Honda Grand Prix of Monterey
ALL THE QUEEN'S HORSES
Fast Facts -- Lynx Racing drivers David Rutledge, Sara Senske and Jason
LaPoint in the CART Toyota Atlantic and Barber Dodge Pro Series season
finales at the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey,
October 12 - 14
- Lynx is the most unique and successful driver development program and
championship-winning racing team in open-wheel racing today. Now in its
11th year, Lynx is owned by two women - Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty - and
its graduates include CART FedEx drivers Patrick Carpentier, Memo Gidley
and Alex Barron.
- Lynx Racing driver David Rutledge, who finished second in this event last
year, has already won three races from the pole this year and is the
leading candidate to win this weekend at Laguna Seca
- His teammate, Jason LaPoint, who won the U.S. F2000 championship two
weeks ago at Sebring, is a highly regarded rookie making his third start
with the Lynx team in the Atlantic series.
- Lynx driver Sara Senske is one of the hottest young female drivers in
open-wheel racing today. She races in the Barber Dodge Pro Series and at
the Target Grand Prix of Chicago made history as the first female driver to
start from the front row and finish on the podium at a CART-sanctioned
event.
____________________
It's something of a mixed metaphor, particularly since we're
talking about a weekend of auto racing, but all the queens' horses will
most certainly be running flat-out this weekend in the Honda Grand Prix of
Monterey.
The horses in question are as thoroughbred a group of young racing
drivers as any single team has ever produced -- and the queens are Peggy
Haas and Jackie Doty, the owners of Lynx Racing, the most unique and
successful driver development program in auto racing today.
David Rutledge and Jason LaPoint will compete in the triple-A CART
Toyota Atlantic series support race, while Sara Senske races in the Barber
Dodge Pro Series, the college varsity of auto racing. And a pair of Lynx
graduates, Memo Gidley (Target Chip Ganassi) and Patrick Carpentier
(Player's/Forsythe) will also be competing this weekend.
David Rutledge, 23, of Vancouver, B.C., who currently stands second
in the Atlantic championship battle, has won three races from the pole and
scored six podium finishes in eleven of the season's twelve events. He
finished second in this event last year, finished third at the
Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston last weekend, and is the most likely
candidate to win in Monterey and move up to CART for the 2002 season.
"I had a great car and a great race here last year, and the Lynx
team is so much stronger now that we feel confident of being able to
improve on last year's result," says Rutledge, who drives the #19 Lynx
Racing Swift 008.a. "At this point in the season, I'm no longer focused on
the championship but rather on winning the race. This is the time when
CART team owners start looking around for potential drivers for next year,
and the guy they're looking at is the one leading the race… which is where
I plan to be."
Rutledge's Atlantic teammate is rookie Jason LaPoint, 24, of
Woodburn, Oregon. He won the championship in the super-competitive U.S.
F2000 series at Sebring two weeks ago and is making his third-ever Atlantic
start with the Lynx team at Laguna Seca. He qualified third and finished
seventh with deteriorating handling in his first Atlantic race at Road
America, and started seventh and finished fifth last weekend in Houston.
"I was pretty happy with the Houston results considering that I've
never raced on a street circuit before, but I know the Laguna track very
well," says LaPoint, who drives the #32 Lynx Racing / Infinity Racing /
Regency Aviation / Trackmagic Karts Swift 008.a. "Even though I'm new to
the Atlantic series, I feel very comfortable and very competitive in the
car. The Lynx team has given me great race cars at every event, and I'm
hoping to do well enough here to earn myself a full-time ride in the
Atlantic series next year."
Sara Senske, 23, of Kennewick, Washington is now in the fifth year
as a Lynx driver and her second season competing full-time in auto racing's
version of college varsity, the Barber Dodge Pro Series. She began the
season with an interesting extra-circular activity -- driving in the 'Pro'
division of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long
Beach. And two months ago, at the Target Grand Prix of Chicago, she made
history by becoming the first woman to qualify on the front row and finish
on the podium at a CART-sanctioned event.
"It's been my goal right from the start to graduate to CART and
race in the Indy 500, and all the experiences I've had this season have
been steps in the right direction," says Senske, who drives the #19 Lynx
Racing Reynard 98E. "This is the final race of the Barber Dodge Pro Series
season, and I'm looking to finish on a high note. Laguna Seca is my
favorite track and I've raced here many times, so I'm definitely going for
a podium finish to give me some visibility and momentum as we start
planning my next step up the ladder."
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 action begins Friday, October 12, with the 30-lap CART
Toyota Atlantic race scheduled to take the green flag at 3:15 pm on
Saturday, October 13. The 45-minute Barber Dodge Pro Series race is the
next-to-last event of the weekend, starting at 3:30 pm on Sunday, October
14.
