Cheever Racing Teammates Share Row 4 for Start of First of Two
on the Roads of St. Pete.
ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla. – Much like last year, when Marco
Andretti started from the pole in his Indy Pro Series debut,
Raphael Matos will lead the field to the green flag today in
the first of two races (live Timing and Scoring at 3:30 p.m.
EST) on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Matos, the
2005 Star Mazda series champion who is driving the No. 41
Guthrie Racing/Car Crafters car, claimed the top starting
position with a quick lap of 1 minute, 7.1409 seconds
(96.513 mph) during two European-style qualifying sessions
on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn circuit. Nine drivers bettered the
track record set by Andretti (1:09.3253) last year.
Matos will be
joined on the front row by Alex Lloyd, the 2003 McLaren
Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award winner. Lloyd,
driving the No. 26 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. car,
posted a best lap of 1:07.3754 (96.178 mph).
"I'm very
excited right now," Matos said. "Unfortunately, we had
some traffic issues early in the session. We put on a
set of new tires, but didn't get a good lap.
Fortunately, on the last run, we were able to put a good
run together. Guthrie Racing did an amazing job putting
the car together after we had a problem, a crash in the
first session. They did an amazing job. Everything
worked perfectly. We're looking forward to the race."
On the
second row will be Jeff Simmons (1:07.4955), the winner
of the season opener March 26 on the Homestead-Miami
Speedway oval, and Jay Howard (1:07.5996) in the No. 7
Lucas Oil/Isilon/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. Last year,
Simmons joined Andretti on the front row.
Rookie
Jonathan Klein (1:07.9749) and Andretti Green Racing
teammate Jaime Camara (1:08.4310) will occupy Row 3. Cheever
Racing teammates Nick Bussell (1:08.7167) and Chris Festa
(1:08.7571) share Row 4. Rookie Brett Van Blankers, driving
the No. 3 Mo’s Gold-Mobley Special car for Brian Stewart
Racing (1:08.9474), also was lower than last year’s track
record time.
The field for
the second race (April 2) will have the top six finishers
inverted.
The No. 25
Automatic Sprinklers, Inc. car driven by Arie Luyendyk Jr.
will not complete this weekend's activities after sustaining
damage to the tub and gearbox in the second practice session
March 31.
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