IRL: Greg Ray Wins IRL Pole at Pikes Peak
29 August 1999
FOUNTAIN, Colo. - Greg Ray reprised his pole-winning performance in
last June's race at mile-high Pikes Peak International Raceway to earn the
pole for Sunday's Colorado 200 presented by Deloitte & Touche. Ray and Sam
Schmidt turned identical 20.424-second times (176.263 mph) on the second of
their two qualifying laps, the first tie for the pole in Pep Boys Indy
Racing League history. Ray ran two spots ahead of Schmidt in the qualifying
order and was awarded the pole because he made his qualifying run first.
"I think that's the first time the rules have ever gone in my favor!"
said Ray, 33, of Plano, Texas. "We did the same thing we did here last time
- we worked on the big things first and got the car dialed in. We never
really worry about qualifying until we get down to it."
Ray won his third pole of the season and put Oldsmobile's IRL Aurora V8
on the pole for the 27th consecutive Pep Boys Indy Racing League event.
He exceeded the 176.005 mph lap he ran in June in Team Menard's
Glidden Oldsmobile Dallara, but fell short of Billy Boat's absolute track
record of 178.571 mph - a mark set in August 1998 before the reduction in
maximum engine speed from 10,500 to 10,000 rpm.
Ray won three bonus points for the pole and took the provisional lead
in the championship by one point (194-193) over Scott Goodyear. Goodyear
will start Pennzoil Panther Racing's Oldsmobile G-Force from the 11th spot
on the grid.
"It's nice to be on the pole, but the race pays 50 points and
qualifying only pays three," Ray noted. "Forget about the money - it's
about winning races, collecting points, and winning championships. I think
you can expect a dog-eat-dog race tomorrow."
Schmidt will start on the outside of the front row after the
best qualifying performance of his career in Treadway Racing's Sprint
PCS Oldsmobile G-Force. Schmidt finished second to Ray in June at PPIR
after the two drivers led all 200 laps.
"I think it's appropriate we're starting together on the front row
because we ended the last race here that way," said Schmidt. "I don't think
anyone expected to see either of us on the pole because Greg and I were
both running race setups in practice. My team made a great call on the gear
ratio for qualifying - we just nailed it."
Schmidt is driving G-Force #001, the same car that conducted the
first track test of the IRL Aurora V8 in November 1996, won the
Indianapolis 500 in 1997, and won the 1998 season finale in Las Vegas.
"This is our big weapon this weekend, " Schmidt explained. "Whenever the
team needs a little more, they pull out 001."
Mark Dismore, polewinner in Fort Worth and Dover, Del., qualified
Kelley Racing's MCI WorldCom Oldsmobile Dallara third at 175.996 mph.
Rookie driver Scott Harrington will start Harrington Motorsports'
CertainTeed Special Oldsmobile Dallara fourth after topping the speed
charts through two days of practice.
"We were quickest in every session until qualifying," said Harrington,
who will make his career-best start tomorrow. "We just slipped a couple
of hundredths, and that took us off the top of the list for the first time
this weekend. On my last lap the car was sliding around a little, but when
you're playing a game of hundredths of seconds, that's the way things turn
out sometimes."
Harrington has used one IRL Aurora V8 engine since he switched
from Inifiniti to Oldsmobile power before the Indianapolis 500. "We've been
burning up the highway between the shop in Indianapolis and Brayton
Engineering in Coldwater, Mich. to get it rebuilt after each race,"
Harrington revealed. "We're not running it too hard, we're not running it
on the rev limiter. That 'Lone Ranger' is pulling us through."
Twenty-three of the 24 qualifiers used Oldsmobile engines. The
only Infiniti driver in the field qualified 20th at 170.584 mph, more than
5= mph off Ray's pole-winning pace.
The Colorado 200 will start at 2:00 p.m. MDT on Sunday, August 29.
The 200-mile, 200-lap race will be televised live on Fox Sports Net at 4:00
p.m. Eastern and broadcast on the Indy Racing Radio Network.
COLORADO 200 TOP FIVE QUALIFIERS
Driver Entrant Engine Speed
1. Greg Ray Team Menard Oldsmobile 176.263 mph*
2. Sam Schmidt Treadway Racing Oldsmobile 176.263*
3. Mark Dismore Kelley Racing Oldsmobile 175.996
4. Scott Harrington Harrington Mtrsprts Oldsmobile 175.953
5. Davey Hamilton Galles Racing Oldsmobile 175.063
*Ray won pole on tiebreaker with earlier qualifying lap
# # #