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INDY 500: Final day of Indy 500 practice goes well for Infniiti pair

26 May 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Eddie Cheever Jr. and Steve Knapp both drove 18 laps in the final practice session before the 84th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 28. The two-hour practice session scheduled on Coors Carburetion Day is the final opportunity for the 33 race starters to tune their cars before race day.

Eddie Cheever Jr., who starts from the 10th position, posted the second fastest speed in practice with a 217.909 mph lap in the No. 51 Excite@Home Infiniti. Steve Knapp, who will start 27th in the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Infiniti, posted the 29th fastest lap of the day.

QUOTES

Eddie Cheever Jr., No. 51 Excite@Home Infiniti: "This day is more for the fans in the stands than it is for the drivers. If you haven't got your race set-up yet, I doubt that you will find it on Carburetion Day. We ran a few laps with our race engine, did all of the usual checks, and the #51 Excite@Home Infiniti feels good. Every year over 50 drivers try to qualify for the 33 starting spots available for the Indy 500, and now that we've qualified, we have our lottery ticket. Now it's up to the #51 Excite@Home team, including myself, to execute a winning 500 mile run."

Steve Knapp, No.23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Infiniti: "Practice went good. We put a different rear suspension on the car which is the same as the one Robbie (Buhl) ran in qualifying. It proved to be a couple miles per hour quicker on the straightaway, but we are off just slightly on the balance. Robbie was having the same comments that I had during the run. They took his car back to the garage and worked on the back end of the car a little bit. He went out and said it was better. We just stopped because I have such confidence in the team to transfer it to my car. We are going to be just fine. The Infiniti is running great. It was a brand new engine in the car, and not one problem. We got a good car and we're looking forward to the race."

NOTES

Lucky Number 23: There is a lot of history behind the number 23 that will appear on Steve Knapp's Infiniti-powered G Force, which will start 27th in the 84th running of the Indianapolis 500. Nissan Motorsports has a history of winning championships around the world with cars numbered 23. The intrigue of this particular number is due to the fact that in Japanese "23" can be pronounced "knee-sun," which sounds like Nissan. In the past ten years, Nissan has won five manufacturers' championships with a no. 23 car, including victories in the Japanese and British Touring Car series. In 1992, a no. 23 Nissan car won the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Infiniti Indy Online (www.infiniti.com): Detailed information about the Infiniti Indy project can be found in an all-new section of the www.infiniti.com corporate web site. The Infiniti Indy Racing pages went online May 24, 2000. These web site pages contain a history of the project, profiles of design team members, and daily trackside reports.

INDIANAPOLIS 500 STARTING GRID

Row 1
1. Greg Ray, #1 Dallara-Oldsmobile
2. Juan Montoya, #9 G Force-Oldsmobile
3. Eliseo Salazar, #11 G Force-Oldsmobile

Row 2
4. Robby Gordon, #32 Dallara-Oldsmobile
5. Scott Sharp, #8 Dallara-Oldsmobile
6. Jeff Ward, #14 G Force-Oldsmobile

Row 3
7. Jimmy Vasser, #10 G Force-Oldsmobile
8. Stan Wattles, #92 Dallara-Oldsmobile
9. Robbie Buhl, #24 G Force-Oldsmobile

Row 4
10. Eddie Cheever Jr., #51 Dallara-Infiniti
11. Mark Dismore, #28 Dallara-Oldsmobile
12. Robby McGehee, #5 G Force-Oldsmobile

Row 5
13. Scott Goodyear, #4 Dallara-Oldsmobile
14. Sam Hornish Jr., #18 Dallara-Oldsmobile
15. Donnie Beechler, #98 Dallara-Oldsmobile

Row 6
16. Buddy Lazier, #91 Dallara-Oldsmobile
17. Jason Leffler, #50 G Force-Oldsmobile
18. Al Unser Jr., #3 G Force-Oldsmobile

Row 7
19. Sarah Fisher, #15 Dallara-Oldsmobile
20. Stephan Gregoire, #7 G Force-Oldsmobile
21. Airton Dare', #88 G Force-Oldsmobile

Row 8
22. Buzz Calkins, #12 Dallara-Oldsmobile
23. Richie Hearn, #75 Dallara-Oldsmobile
24. Raul Boesel, #55 G Force-Oldsmobile

Row 9
25. Jimmy Kite, #27 G Force-Oldsmobile
26. Jaques Lazier, #33 G Force-Oldsmobile
27. Steve Knapp, #23 G Force-Infiniti

Row 10
28. Davey Hamilton, #16 G Force-Oldsmobile
29. Jeret Schroeder, #6 Dallara-Oldsmobile
30. Johnny Unser, #22 G Force-Oldsmobile

Row 11
31. Billy Boat, #41 G Force-Oldsmobile
32. Lyn St. James, #90 G Force-Oldsmobile
33. Andy Hillenburg, #48 Dallara-Oldsmobile

Text provided by Heather Handley

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