NorthernLight IRL: Cheever claims best starting spot of season at Texas
10 June 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
The starting grid for the fifth round of the 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series, the Casino Magic 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, has been determined by entrant points following the cancellation of pole qualifying due to rain. #51 Excite@Home driver Eddie Cheever Jr. will start the 208-lap event from the fifth position, marking his highest qualifying spot of the 2000 campaign and matching his best Texas starting position (fifth place at last June's event). Cheever, the 1998 Indianapolis 500 Champion, has qualified in the top ten for every race this season. The Indy Racing veteran earned his best Texas result at the 1999 season finale, coming home in fourth place after qualifying twentieth.
Cheever will leave Texas Motor Speedway this evening for Michigan, where he will compete in the third round of the 2000 True Value International Race of Champions at the 2-mile Michigan Speedway. Cheever, an IROC series sophomore, will start the 50-lap sprint from the outside of the front row in the red Pontiac Firebird. The green flag for the IROC event drops at 12:00pm EDT on June 10, with live coverage on ESPN. The Casino Magic 500 is scheduled for 8:00pm EDT on June 10, and will also be broadcast live on ESPN.
Cheever: "The #51 Excite@Home Infiniti is good and it's easy to go flat all the way around. The bump in Turn 4 isn't a problem. Actually, I'm glad it's there - it makes it more interesting.
We did a lot of full tank running this morning and the #51 Excite@Home car is very comfortable. We seem to be very good in traffic, and we're well-prepared for the race."
Primary Sponsorship of the #51 Indy Car comes from Excite@Home. The company is based in Redwood City, California, at the heart of Silicon Valley. Associate Sponsors of Team Cheever include Infiniti, Firestone, Indy Promotional Products, Menards, Bosch, and Pennzoil.
Text provided by Ashleigh Higgins
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