Rocketsports Racing Las Vegas Report - Friday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Heather Haupt ▪ cell: (517) 927-8472 ▪ e-mail: heatherh@rocketsportsracing.com ROCKETSPORTS RACING WILL HAVE TO BEAT THE ODDS IN TOMORROW TONIGHT’S LAS VEGAS EVENT LAS VEGAS, Nevada (September 23, 2005) – With only one full day to prepare for Round 11 of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval, Rocketsports Racing finds themselves short on time to find the speed they need to be competitive on this 1.5-mile superspeedway oval. Today is one of the longest days for the team as they headed to the track at 9 a.m. PT. Timo Glock, Rocketsports talented rookie who currently leads the Rookie-of-the-Year battle, took the #8 DHL Global Mail Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone out for the rookie practice session beginning at 12:00 p.m. The 45-minute session was designated for the rookies to get familiar with the superspeedway oval. A total of six cars ran during that practice, Glock was steadily sitting third quickest out of the rookie pack. On-track practice time continued, as Ryan Hunter-Reay rolled out in the #31 Red Paw Systems, Inc./Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone and the rest of the Champ Car field joined in for an hour and 45-minute practice session. Working hard to find the speed they need to be competitive here, Hunter-Reay finished the session 14th, followed by teammate Glock in the 15th spot. Not much changed on the timing and scoring charts for the two Rocketsports driver during qualifying for tomorrow night’s Champ Car Hurricane Relief 400. Glock was the first to qualifying for the team, posting his fastest time of 27.110 (199.188 mph). Hunter-Reay followed in the lineup for single-car qualifying, which was determined by the first practice session results in reverse order, posting his quickest time of 27.175 (198.712 mph). Glock and Hunter-Reay will start 15th and 16th, respectively, on the starting grid for the Las Vegas event. However, because this is a long race, and an oval, so anything can happen and the team may be able to beat the odds. The day is not over here in Vegas, as this is the “City that Never Sleeps”. Another practice session is scheduled for tonight, running from 8:00 – 9:30 p.m. Final on-track time will be a 30-minute Warm Up session held tomorrow at 4:15 p.m. The Champ Car Hurricane Relief 400 is scheduled to take the green flag around 8:30 p.m., or as soon as the track is ready to go following the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race. The race can be seen via tape delay on SPEED Channel, Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying can also be seen with coverage starting just before the race at 3:00 p.m. Quotes Timo Glock #8 DHL Global Mail/Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone “It is really tough for us right now, we just aren’t fast enough to be competitive. It is hard for me because I don’t have any real experience on ovals to be able to give really great feedback. I know the car well, so that is not the problem, it is just a total different situation on an oval. I really don’t know what to say at the moment. We will work hard, taking things step by step, and continue to prepare for the race tomorrow.” Ryan Hunter-Reay #31 Red Paw Systems, Inc./ Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone “We just don’t have the speed; that is really all there is to it. You are either really fast here, or slow, and unfortunately we are slow. We have to continue to do our homework and prepare for the race tomorrow night. It is a long race, so we will see what happens.” Subscriptions: [Champ Car Press Releases] Change subscriptions: http://rocket.cmagic.com/index.php?option=com_mamml&Itemid=&action=unregistered&type=unregistered&userid=1294&test=a316e055424f1abe35a0c84e23d899f1