14.OCT.01
Max
Wilson out of Race Early After Good Start
MONTEREY (October
14, 2001) -- Local San Jose, Calif., team owner, Larry Blair and
Arciero-Blair Racing competed today in the Championship Auto Racing
Teams (CART) event at scenic Laguna Seca Raceway. Driver Max Wilson
competed in round 19 of 21 in the FedEx Championship Series.
Wilson, driving the Ford-powered Lola sponsored by Driving 101,
started the 83-lap event under conditions unusually hot for the
coastal valley in Northern California. The weekend had proven
difficult once again for the locally owned team; the similar and
mysteriously shifting difficulties that occurred at Houston
continued through practice and qualifying. Additionally, due to
problems in the Saturday morning practice session, the team was
unable to get its entry to the pit lane in time for the 30 minute
qualifying session. Wilson had only nine minutes to qualify the
Driving 101 entry. The young Brazilian was unable to put together
enough consistent laps to give the team and race engineer Brian
Berthold feedback to position the Arciero-Blair entry higher than
its 24th starting position.
Throughout the whole race there were many more yellow flags than
usual. A caution flag was flown on lap two; the track went back to
green flag racing on lap seven. Wilson had moved up to 19th; on lap
nine going into the last corner, he had direct contact with a fellow
competitor. Bryan Herta was trying to avoid Casey Mears in the last
turn before the straight. Mears, Herta and Wilson went off the track
and into the dirt. Wilson was unable to continue due to suspension
damage.
"Bryan hit me when Michael (Andretti) was overtaking
us," said Wilson. "We were packed up for the green flag
and we were all racing for a few laps. I tried to avoid Bryan but he
came straight at me in the corner. He had also hit me a few laps
before."
Arciero-Blair Racing now prepares to race on the Gold Coast in
Queensland, Australia on Sunday, October 28. It is the feature event
of the CART grand prix weekend on the temporary street course in
Surfers Paradise. The broadcast time for the Honda Indy 300 in
Australia, Round 20 of the FedEx Championship Series, has been
changed. Originally slated to air live on ESPN at midnight ET on
Sunday, Oct. 28, the race will now be broadcast via 13-hour tape
delay on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 1p.m. ET. The broadcast will continue to
air on ESPN. Check local listings. It will also air on the CART
Radio Network and on CART’s official website, at www.cart.com.
Driving 101 is the first and only driving experience in the world
to offer a fleet of 20 full-sized Champ Cars. Clients range from
corporations that use the innovative driving school to reward
employees to celebrities and race fans. It has also been used as a
popular birthday or special occasion gift by many of the over 6,000
students who have attended one of Driving 101’s classes. Its four
different locations are Chicago Motor Speedway, a 1.029-mile oval,
California Speedway, a 2.029 oval, Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile
oval and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile oval. Many different
programs are available; all programs include safety, classroom and
trackside
instruction followed by an actual driving experience where you
can "Feel the Speed," on a professional racetracks.
Program information can be found
www.driving101.com. www.BlairRacing.com keeps fans up-to-date with all the
latest team news, photos and information. For more information or
updates on the FedEx Championship Series go to www.CART.com.
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