News:

8-27-2006
Howard, Klein to Battle for Indy Pro Series Title at Chicagoland

Jonathan Klein further closed the gap to his Sam Schmidt Motorsports teammate and Indy Pro Series points leader Jay Howard with a third-place finish in Sunday’s second half of a two-race “doubleheader” on the Infineon Raceway road course.

Klein’s result, coupled with a fifth place finish for Howard, moves the 19-year-old rookie to within eight points of Howard in a four-way fight for the series championship that will be decided at the season finale on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval on September 9. The remaining title contenders include Bobby Wilson, currently third in the standings and 19 points behind the leader; and defending series champion Wade Cunningham, fourth with 327 points.

Starting fourth, Klein gained two positions during the opening lap to run second behind early leader Bobby Wilson. Alex Lloyd came through to lead on the 10th lap, but Klein continued to battle Wilson and Cunningham for second throughout the middle stages of the 30-lap race.

Cunningham fell back with a spin on Lap 18, while Wilson opened up a small gap by taking to the escape road to pass a spinning lapped car, while Klein stayed on the racing surface, but had to settle for third at the checkered.

Meanwhile Howard, starting 10th after being hit from behind and spun in Saturday’s opening race, moved up rapidly in the opening laps, climbing as high as fourth before fading brakes in the closing laps cost him one position as he finished fifth.

Making his second race start for SSM, rookie Ryan Justice renewed his battle from Saturday’s race with fellow rookie Mike Potekhen, and also fought with Scott Mansell, eventually finishing eighth for the second day in a row.

Jaime Camara’s day came to an early end when the Brazilian crashed out on the fifth lap. He was not injured in the accident. After finishing seventh on Saturday, Camara started from the same position and moved up to sixth in the opening lap. But he spun in the downhill Turn 8 corner an impacted the safety barriers, ending his race.

The 2006 Indy Pro Series season concludes in two weeks time, with the final race taking place September 9 at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval in Joliet, Illinois.

Jonathan Klein, #27 Klein Tools/Turn-Key Forging & Design Dallara/Firestone
Started 4th, Finished 3rd, 2nd in championship, 8 points behind Jay Howard

"We made the car a lot better today than it was in yesterday's race. It was much more consistent. Lapped traffic caught us out a few times and [Alex] Lloyd was able to pull out a gap on us, but that's the way it goes sometimes. We closed the points gap to my teammate Jay [Howard], and that was our goal for the weekend. Now we go to Chicago and race for the win and the championship."

Jay Howard, #7 Lucas Oils/Isilon Dallara/Firestone
Started 10th, Finished 5th, Championship Leader with 354 points

"The race started out great for us. We were in a pretty big whole [starting 10th] after getting spun out yesterday. But I got up to fourth and was thinking 'this is pretty great'. But then the brake pedal started getting longer and longer, and eventually it was going all the way to the floor. I couldn't hold off Wade [Cunningham] and that dropped us back to fifth. We still have the [championship points] lead, but it's gotten close now, so we'll go to Chicago and see what happens."

Ryan Justice, #38 Northwest Autosport Dallara/Firestone
Started 8th, Finished 8th

"It was an okay race for us. We improved the car a bit from yesterday and at the start of the race it was pretty good. But as the race went on and the tires got hotter the car became looser at the back. After that, we were just hanging on to the finish. But I really enjoyed the races this weekend, and working with the Sam Schmidt Motorsports team. I hopeful of returning with them next season, at least for the road course events and Indianapolis, but hopefully for the entire season."

Jamie Camara, #11 Neo Quimica Dallara/Firestone
Started 7th, Finished 14th, 6th in the standings with 284 points

"I tried to heat my tires as much as I could. I was entering Turn 7 - the high speed corner -- and I got loose on entry. I tried to correct, but when I corrected I lost it to the other side and I crashed. It was just a matter of cold tires and cold track."