Doug Smith Opens 2005 Cooper Tire Zetec Championship at Road Atlanta

Doug Smith Opens 2005 Cooper Tires Zetec Championship at Road Atlanta
 
BRASELTON, Ga., April 21, 2005 - Doug Smith entered the first round of
the Formula Ford Zetec Cooper Tire Championship with an eye towards
getting to know his new No. 35 Packers of Indian River LTD/Wirewheel
Sportscars/Race-Sport.net Van Diemen. The Plantation, Florida-resident,
fresh off a victory driving the Audi R8 in a Historic SportsCar Racing
(HSR) event at Sebring last month, had very little time at the wheel of
the new chassis prior to the season-opener at Road Atlanta. The car had
arrived at the GTP Motorsports shops in New Hampshire with just enough
time to complete its construction prior to the first race. While racing
for the win and every point that was possible, Smith knew the primary
task was getting through the first race with a new car and new team. 
 
The two-race weekend- with 30-minute events scheduled for Friday and
Saturday- got off to a strong start for the 2002 American Continental
Championship runner-up. Smith was able to draw from his prior formula
car experience and the expertise of his GTP Motorsports team to put in
an impressive qualifying run for Friday's race. He took the green flag
ninth on the 39-car grid. Smith charged for the full 16-lap event
finishing sixth, on the lead lap, within sight of the race winner. 
 
Per Formula Ford Zetec Cooper Tire Championship rules, the grid for the
second race of the weekend was based on the times of the first event.
This slotted Doug into the sixth starting position for the final
30-minute battle. Smith was poised to move-up into the top-five and a
potential podium finish. However, a piece of debris entering the first
turn of the ultra-quick, 2.54-mile Road Atlanta facility would hamper
his efforts. Smith made a good start but regrettably made contact
entering the turn with a fellow competitor due to debris on the track
surface. Smith was able to continue but lost several positions in the
process. Now hampered by a front wing that had been damaged in the
contact, the Packers of Indian River LTD/Wirewheel
Sportscars/Race-Sport.net entry began to understeer, making high-speed
cornering difficult. Smith would battle home, completing the full 18
laps during the half-hour event, finishing 11th in the field of 31. 
 
Smith left Road Atlanta tied for sixth in the Cooper Tire Championship
driver standings with 25 points, just four markers out of fifth-place.
The Florida-native will now move onto races three and four being held in
conjunction with the American Le Mans Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course in Lexington, Oh. on May 20th and 21st. 
  
Doug Smith: "The weekend went better than expected considering we didn't
get to do any testing. This will be my first full season of racing in a
few years so I wanted to get as many points as we could. My plan was to
race smart and get the best finish we could while getting to know the
car and the team. I was pretty happy with the first race but not so much
with the second. The opening lap damage really hurt and cost us the
advantage of starting so far up in the field. Overall, I was happy to
just be able to finish that one. I think it was a good start to the
season and I am looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio. The GTP guys did a
great job and we are really working well together. I am really looking
forward to the remainder of the season."
 
For more on the Formula Ford Zetec Cooper Tire Championship, please
visit www.cooperseries.com. 
 
 
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Digital images and bio available upon request.
Editors, please do not publish any contact information other than web
sites.  Thank you.
 
Contact: Tom Moore, Doug Smith Motorsports
615-778-1614 (office), 615-509-5000 (cell), tom@darkhorsecom.com