Lynx - Chicago Pre-Race
HITTING .500 -- AND HEADED FOR CHICAGO
Fast Facts -- Lynx Racing drivers David Rutledge and Sara Senske in the
CART Toyota Atlantic and Barber Dodge Pro Series
support races at the Target Grand Prix of Chicago, July 27 - 29.
- Lynx Racing is one of the most unique teams in auto racing today, a
championship-winning driver development program owned by women that focuses
as much on a driver's personal and mental development as their on-track
performance.
- Lynx alumni include CART FedEx drivers Patrick Carpentier (Player's/
Forsythe) and Memo Gidley (Target Chip Ganassi)
- Current Lynx driver David Rutledge has won half of the Toyota Atlantic
races this season - all of them from the pole. He leads the championship
battle and is the top contender to move up to CART next season.
- Lynx driver Sara Senske is the fastest-rising female star in open-wheel
racing today, and earlier this year competed in the 'Pro' division of the
Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
__________________
If this guy could hit home runs the way he wins auto races, he'd be
signed with a major league team and making $10 million a year.
His passion, though, is speed - anywhere north of 150 mph is where
he really comes alive - and with his latest flag-to-flag victory from the
pole in the 6th round of the CART Toyota Atlantic series at the Molson Indy
Toronto Lynx Racing driver David Rutledge is hitting .500 and headed for
the Target Grand Prix at the Chicago Motor Speedway, July 27 - 29.
Toyota Atlantic is the triple-A baseball of Indy-style auto racing,
and with his three dominating victories (all from the pole, including Long
Beach, Montreal and Toronto) Rutledge has established himself as a
fast-rising young 'phenom' -- and the one most likely to make the jump to
the majors (the CART FedEx series) next season. In doing so, he'll be
following in the footsteps of Lynx Racing alumni Patrick Carpentier
(Player's/ Forsythe) and Memo Gidley (Target Chip Ganassi).
"The transition from farm system to the majors isn't quite as
clear-cut in auto racing as in baseball because there are hundreds of ball
players and only twenty-five or so champ car drivers -- but this season
certainly has a special feel to it," says Rutledge, 23, of Vancouver, B.C.
"I'm working to add a win on the Chicago oval to my resume because a team
owner looking at hiring a rookie driver likes to see that they can win on
all kinds of courses - like being able to hit off both right- and
left-handed pitchers - and I've won on both street and road circuits
already. There's been some interest, some conversations, and you have to
have those, of course. But then you have to put all thoughts of the future
away and focus on the moment-by-moment, lap-by-lap business of winning the
next race. Chicago is flat-out at a hundred and fifty miles an hour in an
Atlantic car, and there's no room for thinking about tomorrow."
Rutledge will be joined at the Target Grand Prix by Lynx Racing
teammate Sara Senske, 23, of Kennewick, Washington. Senske competes in the
Barber Dodge Pro Series, the college varsity of open-wheel racing. Senske
is in her fifth season with Lynx Racing and her second year as a Barber
Dodge racer. Her best finish to date is a 6th in the rain on the road
course at Lime Rock. She has also competed in the Women's Global GT
series, where she recorded a win from the pole at Portland, and earlier
this year competed in the 'Pro' division of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race
at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
"The competition in the Barber Dodge Pro Series is totally fierce,
with most of the field typically covered by a second or less in
qualifying," says Senske. "I've always had a particular affinity for
ovals, so I'm looking for a good finish at Chicago. We'll be just about
flat-out around the track, so it comes down to who's brave enough to trim
their car out the most aerodynamically, and who can drive the most precise
lines through the turn. I've got 'brave' covered, so now I just need a
good car and some luck."
2001 marks the 11th anniversary of Lynx Racing, one of the most
unique organizations in auto racing today. Created and owned by two women,
Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty, Lynx is both a championship-winning racing team
and a uniquely successful driver development program that focuses on a
driver's mental, psychological and spiritual growth in addition to their
on-track skills.
The Lynx mission is to seek out young drivers with the
desire and potential to become champions at the highest levels of the sport
and provide them with the funding, equipment and training to take the last
step toward realizing that potential, a process the team calls 'Destiny by
Design.' Lynx alumni include CART FedEx drivers Patrick Carpentier, Alex
Barron and Memo Gidley.
On-track activities for both the CART Toyota Atlantic and Barber
Dodge Pro Series begin with a test day on Thursday, July 26. The 45-minute
BDPS race takes the green flag at 3:15 pm on Saturday, July 28, while the
65-lap Atlantic race is scheduled to start at 12 noon on Sunday, July 29.
The Atlantic race will air on ESPN2 Saturday, August 4 at 5:30 pm
EST. The Barber Dodge Pro Series event broadcast on ESPN2 is at 5:30 pm
EST, Monday, August 20.
_______________________
David Rutledge has a personal sponsorship from The Keg Steakhouse & Bar, a
group of 82 casual, contemporary steakhouses spanning Canada from Victoria
to Halifax. The Keg is also expanding into locations in the U.S., including
Washington, Oregon and Texas. For further information, please visit the
company's web site at www.kegsteakhouse.com.
_______________________
For further information on Lynx Racing and its drivers, please contact the
team's public relations manager, Peter Frey, at (818) 906-6997. The team
also has a web site at www.LynxRacing.com. For more information about the
CART Toyota Atlantic series, visit www.ToyotaAtlantic.com, and the Barber
Dodge Pro Series web site is located at www.BarberDodge.com
July 20, 2001
