Doug Smith- Road America preview

Doug Smith Eager for Formula Ford Series Restart at Road America 

 

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc., August 3, 2005 - After a break of over a month in the
2005 Formula Ford Zetec Cooper Tire Championship, Doug Smith is eager to
slide back behind the wheel of the No. 35 Packers of Indian River LTD/
wirewheel.com/ Race-Sport.net Van Diemen. The open wheel, formula car series
will take the 'green flag' to restart its season this weekend at Elkhart
Lake, Wisconsin's historic Road America. The Plantation, Florida-resident
will have two opportunities to earn his first Series victory with 30-minute
events scheduled on both Saturday, August 6 and Sunday, August 7th. Doug,
who is currently ranked fifth in Cooper Series points, will be making his
seventh and eighth starts of the season driving the No. 35 for GTP
Motorsports at the Ferrari Maserati Racing Days at Road America event. The
long break, which came just as Doug and GTP owner/ engineer Glenn Phillips
had begun to fine-tune their new Van Diemen chassis, was a grueling delay
for the 2002 American Continental Championship runner-up who is eager to
move up in the standings. Doug has used the time to continue to train for
the physical requirements of the sport as well as stay sharp mentally by
karting and instructing.

 

The 4.048-mile, 12-turn Road America facility is a favorite for most true
racers. The natural terrain circuit harkens back to the racetracks of the
early years of the sport. The high-speed circuit plays naturally to Doug's
driving skills with its long straightaways, challenging high speed and low
speed turns as well as significant elevation changes. The track also offers
several prime passing opportunities for experienced drivers in the equally
matched Ford-powered, Cooper Tire-shod cars. 

 

The two events scheduled for this weekend mark the final swing towards the
Cooper Series October season-finale at Sebring International Raceway.
Following Road America, the next set of races will come at the Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course on August 27 and 28th. Earlier in the year, the young
Floridian piloted the No. 35 to a season-high fifth there. The penultimate
event of the season will take place at Virginia International Raceway (VIR)
on October 8th and 9th with the finale, The Cooper Festival, at Sebring on
October 22nd and 23rd. Each of these tracks, hosting two races a weekend,
are favorites of Doug's. Sebring is his "home" track and he has countless
laps instructing at VIR. In many ways, the final races of the season played
perfectly into his hands as Doug attempts to win his first career
professional racing series championship.

 

Doug Smith: "I am really excited to be back in the car after the month off.
Besides learning a new track here at Road America, I will have the
opportunity to work with Dean Meeks as my engineer. I have great respect for
Dean's talents. I have run against his cars in the past and it will be a
great opportunity to expand my experience by working with him."

 

For more on the Formula Ford Zetec Cooper Tire Championship, please visit
www.cooperseries.com <http://www.cooperseries.com/> .