IROC Testing

[rebelracewriter]

Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations, (817) 215-8520

 

CONTACT: Sarona Winfrey

 

Gary Guehler

 

 

 

-- For Immediate Release

 

 

CROWN ROYAL IROC TEST DRIVERS SEEKING PARITY IN TEXAS

 

 

FORT WORTH-DALLAS (February 26, 2004) – Race teams testing at Texas Motor Speedway are usually in search of additional speed. Parity and equality took precedence over speed Thursday as the Crown Royal International Race of Champions machines took to Texas Motor Speedway for the first time in preparation for the April 2 inaugural event.

 

 

 

Crown Royal IROC test drivers Dave Marcis, Jim and Jay Sauter wheeled a trio of the series machines around “The Great American Speedway” seeking setups that will be used in the April 2 race. The identically prepared stock cars will be driven by 12 of the world’s leading drivers in the series’ Texas debut.

 

 

 

The Crown Royal IROC Series features NASCAR NEXTEL Cup stars Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil, IRL IndyCar Series drivers Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves and Scott Sharp. Rounding out the field are World of Outlaws Sprint Series standouts Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski and J.J. Yeley who won three United States Auto Club championships last year.

 

 

 

“So far in the first day of testing, I’m happy with the cars,” said Marcis, a former NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series regular and long-time IROC tester. “I have been to Texas before, I like this race track, always did quite well here. Jim and Jay Sauter are both here working on the cars, our goal today is to change shocks, change springs and keep working on the chassis to where we are comfortable.”

 

 

 

“We need to keep the cars as comfortable as we can so in the race the drivers can run as close to wide open as possible,” said Jim Sauter, father of Jay. “We will go out together after we get our chassis to where we like them. We will go out to see what the air does around them, what the draft situation is and adjust the cars to that.”

 

 

 

The youngest member of the test trio, Jay Sauter, won the 1999 O’Reilly 400k NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. He predicts a thrilling Crown Royal IROC 100-mile race on April 2.

 

 

 

“The IROC cars will put on a good show here,” commented Sauter. “This track is conducive to some high-speed action but also to a good show. Being that we are not within anyone’s rules framework, our goal is to put on a good race for the fans. To do that, we have to make these cars run side-by-side.”

 

 

 

Individual tickets to the Crown Royal IROC Series 100 will go on sale Monday, March 1 at the speedway ticket office, by calling (817) 215-8500, online at www.texasmotorspeedway.com and at Ticketmaster locations. A special advance purchase ticket price of $35 is being offered for the inaugural event. Also included in the evening’s racing will be a 100-mile race for the ROMCO Super Late Model Series.

 

 

 

Season ticket holders will receive free tickets to the April 2 doubleheader. Season tickets for 2004 are still available and include frontstretch seating for six major races at Texas Motor Speedway including the April 4 Samsung/RadioShack 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event.