Scott Sharp And Mark Dinsmore Up Front For Start
Sharp Makes Point with Third Pole of Season at Kentucky Speedway
SPARTA, Ky., Saturday, August 11, 2001 - Kelley Racing teammates Scott
Sharp and Mark Dismore will start at the sharp end of the grid after
sweeping the front row for tomorrow's Belterra Casino Indy 200 at Kentucky
Speedway with Ilmor-prepared Oldsmobile engines. Sharp turned a fast lap of
214.598 mph on the 1.5-mile oval to win his third pole of the season in the
Delphi Automotive Systems Oldsmobile Dallara. Dismore claimed the outside
front row starting spot with a 213.648 mph run in his identical
red-and-yellow Delphi Oldsmobile Dallara.
"We installed a new engine last night which ran really well today,"
said Sharp, who delivered Oldsmobile's 48th consecutive pole in IRL
competition. "I was surprised by the speed. We just tweaked the setup, made
a slight change in tire pressure and I worked on my line to make sure I did
my job the best I could. It all came together, and I ran a lot faster than
I thought I would.
IRL officials mandated a 12-degree minimum rear wing angle for this
year's event, a change that produced both more downforce and more drag than
last year's 6-degree wing angle. The steeper angle, combined with heavy,
humid air, slowed qualifying speeds from last year's 219 mph pole pace.
"I was drafting in practice to run 214, and honestly felt I could run
a mid-213 in qualifying," Sharp confided. "It's really a different track
than we ran last year. No one knows exactly what to expect in tomorrow's
race."
"I'm happy; that's the quickest we've gone, and if someone is going to
be faster than me, I'm glad it's my teammate," said Dismore, who completed
Kelley Racing's fourth front-row sweep. "I just hope that tomorrow the
results flip-flop!
"Scott and I are on different setups," Dismore revealed. "It's
personal preference. I'm going to change my car significantly for Sunday.
We're gong to slow it down a little bit, but by the same token I'm going to
add a ton of stability. I'm going to have a hell of a race car."
Oldsmobile engines powered 20 of the 22 qualifiers. Perennial
polesitter Greg Ray will start Team Menard's Oldsmobile Dallara on the
inside of the third row alongside Billy Boat in Curb Records' Oldsmobile
Dallara. Ray qualified at 211.441 mph while Boat sailed to a 211.097 mph
lap.
"We lost a little speed from where we had practiced and lost a little
rpm, but so did everyone else," Boat explained. "That evened things up a
little bit. We have a good, consistent race car.
"The race is going to be a little different with this wing package,"
Boat predicted. "The field is going to be very close together and you're
going to have to be able to run the high groove if you want to pass."
IRL points leader Sam Hornish Jr. will start Panther Racing's
Oldsmobile Dallara from the eighth starting spot. Last year's IRL race in
Kentucky was a breakthrough for the 22-year-old driver who led 38 laps with
the unheralded PDM Racing team. That performance ultimately earned the
Panther Racing ride for Hornish.
"That was a turning point in my career, and I'll always love
Kentucky Speedway for that," said Hornish, who qualified at 210.500 mph.
"We're not quite where we want to be with our car right now. We missed the
gear ratio a little bit and taped up the cooling ducts too much so the
engine got a little hot. I was actually faster on my warm-up lap than my
qualifying laps.
"The 12-degree wing puts a lot more strain on the motor," Hornish
noted. "People who have a lot of horsepower really start to show it. It's
going to be tough to beat Sharp, but Speedway Engines has had a great
showing for us this year. They've given us very reliable Oldsmobile motors.
We keep finding things as the year goes on. You don't have to win every
race to win the championship, but it's a lot more fun that way."
Defending IRL champion Buddy Lazier won last year at Kentucky. This
year he'll start Hemelgarn Racing's Oldsmobile Dallara on the inside of the
sixth row after qualifying at 210.248 mph. Lazier won three of the last
four races and trails Hornish by 40 points in the championship standings.
"We lost some speed from this morning's practice, and I think we have
an idea why," Lazier reported. "You're never happy unless you're on the
front row, but we have a very balanced car. I was running around flat-out,
so that's about as fast as we could go today. We'll have to see what we've
got for tomorrow.
"Handling is going to be key," Lazier added. "With the 12-degree
rear wing, we're carrying more downforce so it's good in the corners, but
there is a lot more drag on the straightaways and that's keeping the speeds
down. When you have a big wing in the rear you have to make sure you
balance it up front. I think we've done a good job on that so far. Getting
the perfect compromise between downforce and straightaway speed is what
it's going to be all about."
Sharp won his fifth career IRL pole today and was the only driver to
top 214 mph in qualifying, but his focus is on Sunday's race. "I would
trade it all for a good, strong run tomorrow," he declared.
Top Six Qualifiers
Pos./Driver/Engine/Speed
1. Scott Sharp, Oldsmobile, 214.598 mph
2. Mark Dismore, Oldsmobile, 213.646
3. Eddie Cheever Jr., Infiniti, 213.200
4. Robbie Buhl, Infiniti, 212.002
5. Greg Ray, Oldsmobile, 211.441
6. Billy Boat, Oldsmobile, 211.097
TV Schedule
The Belterra Casino Indy 300 will start at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday,
August 12. The 200-lap, 300-mile race will be televised live on ABC at 1:30
p.m. EDT and broadcast live on the Indy Racing Radio Network.
