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DETROIT
(APRIL 5, 2002) - As part of the festivities surrounding the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the 2002 Barber CART
Scholarship drivers will ride in the pre-race parade during
Champ Car driver introductions, just prior to the start of the
FedEx Championship Series event.
The six Formula Dodge National Championship drivers - Colin
Fleming, Charlie Kimball, Ward Imrie, Craig Baltzer and Scott
Poirier, as well as 2001 Stars of Tomorrow champion Scott
Speed - will ride around the famous 1.968-mile street circuit
in the back of Toyota Tundra trucks and be introduced to the
crowd.
The drivers will already be in Southern California for Rounds
3 and 4 of the National Championship, taking place at
California Speedway in Fontana. With their race weekend from
Thursday through Saturday, all FDNC drivers have been invited
to attend Sunday's race activities, benefiting from a special
discount program offered to National Championship drivers and
their families by the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach.
CART President and CEO Christopher R. Pook will also meet with
the aspiring drivers in a Sunday morning session before he
begins his duties as the race Grand Marshal.
Fleming, Kimball, Imrie and Baltzer earned their Scholarships
by winning the Barber CART Karting Scholarship Runoff in early
January, while Poirier won the FDNC Barber CART Scholarship
Shootout after finishing 2nd in the Skip Barber Southern
Regional Championship. Speed earned his ride by winning the
2001 Stars of Tomorrow ICC 125 class karting championship.
Each Scholarship is worth $45,000.
CART MEDICAL TEAM OPENS DOORS TO TOYOTA ATLANTIC DRIVERS
If victory lane is the place that every driver wants to visit,
then easily the bottom of that list is the CART Mobile Medical
Unit. While recognized as the best and most sophisticated
medical response unit in all of motorsports, a visit by
drivers to this facility most likely means they have had an
incident on the race track. Often times, it is a driver's
first foray into the Medical Unit, and like any emergency
trauma room, the environment can be intimidating and confusing
despite all the momentous efforts of Dr. Steve Olvey, Dr.
Terry Trammell and their professional medical staff.
With this in mind, the CART Driver Development Ladder System
has arranged for the entire Toyota Atlantic field - drivers,
team owners and support personnel - to tour the million dollar
facility and familiarize themselves with the state of the art
unit and full-time medical staff. This way, a driver who has
been involved in an incident will see friendly and familiar
surroundings when he/she is taken to the CART Medical Unit. In
addition, Olvey and Trammell will explain all of the benefits
and services that CART Medical Unit can provide to them
outside of just emergency care.
"As a former driver, I know how confusing things can be after
an accident from the driver's perspective," commented CART
Development Steward Chris Kneifel. "For many of these drivers,
the first time they normally see the inside of the Medical
Unit is after something has happened. By taking a few minutes
to meet the doctors and support personnel on staff here before
an incident, we can help alleviate some of the tension that
naturally occurs during a trauma situation."
This tour is a follow up to a briefing given by the Simple
Green CART Safety Team during the Monterrey, Mexico race
weekend. Similar meetings will be held for the drivers of the
Barber Dodge Pro Series, beginning at Mazda Raceway Laguna
Seca.
MOVIN' ON UP
After honing his skills for the last four seasons in the
Barber Dodge Pro Series, California native Roger Yasukawa, 24,
is making his CART Toyota Atlantic debut in next week's Toyota
Grand Prix of Long Beach with Hylton Motorsports. Yasukawa
will contest the final 11 events of the season.
"I am delighted to join Hylton Motorsports," said Yasukawa,
who earned an emotional maiden Pro Series victory on the
streets of Vancouver last fall. "It really gives me a lot of
confidence to know I have such a fantastic team behind me. We
will be ready for Long Beach and beyond."
Yasukawa's teammate, Ryan Hunter-Reay, a former Barber Dodge
Pro Series and Barber CART Scholarship standout himself, was
the quickest last week during a seven car testing session at
Firebird International Raceway.
"This was an excellent test for us," commented Hunter-Reay, a
21-year old from Boca Raton, Florida. "I learned a lot about
the car at Firebird. I am becoming more and more sensitive to
the changes, which really helps me work on developing the
setup with my engineer."
Yasukawa and Hunter-Reay, both rookies, are two of eleven
drivers in the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship who have
honed their skills in the Barber Dodge Pro Series. An
announcement regarding the future Toyota Atlantic endeavor of
2001 Pro Series Champion Nicolas Rondet is expected within the
week, with the plan being for him to join the Toyota Atlantic
circuit full time at Long Beach.
WHAT'S NEXT
The CART Toyota Atlantic Championship will race next as part
of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 12-14. Hylton
Motorsports tries to regain its winning ways of one year ago
with its one-two combination of rookies Ryan Hunter-Reay and
Roger Yasukawa.
The Barber Dodge Pro Series will return to action in the
traditional Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park,
Connecticut. Round 2 will commence on Monday, May 27 as part
of the Trans-Am Championship weekend. Pro Series Barber CART
Scholarship drivers Julio Campos, Leo Maia and Rafael
Sperafico will all be looking to secure their first BDPS
career victory.
Rounds 3 and 4 of the Formula Dodge National Championship will
be at California Speedway, April 11-13, in conjunction with
the Champ Car weekend at Long Beach. Burt Frisselle and Grant
Maiman will be looking to build on their race wins last month
at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES
Toyota Atlantic Championship Barber Dodge Pro Series
(Through Round 1 of 12) (Through Round 1 of 10)
1. Jon Fogarty 21 points 1. AJ Allmendinger 22 points
2. Ryan Dalziel 16 points 2. Davy Cook 16 points
3. Joey Hand 14 points 3. Julio Campos 14 points
4. Luis Diaz 13 points 4. Nilton Rossoni 13 points
5. Michael Valiante 12 points 5. Christian Szymczak 11 points
Formula Dodge National Championship
(Through Round 2 of 13)
1. Burt Frisselle 36 points
2. Grant Maiman 34 points
3. Al Unser 27 points
4. Scott Speed 25 points
5. Robbie Montinola 21 points
CART
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Ricardo González
News and Commentary
