

Indy Racing Northern Light Series drivers Greg Ray and Jimmy Kite will join Atlanta Hawks stars Jason Terry, DerMarr Johnson and Chris Crawford in a pre-game interactive street party. Among the many activities planned are an autograph session and a race between the drivers and players in the Indy Racing Simulator. Ray and Kite then will take part in pre-game and mid-game activities.

Text provided by Paul Kelly

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.