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Motorola 300 - St Louis
Race
Jonny Kane Racing, 17th September, St Louis:
KANE 9th AND SIMMONS 15th AT GATEWAY
Team KOOL Green drivers Jonny Kane and Jeff Simmons finished 9th and 15th respectively in today's Indy Lights race at Gateway International Raceway. Simmons was running a strong second, up one spot from his 3rd-place grid position, when he spun between turns three and four on lap 57, making contact with the wall. This was Simmons' first DNF of the season, breaking a string of two consecutive podium finishes for the promising rookie.
Kane, who had struggled with the handling of his car all weekend, finally had the setup he needed during the race. After starting 14th on the grid, he fought his way up five spots to finish ninth and collect three championship points.
Pole-sitter Townsend Bell led flag-to-flag to claim his second victory of the season, with Casey Mears and Jason Bright rounding out the top three. Series points leader Scott Dixon had his first DNF of the year after hitting the wall on lap 19. Dixon's misfortune, combined with Bell scoring the maximum 22 points on the weekend, has tightened the Indy Lights championship. Dixon, who had a commanding 42-point lead coming into the race, now leads Bell by just 20 points. Simmons scored no points this weekend and is in seventh place in the championship with 78 points. TKG teammate Kane is 11th in the standings with 49 points.
Jonny's comments:
"I had some oversteer in (turns) three and four from the very beginning but I still had understeer coming off the corners. I had adjusted the weightjacker on the KOOL car to try to get rid of some of the oversteer and I think it helped somewhat. I had also changed the way I entered the corner to try to make it better and I'd gotten to where I could be stable through there.
"I got a couple of good restarts. I almost got (Rolando) Quintanilla on one but he sort of chopped down on me a little bit and I lost momentum and lost a few spots then. It took me a while to get those back again. Otherwise, I think we could have maybe put the KOOL car a couple places higher.
"It's just so tough to pass here. There is so much (turbulent) air coming off the car in front that it's very difficult to follow close enough to get past. But we started near the back and still came away with some points. We've got a good street course coming up in Houston where we should do well."
Saturday qualifying
Jonny Kane Racing, 16th September, St Louis:
SIMMONS & KANE ARE THIRD AND 14th IN QUALIFYING MADISON
St. Louis, Ill. (Sept. 16th, 2000) Jonny Kane qualified 14th for tomorrow's Dayton Indy Lights race on a time of 29.808 seconds. Unfortunately Kane missed the official test at the St. Louis track due to a crash earlier this year. Hence Jonny has been playing catch up since he arrived this weekend. Jonny will have a difficult job ahead of him tomorrow but will hopefully make up some places during the 79-lap race. Townsend Bell clinched the pole with a quick lap of 28.625 seconds, followed by Scott Dixon (28.766 seconds). Jeff Simmons rounds up the top three qualifying on a time of 28.855 seconds.
Team KOOL Green Press Release, 17th September:Team KOOL Green drivers Jeff Simmons and Jonny Kane will start third and 14th respectively in tomorrow's Indy Lights race at Gateway International Raceway. Simmons earned the second-row starting spot with a quick lap of 28.855 seconds (158.447 mph), while Kane's lap time was 29.808 seconds (153.382 mph).
Townsend Bell captured the pole position with a fast lap of 28.625 seconds (159.721mph) and series points leader Scott Dixon will start second with a lap of 28.766 seconds (158.938mph). Indy Lights drivers have one final on-track session tomorrow morning, with warm-up scheduled for 9:00 - 9:15 a.m.
Sunday's one-hour race begins at 11:00 a.m. and will be televised on tape delay on ESPN2, Sunday at 5:30 p.m. (All times are Central Daylight Time.) JEFF SIMMONS, #26 Team KOOL Green Lola T97/20: (3rd with a lap time of 28.855 seconds / 158.447 mph)
Jonny's comments:
"The car felt pretty similar to this morning, but we didn't really get a good time out of it. We were only three-tenths (of a second) off Jeff (Simmons, teammate) this morning so I'm not sure why we didn't go quicker. I thought we'd have gone better than that. Maybe I just didn't push it enough.
"The KOOL car seems to be handling okay, but it's a bit more close to being neutral. It felt better in (turns) one and two but that makes it more neutral in three and four which made me probably too cautious through there. And most of the lap time here depends on getting through three and four quickly. We've got our work cut out for us tomorrow."
Friday qualifying
Jonny Kane Racing, 16th September, St Louis:
SIMMONS & KANE ARE SECOND AND NINTH FASTEST IN FRIDAY PRACTICE AT GATEWAY
St. Louis, Ill. (Sept. 15th, 2000) Ulsterman Jonny Kane is at the Gateway International Raceway for this weekend's Dayton Indy Lights race on the one-mile St. Louis track. Today saw Kane take to the short oval for two free practice sessions in preparation for Sunday's 79-lap race.
Kane ended up tenth overall with a time of 30.068 seconds. Championship leader Scott Dixon headed the timesheets with a quick lap of 29.252 seconds. Jonny was struggling with handling problems in both sessions but is making progress in correcting these. There will be another free practice session in the morning before tomorrow's qualifying.
Team KOOL Green Press Release, 16th September:Madison, Ill. (September 15, 2000) - Team KOOL Green's Jeff Simmons and Jonny Kane were second and ninth fastest respectively following today's two practice sessions for Sunday's Indy Lights race at Gateway International Raceway.
Simmons' quick lap, set during the afternoon session, was 29.566 seconds (154.637 mph). Kane turned his best lap during the morning session, at 30.068 seconds (152.055 mph) around the 1.27-mile egg-shaped circuit. Series points leader Scott Dixon was fastest of the day with a lap of 29.252 seconds (156.297 mph), and Tony Renna was third at 29.737 (153.748 mph).
Following one final 40-minute practice session tomorrow at 8:30 a.m., Indy Lights drivers will take to the track for single-car qualifying at 12:15 p.m. Sunday's one-hour race begins at 11:00 a.m. and will be televised on tape delay on ESPN2, Sunday at 5:30 p.m. (All times are Central Daylight Time.)
Jonny's comments:
"We went okay this morning, but we're quite a bit away from the fastest times. We tried a few different things, none of which really made a huge difference. Right at the end we tried a slightly different anti-roll bar, which seemed to help us pick up a little grip. We've done a lot of miles on those tires, although I think that really doesn't make so much of a difference around an oval (track).
"Jeff (Simmons, teammate) seems to be going pretty good so we'll have a look and see what he's done through the last session. We've got another practice session tomorrow morning and I'm sure the Team KOOL Green crew will work hard to get the car right for qualifying."
Race Preview
Team KOOL Green Press Release, 12th September:
SIMMONS & KANE IN SEARCH OF INDY LIGHTS VICTORY FOR TKG
Team KOOL Green Indy Lights drivers Jeff Simmons and Jonny Kane will both be racing for the first time at Gateway International Raceway this weekend. The series didn't race there in 1999, Kane's rookie season in the series, while Simmons is in the midst of his own rookie year in Indy Lights.
JONNY KANE, #27 Team KOOL Green Lola T97/20: (First race at Gateway International Raceway)
"Last year, I managed to get to the podium in three of the last four races, so naturally I'm hoping that I can produce a strong finish to the 2000 season and do well in the final three races. Finishing fifth at Laguna Seca last week after qualifying seventh was an encouraging sign that we're making progress. We've shown on ovals in the past that Team KOOL Green can be right up there with the leaders and I fully expect that will be the case at Gateway."
JEFF SIMMONS, #26 Team KOOL Green Lola T97/20: (First race at Gateway International Raceway)
"I'm always excited about the opportunity to race on a track for the first time, and, being a rookie, it kind of levels the playing field in that most of the guys in the series haven't raced at Gateway. Coming off two podium finishes in a row, I'm looking to keep that momentum going and make up some more ground in the battle for top rookie in the series. The Team KOOL Green crew deserves a lot of credit for our surge up the standings because they have consistently been able to deliver a competitive car. That gives you a lot of confidence going into a race."
Jonny 5th at Laguna Seca - full report here.
2000 Race News
Honda Grand Prix of Monterey,
Laguna Seca
Molson Indy, Vancouver
Miller Lite 200, Mid-Ohio
Target Grand Prix of
Chicago
Detroit News 100, Michigan
Freightliner/G.I.
Joe's 200
Detroit News Challenge
Miller Lite Milwaukee Mile
Toyota Grand Prix
of Long Beach