Summerton heads to Milwaukee Mile for first short oval of career

MILWAUKEE, May 28, 2009: Jonathan Summerton takes on a new challenge this weekend, driving on 1-mile oval for the first time in the Firestone Indy Lights event at the venerable Milwaukee Mile.

“I’ve never even tested on a one-mile oval,” Summerton said. “I’m really excited to go do a short oval. It should be fun. It’s a steep learning curve, but I’ve been told I’ll enjoy Milwaukee.”

Summerton, driving RLR/Andersen Racing’s Dallara, will get his first experience in practice and qualifying on Saturday. The 100-lap Husar’s House of Fine Diamonds 100 is scheduled to start Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CDT.

“Milwaukee has tremendous tradition in IndyCar racing and it will be a memorable experience to race on a track where Jim Clark, A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti and Sam Hornish Jr. have won,” Summerton said. “But most importantly, it is part of the Indy Lights championship and a race to develop my skill on ovals.”

Summerton, of Kissimmee, Fla., is third in the championship with 148 points, 10 behind leader J.R. Hildebrand.

Milwaukee will be the third oval of Summerton’s career. He finished seventh at Kansas and 12th at Indianapolis, where he had to make two unscheduled pit stops for mechanical problems. He has a second place and two fourths in the three road/street course races this season.

“Our season is going well,” Summerton said. “It’s not as strong as I expected to be, but we’ve definitely had some strong showings. We drove up from 16th to fourth at St. Petersburg and from 15th to seventh at Kansas. We haven’t figured out qualifying, but we’ve been strong in the races.

“I have to thank RLR/Andersen Racing, Allied Interior Products and Lafarge North America for this opportunity. I wouldn’t be in Indy Lights without their support.”