From Tom Moore
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., July 25, 2011 – IndyCar veteran and 1997 United States Auto Club (USAC) Traxxas Silver Crown Championship Rookie of the Year Jimmy Kite returns to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis (LORI) this week. Kite, who lives in Indianapolis, will be making his second start at the wheel of the No. 25 Capital Electric/Eddie Sachs Racing Beast-Chevrolet on Thursday night in the J.D. Byrider 100, USAC Silver Crown feature. Kite is anxiously anticipating his return for the July 28, 100-lap race on the one-mile oval. It will be his first time racing in front of his adopted hometown fans in Indianapolis since 2007 and the first time back on the famous short track since a “Big Car Series” race there in 2006. He last raced a USAC Silver Crown event at LORI in 2005.
Jimmy Kite Silver Crown Car – by John Mahoney/USAC
Jimmy Kite in the No.25 Eddie Sachs Racing Silver Crown Beast-Chevy.
Image by John Mahoney, USAC
Kite’s love affair for Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis began as a kid when watching his open wheel heroes race there on ESPN’s “Thursday Night Thunder”. A short few years later he would join many of those same drivers at the track then known as Indianapolis Raceway Park in both USAC Silver Crown cars and midgets. The high-speed nature of the track immediately fit with Kite’s all-out approach. Since debuting at the track in a 1994 midget race – where he finished fourth – Kite followed with a Silver Crown second-place in 1997. That is his best finish at LORI to-date.
Kite premiered with the Eddie Sachs, Jr.-owned team earlier this summer at the Milwaukee Mile. The June 18 feature was the first-time the No.25 had run this year and with no testing the team had to work through several issues in practice. After qualifying 20th, the five-time Indianapolis 500-starter raced up to 12th despite fighting a fuel-starvation issue and a severe push/understeer in the last 50-laps of the 100-lap feature. Since, Kite has moved the Beast chassis powered by a Chevy V8 into the Indy Line Stripe shop in Indianapolis. The car has undergone a complete teardown and rebuild. The fuel-feed problem is now remedied and a suspension upgrade completed. With the changes, Kite and Sachs believe the white entry will have a stronger showing on Thursday night.
The one-day show, which is part of the Kroger SpeedFest, helps to launch a massive weekend of racing in central Indiana culminating in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The LORI gates open to the public at 11:00am (EDT) on Thursday morning. The one-hour Silver Crown practice begins at 12:15pm followed by qualifying at 3:55pm. The race itself takes the green flag at 9:30pm.
Quotes
Jimmy Kite
About racing at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: “I remember my first race here like it was yesterday. It was in a midget driving for Tom Hooker and John Black. We blew the motor coming across the line to make the feature so I made the race but never got to take the green. I just remember growing up watching ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ thinking that if I ever got to race at IRP, that’ll be the big time! Now I’m back. I luckily have gained several friends and fans from my years in USAC and over at the [Indianapolis Motor] Speedway and this is in their backyards as well as mine so there is a lot of excitement.”
About the importance of racing in Indianapolis: “Even though it’s not the big track, it’s still Indianapolis. I remember racing at IRP/LORI and just hoping one day to get to the big track and this place was a part of that so I am always excited about having a chance to come here to race. Eddie has given me a great car this weekend at one of my favorite places. We have Capital Electric onboard with us and we want to give them a really good show in thanks for their support.”
About racing for Eddie Sachs, Jr.: “Eddie is such a great guy and I’m so thankful he believed in me enough to put me in his race car! We’ve been looking for a way to go racing together for a long time. When ULine came onboard to race near their headquarters in Milwaukee, it all came together. I’m excited about this chance to drive for a great racing family and in front of all of ULine’s employees and guests; hopefully we all do it proud! I’m looking forward to seeing what we have this weekend and building on it for down the road. Hopefully there are a lot more races for Eddie and I!”
About what he learned with his return to Silver Crown at Milwaukee: “I learned these cars haven’t changed any. They are still a blast! I am really looking forward to running more races this year with Eddie to see what we can build on.”
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For more on the J.D. Byrider 100, please visit: www.LucasOilRaceway.com.
To learn more about the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Championship and follow live video, timing and scoring of the sessions please see: www.usacracing.com/pitpass.