INDY 500: Roar of engines and rock n' roll to headline Coors Carb Day
24 May 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
INDIANAPOLIS - Coors Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will begin with the roar of 650-horsepower Indy Racing Northern Light Series cars and conclude with the harmonies of hit modern rock group Smash Mouth on May 25.
And in between, a dozen of the top Northern Light Series teams will test their pit work skills in one of the Indianapolis 500s most anticipated events, the Coors Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge.
The 33 drivers and teams who qualified for the 84th Indianapolis 500, led by front-row starters Greg Ray, the PPG Pole Award winner, Juan Montoya and Eliseo Salazar, will get their final opportunity to tune their cars during final Coors Carb Day practice from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (EST).
Following final practice, the Coors Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m.
The field features 12 teams, up from eight in previous years. The winning team will earn $42,500, $5,000 of which will be donated to the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis in the winning teams name. The complete Coors Pit Stop Challenge purse is $80,000.
The first-round pairings, determined by blind draw:
#81 Team Pelfrey (driver Billy Boat) vs. #5 Treadway Racing (Robby McGehee)
#1 Team Menard (Greg Ray) vs. #14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Jeff Ward)
#4 Panther Racing (Scott Goodyear) vs. #28 Kelley Racing (Mark Dismore) #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (Robbie Buhl) vs. #91 Hemelgarn Racing (Buddy Lazier)
In the second round, the winner of the Pelfrey-Treadway match-up will face #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing (Juan Montoya), the Menard-Foyt winner will face #51 Team Cheever (Eddie Cheever Jr.), the Panther-Kelley winner will face #3 Galles ECR Racing (Al Unser Jr.), and the Dreyer & Reinbold-Hemelgarn winner will face #8 Kelley Racing (Scott Sharp).
In each round, teams will change all four tires on the car while making a simulated fuel hose connection of at least five seconds. The fastest team of each pairing moves to the next round.
Target/Chip Ganassi earned a spot in the Challenge field because it was the fastest first-day qualifier for the Indianapolis 500 that had not previously qualified for the competition. Galles ECR Racing and Hemelgarn qualified by completing pits stops in the fastest time during Coors Pit Stop Challenge time trials on May 16.
The other nine teams earned the right to compete in the Challenge by winning the Coors Light Pit Performance Award, which is presented to the team that recorded the fastest pit stop at the nine Northern Light Series events that took place between the 1999 and 2000 Indianapolis 500s. Galles Racing won the Coors Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge in 1999. If the Galles ECR Racing team wins in 2000, it will be its seventh title, breaking a tie with Penske Racing for the most victories in the 23-year history of the Challenge.
Although Boat qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in a car prepared by A.J. Foyt Racing, he will compete in the Coors Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge with Team Pelfrey because he was originally assigned to drive for that team.
At approximately 3:40 p.m., Smash Mouth will take to the Pepsi Stage, located in the Plaza area behind the Pagoda Control Tower. The bands second release, Astro Lounge, includes the hit song, All Star, and current hit single, Then the Morning Comes.
Smash Mouths debut album, Fush Yu Mang, released on the Interscope label, included the song Walkin on the Sun, which became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.
Smash Mouth played at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 22 after the Northern Light Series Vegas Indy 300, and the bands lead singer, Steve Harwell, visited the Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in January as a guest of Kelley Racing teammates Sharp and Dismore.
Mitch Marine, the drummer for Smash Mouth, will be part of the crew for the #88 TeamXtreme/USACredit.com/FreeInternet.com G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone driven by rookie Airton Dar.
Tickets for gate admission to Coors Carb Day, which includes the Pit Stop Challenge and the Smash Mouth concert, cost $10 for fans age 6 and over. Children under 6 are admitted free. Paddock seating will be open for fans to view practice and the pit stop contest.
Text provided by Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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