Lloyd and Klein Take Front Row Spots at Milwaukee
Weather Holds as Twenty-Two Cars, Drivers Gridded for Saturday Evening Contest
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
Alex Lloyd claimed the pole for tonight’s Milwaukee Mile Road Runner 100 by turning a fast lap of 146.077 mph (25.0142 seconds) over the one mile oval track during qualifying on Saturday (June 2nd) afternoon.
Lloyd’s speed bettered his time in practice of 145.297 mph to set the mark for fastest man going into the 100-mile race that will begin approximately 6 PM EDT.
“It’s a combination of things,” he said of the extreme success he and Sam Schmidt Motorsports have enjoyed so far this season, winning the first four races in a row on the way to a huge advantage in the championship points standings.
“We’ve hit the sweet spot at the moment,” he said. “We try hard and work flat out all the time to make things better. The results show from that.”
“It’s been a great start to the year. It’s been perfect. It won’t last forever, but we’ll try to make it last as long as we can.”
“So far we’ve had a great day,” he concluded. “We’ll give it everything we’ve got to get another win tonight.”
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Jonathan Klein at Milwaukee. Photo: JimHainesIRL |
Team Moore’s Jonathan Klein vindicated the good judgment that put him behind the wheel of the yellow/white striped Dallara that was vacated when teammate Tom Wood retired two weeks ago by putting the car second on the grid with a speed of 145.067 mph.
Klein looked particularly strong with placement of his car on the oval, moving to and through the oval's corners with a smart pace.
Ryan Justice, teammate to Lloyd at Sam Schmidt Motorsports, took third with a best lap of 144.407 miles per hour.
Sam Schmidt's Cars Lead Indy Pro Series Field at Milwaukee
Behind the three leaders were Apex Racing’s Mike Potekhen (144.151 mph), Panther Racing’s Hideki Mutoh (144.001 mph), Stephen Simpson (143.523 mph) of Kenn Hardley Racing, and RLR/Andersen’s Andrew Prendeville (143.096 mph).
Jon Brownson continued to show facility at this narrow, paved track by showing well at 142.652 mph, while Sean Guthrie’s 142.279 mph clocking was good for ninth spot. Wade Cunningham of AFS Racing rounded out the top ten with a speed of 141.774 mph.
The cars will return to the racing surface for a 6:15 PM EDT scheduled start for the 100-lap event that closes a long, long day of Indy Pro Series activity to conclude the fifth of sixteen events on the 2007 calendar.
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