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Thursday, May 19, 2005
BRACK IS BACK AT INDY
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Kenny Brack posted the seventh quickest lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday as the 1999 Indy 500 champion logged his first day on track for Rahal Letterman Racing as a replacement for the injured Buddy Rice. Brack was announced as the substitute driver for Rice, the defending Indy champ, at a morning press conference. Brack then proceeded to a day high 129 laps in the #15 Argent Mortgage/Pioneer Honda/Panoz/Firestone.
“It was a lot of fun today,” said Brack. “I really enjoyed myself a lot out there. There are a lot of things to work on, but after four or five laps, I was flat and that felt very good. It is a good combination here at Rahal Letterman Racing. They have a good team, a good car and good engine. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. I wouldn’t have been here if this situation hadn’t arose. This opportunity was good and competitive and that was something I was looking for. At noon on Monday, I never would have thought I’d be back in an IndyCar on Wednesday afternoon. We worked on race setup all day. There is no reason to work on qualifying now. It doesn’t matter if you start twenty-third or thirty-third. You have to have a good car in traffic. That is the key. I don’t know if it was fate to put me in this situation, but it is a little strange to replace Buddy after he replaced me last year. I feel bad for Buddy and I hope he gets well soon. I’m just working on doing the best job possible for Rahal Letterman Racing at the Indy 500.”
Rookie sensation Danica Patrick posted the ninth fastest time as she focused on fine tuning her race set-up in her back-up car. Patrick logged 77 laps in the #16 Argent Mortgage/Pioneer Honda/Panoz/Firestone.
"Today was all about getting ready for race day,” said Patrick. “We ran full fuel tanks and we tried to run in traffic. All our runs were aimed at learning how the car is reacting in traffic. I am pretty happy with how the car reacted, but we still have room for improvement. I thought our team had a wealth of experience at Indy before, but now we have added Kenny Brack to drive for Buddy. From my perspective as a rookie it is great to have three former Indy 500 winners (Rahal, Rice and Brack) who can give me advice and help leading up to the race."
Vitor Meira likewise focused his energies on perfecting his race set-up. Meira turned 128 laps in the #17 Rahal Letterman Team Menard/Johns Manville Honda/Panoz/Firestone.
“The car felt good today,” said Meira. “We worked all day on our race set-up and the car was really handling well. We know we have some more work to do this week with downforce and the grip levels, but we are able to work off the settings from last year and last year the cars were so good in the race. I’m pretty confident about our race setup, of course, conditions change so much here at Indy that you have to be prepared for every possible condition. That is why we run so much after qualifying. It is nice to work with Kenny. He helped us last year and he knows this place. Having his input and Buddy’s is a big help. They are giving Danica and myself some useful information. All of that knowledge and experience can help us get ready for the race.”
Practice for the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 resumes on Thursday at Noon local time.
Please go to News at www.kennybrack.com for audio files where Kenny gives comments about the Indy 500.
kennybrack.com
TB
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