Busy New Zealander Forecasts Competitive Carb Day Contest
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
Indy Pro Series 2005 champion, and 2006 Freedom 100 winner, Wade Cunningham looks forward to resumption of racing at the Brickyard on Carb Day (Friday, May 25th) as he pursues back-to-back wins for AFS Racing. He's just returned from a day of testing at the legendary Milwaukee Mile where his team put together a quick primer on the new wing package for the short oval. Now he's focused on arguably the biggest Indy Pro Series day on the schedule at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Wade Cunningham. Photo: JimHainesIRL
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Wade Cunningham carried the banner of Andretti/Green Racing and the AFS Racing Team into the Milwaukee private test two weeks ago and came out confident of a strong showing on the short ovals on the Indy Pro Series schedule this year.
As a former champion of the Indy Pro Series, Wade doesn’t lack for perspective on what it takes to be successful in the Dallara he drives in next week’s Freedom 100 when racing resumes after a short layoff.
Cunningham worked on the new “High Downforce” package at the famous “Mile”. The time was a blessing for him and the team as their return one week following the Indianapolis 500 lends itself to very little in the way of testing opportunitiy prior to the Milwaukee Road Runner 100 race.
“The HDF gave the car more downforce, definitely,” said the 2005 Indy Pro Series champion, “but the surprise was the way it moved the balance of the car forward. I think it really leveled the field out a lot, so we’ll see even less difference between the teams on the track, in qualifying and so forth.”
The Milwaukee test was one of the few opportunities any of the IPS drivers have had behind the wheel since the last race in St. Petersburg, Florida on April 1st and the subsequent two days of testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in mid-April.
Time Demands Crunch Well-Made Plans
Which is not to say Cunningham has lacked for things to do. Quite the contrary, his workout routine (one of the most vigorous of any competitor anywhere) and his other off-track demands have gobbled up the lion’s share of the New Zealand native’s time.
“I’ve spent a minimal amount of time out at the Speedway (during May), as I’ve got many other things to do,” he said. “I’d rather focus on what I’m doing than what others may be doing. I train a lot, there’s driving back and forth to commitments, eating right, carrying on my other interests for a good two thirds of my day.”
“Having said that, though, I enjoy it when I have an hour or two here and there to come down and watch practice and qualifying for the race. There’s always reasonably large crowd, even for even testing, at the Speedway. And I’m really looking forward to the (Freedom 100) race on Carb Day (May 25th).”
After posting the biggest win of his career on his way to a third place result in the series championship standings, Cunningham has good memories of what transpired at the Brickyard in 2006.
“We were quickest in practice,” he said, “won pole, and led a lot of laps but it’s not fair to say it was easy because we lost the lead two or three times during the race. I just was just in the lead at the finish,” he said, downplaying his magnificent battle with Jay Howard in the race’s final lap.
“It wasn’t easy. Everything went well until 30 laps in, when the car developed a vibration in 5th gear and I had to run 6th the rest of the way. The loss of torque and change in gearing, the changed balance—all got me caught out on the last lap on turn one and I nearly skidded into the wall,” he continued.
“Fortunatley, I got good run back on Jay and won the race. We did have the faster car and I think I would have been disappointed if we hadn’t won.”
Interestingly enough, Wade doesn’t think the large field of Indy Pro Series cars and competitors expected for this year’s Freedom 100 will play a significant role in the racing; nor does he see any shift in the current balance of power among the best drivers and their teams.
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Cunningham (L) and Camara.
Photo: ShawnPayneIRL |
“Indy doesn’t lend itself well to pack racing. I don’t think there will be a large group battling for the lead regardless of how many cars start the race. It’ll just be the usual suspects,” he said.
“You can’t discount Sam Schmidt Motorsports because they’ve been prepping all this time. One or two of their cars will be at the front, definately. AGR has made improvements lately, too, with myself and Jaime (Camara) working well together in our cars. The regulars will be up there, but I can’t really see too many surprises popping up,” he concluded.
With the schedule only now truly getting started (thirteen of the sixteen races on the schedule are yet to be run three months into a seven-month season) Cunningham is convinced the cream will rise to the top.
“The schedule shows the true talent of the drivers we have,” he said. “We have six speedways where pack-racing, drafting, and strategy are important. Then we have the short ovals and road and street courses, so you have to be good at everything to be up front at the end of the year.”
“In the past we’ve had drivers that were good at one or the other, but now the drivers have diversified and the true all-rounders have come to the front. I grew up with and like road racing, but I do love oval racing and enjoy it very much. I’m glad I’m in a series that allows me to do both.”
The sixth season of Indy Pro Series competition continues with the Freedom 100 on May 25th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast as part of ESPN2’s coverage of Carb Day at 4PM EDT on May 25th.
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