Sirizzotti sixth at Texas World Speedway

[NickHolt]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 10, 2006

Contact: K-MAC Sports

512.417.9414

 

Sirizzotti works way to 6th-place finish at Texas World Speedway

 

Texas World Speedway (built in 1969 in College Station, TX) is a two-mile high banked oval that became known as "The Worlds Fastest Speedway" when Mario Andretti set a world closed course speed record of 214.158 mph on October 6, 1973 while qualifying for an Indy car race.

 

Just two months short of exactly 33 years later, 15-year-old Kyle Sirizzotti of Helotes (TX) ran his first-ever road course race with the Texas Super Racing Series (TSRS) Late Models. It was also the first-ever trip to TWS on Sunday, Aug. 6 for the Austin-based TSRS Late Models series, which ran the 2.9-mile road course.

 

Sirizzotti set the fast pace for the series as he won the pole for the TSRS race. He would go on to finish sixth in the 10-lap road course race on Sunday.

 

While Sirizzotti certainly didn’t approach the speeds of Mario Andretti, he churned through the 2.9-mile road course in a time of one minute, 52.302 seconds (because of weather conditions, TSRS teams qualified with their last practice speeds). The San Antonio O’Connor High School sophomore earned five bonus points for being the fastest qualifier and another five points for setting the track record for TSRS.

 

That put him on the pole for the feature race. What the youngster and members of the G.T. Sirizzotti Race Team didn’t count on was a rain delay before the race took the green flag. The rain washed a lot of the rubber on the track surface, making it hard for “aggressive drivers” such as Sirizzotti, Chris Schild (who finished 10th) and Tommy Gural (11th).

 

Off the green flag, the first four drivers in the race lineup – Sirizzotti, John Hiel, Jesse Salazar and Chris Schild – went four-wide going into the first of 15 turns on the road course. By the time the leaders hit the front straightaway for completion of Lap 1, both Sirizzotti and Schild had spun out twice and fallen back in the pack.

 

“We didn’t adjust well to the track after it rained,” said team owner Tony Sirizzotti. “Kyle’s an aggressive driver who drives hard into the turns. We should have adjusted our plan to the track but we didn’t. Kyle and the team did a great job to move back up to the field and finish sixth.”

 

The younger Sirizzotti was ninth at the halfway point of the race when he started getting the “feel” of the track, allowing him to drive a steady race. By the ninth lap he made his way up to seventh and he made his way around rookie Adam Haugh to finish sixth.

 

“I’m not particularly happy with this finish,” said the driver for the G.T. Sirizzotti team. “We started on the pole and I expected better. I feel like I let the team down. Still, it was a rewarding weekend overall because of the fact we gained 10 bonus points (for winning the pole and setting a track record). Plus, I got a chance to drive on a road course for the first time – and it came at a track where legendary drivers such as A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford have registered victories. That’s pretty neat.”

 

Crew chief John Toudouze stated, “Congratulations to Cody Smith and his team for figuring the course out and winning the race. We worked hard to get back up the field and Kyle drove a strong race to grab another top-10 finish. Everyone on the team put in a lot of effort this weekend.”

 

Tony Sirizzotti said there were a few folks who helped his race team over the three-day weekend. “Our team received a lot of help this weekend. Bobby Archer – who’s won two driver’s championships and several road course races – drove Kyle around the track for three laps and gave him great driving tips. We’d like to thank Bobby and the entire Archer Brothers Racing team for their efforts on our behalf.”

 

The team owner added, “We also received help and support from Tommy Owens, who’s now our team’s engine builder, and his wife Denise. Tommy’s experience and expertise will help our team grow and help solidify our team for the last four races of the season.”

 

Information, photos and a biography on Kyle Sirizzotti can be found at www.kylesirizzotti.com.

 

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