Sam Schmidt, Panther, AFS/Andretti Green Square Off in Music City
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
Southern living comes no finer than that of lovely Nashville, Tennessee and surrounds where the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights series competitors arrive this wekend to contest the tenth round of sixteen races at Nashville SuperSpeedway on Saturday (July 12th).
The year-long competition toward the coveted Firestone Firehawk Cup took a turn for the tighter last weekend at Watkins Glen International, where Sam Schmidt Motorsports' Richard Antinucci and AFS Andretti Green Racing's Raphael Matos put their names one-two on the leaderboard for the season's biggest prize.
"Our objective in Tennessee is to continue the momentum we built up in Watkins Glen," said Antinucci, who won one race and finished second in the other in New York. "We learned some things when we tested in Nashville (last week). We'll just carry out our program accordingly and see to it that we earn the maximum result possible."
Panther Racing's Dillon Battistini suffered an uncharacteristic and unlikely finish in both races at the Glen, a result which moved him from first to third in the points race for the Cup. He'll look to get back on track with a strong performance (and perhaps a win) on the 1.33 mile oval in Lebanon, Tennessee.
"We have been really strong on the ovals all year long," said Battistini in consideration of his first trip to America's traditional deep south. "It seems like a perfect opportunity to bounce back from our disappointing weekend at Watkins Glen. Panther has won at Nashville before, and Hideki (Mutoh) ran well here for them last year."
"We're confident. I’m looking forward to getting some points back and focusing on our goal of winning a championship.”
Tight at the Top and Getting Tighter
Added intrigue comes from a solid trio immediately behind the front-runners: Matos' teammate Arie Luyendyk Jr, J R Hildebrand of RLR/Andersen Racing and SSM's Ana Beatriz all lie within striking distance (21 points) of a run on the top three spots in the standings.
“I am really looking forward to Nashville this weekend," Luyendyk said of his return to Tennessee. "The Targus/AGR/AFS team had a great test there a couple of weeks ago. We are looking to have a repeat performance from our success at Iowa (second-place in a near-miss effort in which Arie led all but the last lap) and get that first win.”
"I think we had a really good test here," added Bia of what teammate Antinucci offered. "I learned the track, and we tried changing some different things on the car. I feel really confident."
"Sam Schmidt Motorsports and the Healthy Choice team always provide me with good cars, and the team has a good history at Nashville (winning three of the last four races here). I'm confident that we're going to have a very good weekend."
Special HomeComing to the Firestone Folks in Nashville
Chief among the celebrations going on around Music City this week is the 'Welcome Home' offered Firestone as it returns to its homebase of operations. Firestone Racing's Executive Director Al Speyer noted the homecoming for the long-time tire-maker of IndyCar and namesake of Firestone Indy Lights Series by saying, "This is a weekend that we at Firestone anticipate all year long."
"We love it when the stars and cars of IndyCar and the Indy Lights Series make their annual stop in our hometown to showcase Firestone Racing's products in front of so many of our teammates here in Middle Tennessee."
"Tying the race to our company-wide 'Racing to Help' United Way campaign truly makes it a highlight of our year."
- Sunbelt Rental 100 Race: ESPN2 (Tape Delay) at 2:30 PM EDT, July 17th
- Talent: Bob Jenkins, Robbie Buhl (announcers); Mike King (pit reporter)
- Live streaming video coverage of the Sunbelt Rental 100 SWE Pole Qualifying (5:15 PM CDT July 11th) and the Sunbelt Rental 100 (4:30 PM CDT July 12th) is available at www.indycar.com
(all times local; schedule subject to change):
July 11th
- 9-10 a.m. – Firestone Indy Lights practice
- 12:30-1:30 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights practice (two groups)
- 4:15 p.m. – SWE Pole Qualifying
July 12th
- 2:45 p.m. – Sunbelt Rentals 100 pre-race
- 3:30 p.m. – Sunbelt Rentals 100 (77 laps/100 miles)
Firestone Indy Lights Sunbelt Rentals 100 Entry List
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