Meredith Kaplan Burns
Brownsburg, Indiana (June 27, 2011) — After strong performances at the first two USAC Mopar National Midget Pavement events at Lucas Oil Raceway Park and the Milwaukee Mile, Levi Roberts arrived at Iowa Speedway, on Friday, June 24, with high expectations.
Because this race was held in conjunction with the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Star Mazda Championship, and USAC Silver Crown series, the Nine Racing team went right to work to get Levi comfortable at the high-speed, 7/8-mile tri-oval track.
Levi qualified the #91 Nine Racing midget in fifth position with a time of 23.078.
“I improved substantially from practice and was pleased with my qualifying effort,” said Levi Roberts. “The car felt good and I ended up close to the front and felt confident that I could stay with the leaders in the race.”
The 50-lap feature event was divided into two 25-lap segments with a required 10 laps of yellow. Levi ran conservatively in the first 25-lap race to protect his tires for the second race. However, at the start of the second race, Levi lost the draft and worked his way up to 13th at the checkered flag.
“Iowa Speedway is a first-class facility and we appreciate the opportunity to be able to race here in front of the large enthusiastic crowd,” said Nine Racing Team Owner Steve Lewis. “Levi worked hard and unfortunately his finishing position did not truly represent his ability this particular weekend.”
After the first three USAC Mopar National Midget Pavement Series events, Levi Roberts is ranked 8th in the series’ standings. His next race driving the #91 Nine
Racing midget will be at Lucas Oil Raceway on Thursday, July 28.
Nine Racing’s 2011 sponsor lineup includes K&N Engineering, Eibach Springs, Weld Racing, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Friction Brakes, ASE, Earl’s Performance Plumbing, SSi Decals, PJ1, and Hoosier Racing Tire.