INDIANAPOLIS (July 29th, 2002) -
American AJ Allmendinger continued his dominating ways as he
captured his fifth victory of the 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series
season Sunday at Concord Pacific Place during the Molson Indy
Vancouver and extended his point lead over fellow American
Marc Breuers. Brazilian Rafael Sperafico and Canadian Dan Di
Leo finished on the podium in second and third place,
respectively. American Danica Patrick, making only her third
start in the Pro Series, and Breuers rounded out the top five.
Allmendinger, starting on pole, would lead the 18-car field
into Turn One on the start, but a melee behind him would
quickly bring out the yellow flag. Memo Rojas and Leo Maia
would collide, putting an end to both drivers' day. During the
contact, Rojas' transmission was split open causing fluid to
spill on the racing line. As the field made their way through
the debris, Cleveland winner Davy Cook lost control and hit
the Turn Three wall. In avoiding Cook, four other cars piled
into one another, nose to tail. Aurelio Lopez and Piero
Rodarte would retire from the race due to the secondary
incident. The subsequent traffic jam was cause enough for Pro
Series officials to display the red flag.
When the race resumed, Sperafico wasted no time in passing Di
Leo for second place on Lap 6. Just one lap later, Sperafico
completed his charge from his seventh place starting position,
passing Allmendinger for the lead in Turn Six. The battle was
not over as Allmendinger planted himself on Sperafico's
gearbox and made several attempts to get back by, finally
retaking the lead on Lap 12 in a daring Turn One pass. From
there, the Hollister, California resident stretched out his
lead over the remaining six laps to take the checkered flag by
2.782 seconds.
"Wow, that was an exciting race," commented an obviously
excited Allmendinger. "I love racing with Rafael. We race each
other close and tight but clean. I got a good run on him
coming through the Turn 10, 11 and 12-complex and made a move
to the inside going into (Turn) One. He pushed me down close
to pit wall but still gave me plenty of room."
With another win in hand and an increased point lead,
Allmendinger has thoughts about clinching the title at the
CART Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio in early August.
"I am really looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio in two
weeks," observed Allmendinger, who made his professional debut
a year ago at the race. "I've come a long way and learned
quite a bit in the last year. It would be special to clinch at
Mid-Ohio and I am really going to work hard at making it
happen. At the same time, I'm sure everybody else is going to
be trying hard to stop me. There is a lot of work still to be
done."
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 7 of 10)
1. AJ Allmendinger Hollister, Calif. 136 points
2. Marc Breuers Philadelphia, Penn. 84 points
3. Rafael Sperafico Toledo Parana, Brazil 80 points
4. Davy Cook Tallahassee, Fla. 74 points
5. Memo Rojas Mexico City, Mexico 62 points
5. Dan Di Leo Markham, Ontario 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 resumes action this
weekend at the Trois-Rivieres Grand Prix, August 2nd- 4th.
The Barber Dodge Pro Series will take a one week break before
returning to action at the CART Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, August
9th - 11th.
The Formula Dodge National Championship will return to action
after an almost two month hiatus with Rounds 9 and 10 at Mont
Tremblant, Quebec on August 2nd-4th.
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Ricardo González
News and Commentary
