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Northern Light IRL: Sharp Shatters 200 MPH Milestone in Miami Testing

20 January 2001

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

MIAMI-- Scott Sharp shattered the 200-mph barrier by running four consecutive laps faster than 27 seconds in private testing Jan. 19 for the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami, bettering his unofficial Indy Racing record at the 1.5-mile oval.

Sharps best lap was 26.95 seconds, 200.444 mph in the Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone fielded by Kelley Racing. On Jan. 18, Sharp broke Greg Rays unofficial Speedway best for Northern Light Series cars with a lap of 198.3 mph.

The official milestone speed will be set in official qualifying April 7, when the MBNA Pole will be decided for the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami on April 8, the debut of the Indy Racing Northern Light Series in South Florida.

"Were very happy with our progress, testing here for the first time," said Sharp, who spent the bulk of Jan. 19 working on race setups.

Kelley Racing team manager Tim Bumps was also pleased with the session. "The purpose of our test was three-fold," he said. "We were looking to get experience with our new engine manufacturer (Ilmor); we wanted to get Scott some laps around the track, since its his first time here; and we wanted to start out with a good platform for our 2001 car, which we will test here in early February."

Joining Sharp at the test today were Treadway-Hubbard Racings Davey Hamilton (best lap of 27.66, 195.228) and Hemelgarn Racings Stan Wattles (27.63, 195.440). The test concludes Jan. 20, when Treadway-Hubbard Racings Felipe Giaffone of Brazil will attempt to pass his Indy Racing League rookie test.

"This is a beautiful facility and an interesting track," said Hamilton of his first impressions of Homestead-Miami Speedway. "The tracks a little tricky. Weve got a good baseline, but weve got to find a few miles per hour.

"The good thing is I feel like I could run up in the high line right now. I think were going to put on a good race here. The Indy Racing rules give us a little extra downforce, which makes for good racing and good corner racing."

While Hamilton is the only driver to start all 43 races in Indy Racing history, Wattles rejoins the tour after a seven-month hiatus.

"I ran a joint Hemelgarn-Metro team at Indianapolis last year, and we qualified eighth and were consistently turning the fastest race laps before our engine blew with 28 laps remaining," Wattles said. "This is my first test with the team. Were running the 2000 car with no updates, but Im getting the feel of racing again."

Text Provided By Paul Kelly

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.