Rocketsports Racing Milwaukee Race Report
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Heather Haupt ▪ cell: (517) 927-8472 ▪ e-mail: heatherh@rocketsportsracing.com PASTORELLI FINISHES FIRST OVAL RACE IN THE TOP TEN WEST ALLIS, Wisc. (June 4, 2006) – The key to successfully completing any oval race in the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford is to be patient, drive smart, and have a reliable car. Those three key elements led to the first finish on an oval and the first top ten finish in Champ Car for Nicky Pastorelli with Rocketsports Racing today at the Milwaukee Mile. Fortunate with another beautiful day in West Allis, Wisconsin, the green flag dropped this afternoon for the marking the start of the Time Warner Cable Road Runner 225, Round Four on the 2006 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford schedule. Starting in the 15th spot, Pastorelli competed 183 of the 197 laps that were run this afternoon and finished tenth. The race was scheduled to be a distance of 225 laps, but due to a time limit of one hour and forty-five minutes, the race lap distance was shortened. The 23-year-old driver ran his best lap on Lap 161 posting a time of 24.870 seconds (107.600 mph) around the one-mile oval. Team Owner Paul Gentilozzi couldn’t be more pleased with his rookie driver. “We could not have asked for anything more from Nicky. This is a very difficult track, and being his first oval, we knew it was going to be difficult for him. He is young, but very talented, and the main goal this weekend was to have him experience racing on an oval for the first time. He did exactly what he needed to do, which was to drive a smart and clean race. He stayed out of trouble, and with that, he earned his first top-ten result in Champ Car. We are proud of the effort he put forth; he did a good job for us today.” In pretty good shape when climbing out of the car after running around in circles for almost two hours, Pastorelli was relieved to have finished the race. “I am happy that we finished today with no damage,” said Pastorelli about the race today, “That was the goal. It was quite a hard race. I was not fast enough and I was having some loose moments out there, so I was trying hard just to stay out of trouble. It was a long race, but with the long yellows, the race was bearable. The Rocketsports team did a great job today with pit stops; they were at the right times and very good stops. I am happy to have completed my first oval race, but I am looking forward to getting back on a road course in Portland!” This event is the only oval race on the schedule this season. The Rocketsports team will have a two-week break before heading out West to Portland, Oregon for the June 16-18 race weekend. It will be the first of two back-to-back races, as the team will head immediately to Cleveland the following weekend to compete in the June 23-25 event on the 2006 Champ Car schedule. Subscriptions: [Champ Car Press Releases] Change subscriptions: http://rocket.cmagic.com/index.php?option=com_mamml&Itemid=&action=unregistered&type=unregistered&userid=1029&test=6a5e400455253ffe31d6baa62f1590c7