NorthernLight IRL: Team Pelfrey goes to Texas with new look, new attitude
14 October 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
(Ft. Worth, TX) -- Team Pelfrey showed up for this Texas showdown with a new look and a new attitude.
Sporting a new orange paint scheme - the car quickly being dubbed the "Pumpkin Car" by garage area participants - Team Pelfrey and driver Billy Boat were not only celebrating the Halloween season, but hopefully a great finish in this Indy Racing Northern Light Series finale.
This Excite 500 race will not only create a new Indy car champion, but it is also critical for the other racers who hope to take a solid finish through the off season and carry momentum into the first race of 2001 in Phoenix. Driver Billy Boat sure would like to be amongst the lucky few who can do that, as Phoenix is his home town.
Between the last race at the Kentucky Speedway and the Texas finale, Boat had the opportunity to test with the Pennzoil Panther Racing Team at both Kentucky Speedway and the new Kansas Speedway. The Kentucky test was for speed; the Kansas test was organized purely to give feedback to the track engineers who were using Boat's opinion of the track surface for future planning. Because of the good relationship Boat developed with the Panther "Pack" team, they offered to give assistance to Team Pelfrey for this race, preparing the car in their Indianapolis-based shop.
"The biggest reward we will see from Panther Racing is that hopefully at the end of the day we will have finished the race," Boat explained. "The car is well prepared, and I think it will run all day. We're still lacking a little bit of speed, but there's only so much you can do. We'll fight that battle and see what we can do. The handling is good, so maybe we'll have to pick up the speed aerodynamically."
A brisk Texas wind which changed directions often throughout the afternoon made practice a difficult exercise for some, although Boat took the challenging conditions in stride.
"There's a big headwind down the frontstretch and a tailwind down the backstretch, which makes it difficult to get the right gearing. But everyone is fighting it equally," he said.
At the end of the day, Boat's speed topped 212 mph, right in line with the majority of the other drivers on the circuit today.
"We're slowly making gains," Boat related. "We made some changes in between practice and picked up a little more speed, but we still need about one-tenth (of a second) more. We had steady gains today. I'm happy with the car, and I'm happy with the new guys (on the team) - they did a fantastic job. If we get into the top 10 in qualifying tomorrow, I'll be happy.. We don't really have the package for the pole, but a top 10 is possible. We'll just do the best we can."
MBNA qualifications begin at noon (CST) on Saturday.
The only incident of the day occurred in the second practice of the afternoon when Treadway Racing driver Robby McGehee crashed in turn four and had to be removed from the car by the safety team. He was checked out at the infield medical facility and released uninjured. Asked whether an accident happening before he has to get in the car bothers Boat, he replied, "No, not really. Crashing is part of the business. And in Robby's case, he looked like he was OK, which was the most important thing."
So what will Boat's strategy be for the rest of the weekend? Simple. Run hard. "You can't be conservative here - you always have to run hard, to run with the pack," he said, adding, "Practice showed that. It was pack-style racing. You have to get out there and run wheel-to-wheel."
Text provided by Janie Vogel
Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos
and racing art, please visit The Racing Image
Galleries and The
Visions of Speed Art Gallery
.