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IRL: Dismore wastes no time; Fastest in 'Test in the West' at Phoenix

26 February 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

PHOENIX- Mark Dismore accomplished Kelley Racings goals in the first practice session of the "Test in the West" on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Dismore used a qualifying setup in the morning to turn the fastest lap of the day at 20.638 seconds, 174.436 mph in the Bryant Heating & Cooling-On Star Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone. The time stood the whole day as 23 other Northern Light Indy Racing Series drivers tested the 1-mile dog-leg oval at Phoenix, site of the MCI WorldCom Indy 200 on March 19.

"Its a good place to start, thats for sure," Dismore said. "I just hope our follow-through is good the next time we come back here. We tested about three weeks ago, and it helped us get a good baseline."

Stephan Gregoire was second fastest at 20.831, 172.819 in the Dick Simon Racing-Mexmil-Tokheim-Viking Air Tools G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone. Dismore s teammate, Scott Sharp, was third at 20.922, 172.068 in the Delphi Automotive Systems-MCI WorldCom Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone.

"We are going as fast as possible," Gregoire said. "My car is very consistently tight, and I am very happy. It is handling very well; even in traffic I can go fast. I was behind Scott Goodyear this morning and the car was perfect, so it will be good in race traffic, for sure."

A total of 24 drivers and 22 cars turned laps today, recording 2,626 laps of testing in less than six hours of on-track activity. Scott Goodyears 192 laps led all drivers today.

Goodyear, the defending winner of the Phoenix race, finished the day 12th fastest overall with a lap of 21.276, 169.205 in the Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone.

Northern Light Indy Racing Series points leader Robbie Buhl and the new Team Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team struggled with a new set-up. Buhl finished the day with the 20th fastest lap, 21.852, 164.745, in his G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. was 10th fastest at 21.236, 169.523 in the Galles ECR Racing Tickets.com Starz G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone. Unser was the second-busiest driver of the day behind Goodyear, turning 175 laps in preparation for his Indy Racing debut at Phoenix.

Jimmy Kite was eighth fastest at 21.200, 169.811 in his first test in the Blueprint Racing-ZMAX G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone. Kite recently signed to be the teams full-time driver in the Northern Light Indy Racing Series.

Testing continues Saturday. The grandstands at Phoenix International Raceway will be open to the public with free admission. The day will be highlighted by an autograph session during a lunchtime break.

Tickets for the MCI WorldCom Indy 200 can be purchased by calling (602) 252-2227.

PHOENIX "TEST IN THE WEST" QUOTES:

ROSS CHEEVER (#51 Team Cheever-Firestone-Infiniti): "I am driving for Team Cheever at the Las Vegas and Phoenix tests to help put some miles on the Infiniti Indy engine and also to gain some valuable experience on two ovals that I have never driven before. I am on a learning curve here at Phoenix, so I am driving well within my limit. We are trying not to put too much importance on our lap times but rather to get the car as comfortable as possible."

AL UNSER JR. (#3 Galles ECR Racing Tickets.com Starz): "We tested here in December and we feel much more confident about the overall balance of the car. We are going to look for some more speed tomorrow, but this should give us a good baseline for race weekend. Ive raced at PIR a lot during my life, and our race here in March is going to be a special one for me because it has been a few years since I raced here. These times are close though, and it is going to be very competitive come race weekend. Phoenix ought to see one heck of a show."

TYCE CARLSON (#20 Hubbard-Immke Racing): "Weve come here with the perspective of having had a private test here a few weeks ago and of course the one day of testing we got in Las Vegas earlier this week. Im happy to see that we have a great deal of consistency and continuity. Were able to easily pick up right where we left off and then start to improve on those previous efforts. Our best speed of a few weeks ago was still over 21 seconds, so today was a definite improvement in that we are one of four cars under the 21 mark. On top of that, we ran our quicker speeds in the heat of the day and were able to do some those with near-full tanks. That all goes back to our preparation and having the car comfortable right out of the box so we can concentrate on making it go faster and or trying out some different ideas and new body pieces.

MARK DISMORE (#28 Bryant Heating & Cooling-On Star): "Theres nothing on the car thats the same, so every thing we learned at Vegas stays at Vegas. We re hoping some of the things we learned at Vegas transfers over to Indianapolis. That was a very important test for us. We came out of the box this morning with a qualifying setup. So, we didnt waste a lot of time on that (qualifying practice) because you are going to be chasing the track because of the Ford 2000s and the trucks on race weekend. We now know thats a reasonable setup as far as speed goes for qualifying. So, we switched over to a race setup and practiced that all day."

STEPHAN GREGOIRE (#7 Dick Simon Racing-Mexmil-Tokheim-Viking Air Tools): "We are running with a lot of downforce, which will give me a good indication of how my new car will handle in the race here next month. I did my fast lap this morning, the first session, I think. But I have equaled that quick time on several other laps today, so it wasnt just one quick lap." (About Saturday testing): "We will work on our race setup and not worry about going fast. We have that set up from today. Our test in Las Vegas went well, and I was fast straight away - very fast, actually. We came to Phoenix, and we are fast again. So, I am very happy with my new G Force and my team. I am excited about the race here next month, and I hope we can do really well after our disappointing finish at Orlando."

SCOTT SHARP (#8 Delphi Automotive Systems-MCI WorldCom) (Comparing Las Vegas to Phoenix): "The complete approach is so much different in everybodys mind. You come here with a completely different wing package and downforce package and completely different setups. At Vegas, youre trying to run flat out all the way around, concentrating on freeing the car up. Whereas here, youre worrying about grip and not running flat out all the way around. So, its just a completely different thing."

SCOTT GOODYEAR (#4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara): "We are focusing on the race day itself. Were finding out what will/will not assist us in the race. Later, well begin work on finding the right qualifying set-up. Overall, I am pleased with the response were receiving from the car."

JOHN BARNES (#4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara team manager/co-owner): "We look at how we can make this machine work better and faster in traffic. Thus far, were pleased with the car. We didnt have the advantage, like some of the other teams, of having three days of practice prior to today. Yet we have competitive speeds."

Text provided by IRL

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