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IRL: Sam Shmidt and Treadway Racing Fired Up for Charlotte

28 April 1999

Charlotte, NC: Its time for round three of the Pep Boys Indy Racing League Series, and all eyes are focused on the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Deep in the heart of NASCAR country, the track is an impressive one and commands a great deal of respect from the drivers who will take to its surface this Saturday night under the lights. Treadway Racing has already tested at this facility earlier in the year and feels ready to test their mettle against open wheel's finest competitors at the VisionAire 500.

To get local followers into the racing spirit, the Treadway Racing crew visited the local headquarters of team sponsor Chicago Pneumatic today to put on a show for the employees. To bring CP employees closer to racing action, team driver Sam Schmidt and the crew demonstrated several live pit stops and shook the #99 Sprint PCS entry down by running a few laps around the parking lot. Teams of employees were challenged to a pit stop competition, and were taught how to swiftly manipulate 40 lbs. of rubber on and off the car while using specially designed guns created by the CP staff. Afterward, Schmidt stuck around to sign autographs and answer questions.

Around Lowe's Motor Speedway with Arie Luyendyk:

"The Charlotte track has never been that easy for me. I have qualified on the front row and finished well, but I have always struggled with the bumps through turns three and four. But the team seems to have a great handle on it this year and Sam (Schmidt) has demonstrated great control over the bumps. They have a great set-up and should perform well this year. It is always fun to drive under the lights, and with the condos and high grandstands around the track, from the cockpit at high speeds it always reminded me of a giant fishbowl surrounded by Manhattan buildings!

Noteworthy: Arie Luyendyk will not be driving in this race, but will act as driver coach and sponsor spokesperson for Treadway Racing, as well as Fox Sports Network/SpeedVision Broadcast Announcer.

Sam Schmidt's Perspective:
#99 Sprint PCS/G-Force/Aurora/Firestone

"I have already done some extensive testing at this track and I really like it. It seems like it has been too long since the last race, so I am fired up and ready to go for Saturday. We had a great time today at Chicago Pneumatic, and it was fun to see the staff excited by the car and cheering us on with our pit stop demonstration. We have a great set-up this weekend, thanks to Jeff (Jeff Britton, Chief Engineer) and we are doing well over the bumps. They really don't seem to bother us much, which is a great sign. So I guess I would call myself 'cautiously optimistic' this weekend. I am looking forward to a great race under the lights and hope we put on a good show for the fans."

Noteworthy: Sam Schmidt qualified 22nd at last year's IRL race in Charlotte and finished 14th.

Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.