CART Ladder
Series news
by Mark
Cipolloni
July 15, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS - Ryan Hunter-Reay
became the first three-time winner of the year in the Toyota
Atlantic Championship while Davy Cook scored his maiden
victory in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in CART Driver
Development Series action over the weekend from Cleveland's
Burke Lakefront Airport.
Hunter-Reay, driving in his rookie season with Hylton
Motorsports, secured the pole position on Saturday and led
from start to finish during the 32-lap Sunday morning race. He
was unchallenged the entire race, including a Lap 7 restart
following a aerobatic accident involving Alex Figge, Roger
Yasukawa and Sepp Koster.
Dorricott Racing's Jon Fogarty and Luis Diaz, finishing second
and third respectively, made their way to the podium with
Hunter-Reay. Point leader Michael Valiante of Lynx Racing
finished fourth. While Hunter-Reay won by 7.015 seconds, the
trio of Fogarty, Diaz and Valiante were separated by only 0.6
seconds as the checkered flag waved. Rocky Moran Jr. of Sigma
Autosport rounded out the top five.
"I had one of the best cars I have ever driven out there
today," said Hunter-Reay, a graduate of the Barber Dodge Pro
Series, where he was Rookie of the Year in 2000 and captured
two victories. "It was a dream race as a driver because I had
a solid lead without anyone breathing down my neck. However,
it's never easy. Once I had the gap developed, I had to really
take care of my car and just manage the pace."
"We are now second in the Championship and easily within reach
of the lead," continued Hunter-Reay. "I am looking forward to
our next race at Trois Rivieres."
Cook, now in his second season in the Pro Series, started the
Saturday afternoon race on the pole but lost the lead on the
start to third place starter Josh Beaulieu. After an initial
lap caution for a stranded Atticus Missner, Beaulieu and Cook
pulled away from the rest of the field. Cook would gain the
lead on Lap 7 and hold it until the end.
2001 Formula Dodge National Champion Julio Campos, recovering
from three straight DNFs, moved into second place and was
tracking down Cook when a late race caution came out, causing
the race to end under yellow. Marc Breuers, Friday's
provisional pole sitter, continued to finish strong with a
third place. Point leader AJ Allmendinger, who started fourth
before falling back to tenth due to an off track excursion,
battled back to finish just behind the top three in fourth
position. 2001 Pro Series Rookie of the Year Rafael Sperafico
came home in fifth place.
"This is the greatest day of my life, without a doubt,"
commented the 20-year old from Tallahassee, Fla. "The car was
perfect again and the Barber Dodge crew guys did a great job
getting my car ready.
"The competition is so tight in this series, and you have to
have a perfect weekend to get a win, and fortunately, that
happened here," continued Cook. "I am looking forward to
getting to Vancouver now that I know I can do it. I need to
get some more wins to break into AJ's (Allmendinger) points
lead."
CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES
Toyota Atlantic Championship
(Through Round 8 of 12)
1. Michael Valiante Burnaby, BC 101 points
2. Ryan Hunter-Reay Boca Raton, Fla. 93 points
3. Jon Fogarty Palo Alto, Calif. 92 points
4. Alex Gurney Corona Del Mar, Calif. 75 points
5. Luis Diaz Mexico City, Mexico 74 points
Barber Dodge Pro Series
(Through Round 6 of 10)
1. AJ Allmendinger Hollister, Calif. 115 points
2. Davy Cook Tallahassee, Fla. 74 points
3. Marc Breuers Philadelphia, Penn. 72 points
4. Rafael Sperafico Toledo Parana, Brazil 64 points
5. Memo Rojas Mexico City, Mexico 62 points
Formula Dodge National Championship
(Through Round 8 of 13)
1. Scott Poirier Deerfield Beach, Fla. 108 points
2. Grant Maiman New London, Wisc. 94 points
3. Burt Frisselle Kihei, Hawaii 91 points
4. Scott Speed Matneca, Calif. 84 points
5. Ward Imrie Winnepeg, Canada 81 points
UP NEXT
The CART Toyota Atlantic Championship will take a two week
break before resuming action at the Trois-Rivieres Grand Prix,
August 2nd- 4th.
The Barber Dodge Pro Series will take a week off and then
return to action at the Molson Indy Vancouver, July 26th -
28th.
The Formula Dodge National Championship will return to action
with Rounds 9 and 10 at Mont Tremblant, Quebec on August
2nd-4th.
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Ricardo González
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