ATLANTICS: Lynx dives into the Northern end of the talent pool
8 December 1999
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Lynx Racing has announced today that David Rutledge, a 21-year old native of Vancouver, B.C. has been signed to drive for the team in the 12-race 2000 KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship season.
Rutledge, a former karting champion with two full seasons of experience in the Atlantic series, won his place on the team during extensive testing among six of the top young drivers in open-wheel racing. He will join his new teammate, returning Lynx driver Mike Conte, 30, of Seattle, Washington in the team's pre-season testing program later this week.
"Being chosen to follow in the footsteps of Lynx graduates like Patrick Carpentier, Alex Barron and Memo Gidley is a dream come true for me," said Rutledge, who will drive Lynx Racing's traditional #19, the same number used by Carpentier and Gidley. "For the past seven years I've focused 110% on achieving my goal of becoming a Champ Car driver, and when I got the call from the team I felt a rush like that surge of acceleration you get in a race car when the engine finally gets up into the power band. It's a feeling I like very much, and I want to thank all the people and sponsors that helped me get this far. And to Lynx owners Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty, and team manager Steve Cameron, thanks for your faith in my ability and for giving me this incredible opportunity. I can't wait to go racing!"
Rutledge began his racing career in 1993, winning several karting championships in 1994 and 1995. He graduated to cars in 1996 at the Bridgestone Racing school, simultaneously working in the mechanic's program and winning the school championship with a record ten wins, seven second-place finishes and three thirds in 21 races. He moved up to F2000 in 1997, scoring one win, two second-place finishes, two fifth-pace finishes and a sixth. At the end of the season, he ran the final three KOOL/Toyota Atlantic events, qualifying sixth in his first-ever Atlantic race at Road America.
In 1998, he became the youngest full-time driver in the Atlantic series, finishing in the top ten six times and finishing ninth overall in the series championship. In 1999, he ran eleven of twelve races, scoring his first podium finish on the oval at Gateway and finishing in the top ten seven times. He again finished ninth overall in the series championship.
"David was one of those drivers who obviously had more talent than money, and we'd seen him run at the front despite never really having had enough of a budget for a proper testing and development program," says Lynx Racing co-owner Peggy Haas. "When we finally got him in one of our cars and saw what he could do, and then got to know him as a person and found out how hard he'd worked to achieve his goals, it became clear to us that he was everything we look for in a Lynx driver. The entire team is very excited about having David driving for us, and we're all looking forward to another season at the front of the field and another driver graduating to CART."
Lynx Racing is a unique, championship-winning driver development program now in its tenth year of seeking out young drivers with championship potential and providing them with the funding, training and equipment to make the jump to the top levels of the sport. Lynx won back-to-back championships with Patrick Carpentier in 1996 and Alex Barron in 1997, with both drivers graduating directly to drives in the CART FedEx Championship. In 1998, Memo Gidley won three of the first four races and became the third Lynx driver to move up to CART.
"All of these drivers had something in common, and David Rutledge shares that quality as well," says Lynx co-owner Jackie Doty. "They each had to work very hard to realize their dreams, and in doing so they learned the lesson of how to be single-minded winners on the track and well-adjusted, grounded human beings off the track. Our program uses a variety of methods, from counseling to meditation, to help drivers develop both sides of that personality because it takes both to be a true champion, and that's what Lynx is all about."
Mike Conte, who drives the #17 Lynx Racing/White-Black Design Swift 008.a, is also entering his third year of Atlantic competition. He drove his rookie year for another team, finishing 14th in the points championship. In 1999, driving for Lynx with sponsorship from his own motorsports data-acquisition software company, White-Black Design, Conte scored eight top-10 finishes and ended up 12th in the championship. In addition to his Atlantic activities, Conte also drives a Porsche 911 in the GT class of the American Le Mans Series entered under his own Contemporary Motorsports banner. The team scored podium finishes at both the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring and the ALMS season-ender at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"I'm happy to have David as a teammate and I'm looking forward to my second year with Lynx," says Conte. "It takes a season for a new team and driver to get acclimated to each other, and my goal this year is to qualify farther up the field, run with the front pack and finish on the podium. I think David and I have a good relationship in terms of personal rapport and technical communication that will benefit us both during the coming season."
In addition to David Rutledge and Mike Conte in the KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship, Lynx's third driver, Sara Senske, 21, of Kennewick, Washington, has just completed her second year in the Star Formula Mazda series and also ran the inaugural season of the Women's Global GT Series. She finished every lap of the 20 races she ran (fourteen Star Mazda and six WGGTS) and scored one win, one pole position, three fastest race laps, three podium finishes, six top-5 finishes and six top 10s. She finished fourth in the WGGTS championship and 6th in the Star Mazda points. Options for her next step up the motorsports ladder are currently being explored, and will be announced in the next few weeks.
"We seem to have dived into the northern end of the talent pool for the Lynx 2000 team," says Lynx Racing Team Manager Steve Cameron. "The strength of a team is largely determined by its drivers, and we have a group who are all very fast, very knowledgeable about the technical aspects and work together very well. We've got a lot of work to do between now and the first race, but the whole team is excited, and that's always a good start."
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos
and racing art, please visit The Racing Image
Galleries and The
Visions of Speed Art Gallery .