Northern Light IRL: Eddie Cheever, Scott Goodyear preview, Atlanta
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
April 27, 2001
EDDIE CHEEVER JR. - #51 EXCITE@HOME INDY RACE CAR
Atlanta 500 Classic - Pre-Race Notes and Quotes
Atlanta Motor Speedway - April 26-28, 2001
Indy Racing Northern Light Series - Round 3 of 13
2001 Season Ranking: 12th
Indy Racing Starts: 44
Indy Racing Victories: 4: 2000 Pikes Peak, 1999 Orlando, 1998 Indianapolis
500, 1997 Orlando.
2000 Season Ranking: 3rd
Indy Racing Top 5 Finishes: 13
Indy Racing Top 10 Finishes: 24
Indy Racing Winnings: $4,523,753
EDDIE CHEEVER JR. (on the Atlanta race): "Atlanta is a very important event for us. Whatever enthusiasm we have in our team after Atlanta will carry us through to the Indy 500. I would be very happy if we achieve a top-three finish this weekend."
On the new Infiniti Indy 35A engine: "The 35A is lighter and has more power up high in the rev band, where we race most of the time. The center of gravity is lower and the electronics are more advanced. We've also made some big gains in fuel efficiency and power compared to the old engine and we're very pleased with that progress. I believe that the 35A has an enormous amount of potential. I think we are going to come into our own in Atlanta. Atlanta is about reducing aerodynamic drag, fuel efficiency in the race, and horsepower. It's a very good place to effectively dyno test an engine. What everybody doesn't really understand is that we only did 400 miles of testing with this engine before the first race. Our learning curve is so steep that it's mind-boggling."
On testing at Atlanta Motor Speedway: "We had a very good test two weeks ago in Atlanta. Both Scott (Goodyear) and I were there, and we tested two different cars. The purpose of that test was to make a comparative analysis between last year's engine and this year's engine, and the new 35A performed very well. It was the first time that we did a 600-mile test with the new Infiniti and it went very well. We were really focused more on Indianapolis than we were on Atlanta during the test, but I think we'll be pretty good here."
SCOTT GOODYEAR (#52 Cheever Indy Racing Dallara-Infiniti driver for the 2001 Indianapolis 500 and test driver for the Infiniti Indy engine program):
On testing in Atlanta: "We spent a lot of time just picking things apart to actually work on little segments of the turns to get the car to go quickly, and I was very pleased with the package that we finished the test with. Once again the new Infiniti motor performed flawlessly. We ran quickly with a car that was the wider track suspension set-up for Homestead, so we anticipate a strong run not only in qualifying but also for the race at Atlanta.
The good thing about the Atlanta test is that we are now going into the month of May knowing that our new engine package -- which we received in March -- will finish the 500-mile race and then some. It's always a great feeling going into the Indianapolis 500. To go to Atlanta and be able to punish the engine at high-speeds with full throttle for over 600 miles gives us great confidence for the month of May."
ATLANTA 500 CLASSIC:
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Qualifying: ESPN2 (tape delay), 4:00 a.m. EDT, April 28
Pre-race: Indy Racing 2Day, ESPN2 (live), 6:30 p.m. EDT, April 28
Race: ESPN2 (live), 7:00 p.m. EDT, April 28
RADIO SCHEDULE
Pre-race: IMS Radio Network (live), 6:30 p.m. EDT, April 28
Race: IMS Radio Network (live), 7:00 p.m. EDT, April 28
Area affiliates: WYAY-FM 106.7, Atlanta; WEKS-FM 92.5, Griffin, GA
Text provided by Ashleigh Higgins
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