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By Dave Lewandowski
indyracing.com
Saturday Mar 20, 2004
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Thiago Medeiros’ car was strong in practice and qualifying on March 19. It got stronger overnight.
Medeiros, driving the No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, lapped the field on the way to winning the Phoenix 100 on March 20 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Medeiros started from the pole and became the fourth driver in the three-year history of the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ to lead every lap. It was his second victory in 14 Menards Infiniti Pro Series races.
“After Homestead, I said that I wanted to win at Phoenix and lap the field,” said Medeiros, who was runner-up to Phil Giebler in the season-opening Homestead-Miami 100 on Feb. 29. “It was a joke between me and my manager, and fortunately, it came true.
“The car was awesome for the whole race. As soon as I started the race, I knew I could stay at the front because it’s a very tough track and it’s hard to overtake (cars). It was the same with me last year with Mark Taylor (when Medeiros was runner-up).”
The day was doubly fun for former IRL IndyCar® Series driver Sam Schmidt. His other driver, Arie Luyendyk Jr., finished second. It is the first time in the history of the series that teammates have finished 1-2.
“It’s truly a team effort because there’s that old saying, the harder the work, the better you do,” Schmidt said.
Luyendyk, who started second for the second consecutive race, finished ninth in the season-opening Homestead-Miami 100 on Feb. 29. He recorded eight top-10 finishes and had a season-best third-place finish in 2003.
“Right from the very first lap I knew I didn’t have the car to beat Thiago,” Luyendyk said. “I knew it was going to be a handful so I was just trying to conserve my tires and wait for a yellow, but it never came.”
It was the second caution-free race and the second race in which all starters were running at the end in series history.
“It was a long day, and I’m happy with second place because that’s the worst car I’ve ever had finishing second,” Luyendyk said. “I’m just glad I brought it home in one piece and could complete the 1-2. It’s a great accomplish for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.”
Brian Stewart Racing also had a strong showing, with Leonardo Maia finishing third and Jesse Mason fourth. It was the first Menards Infiniti Pro Series race for Maia, the 2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series champion, and the second for Mason.
“I couldn’t believe the way they were racing,” said Stewart, who has fielded cars in open-wheel racing for many years. “Last night at supper, I told them, ‘I’m going to be choked if you crash into one another in the first five laps.’ But I said, ‘With 10 laps to go, let them loose. If you crash I’d understand.’ ’’
Maia had tested a Menards Infiniti Pro Series car at Texas Motor Speedway on March 15 in front of IRL IndyCar Series driving coach Johnny Rutherford.
“I’m still a little dizzy. I’m not used to these ovals,” he said. “It was really fun. I wanted to be able to run the last 10 laps with a good car. I had a good car and I was able to pass my teammate. I’m sure we gave Brian a little bit of a heart attack. It’s clean and really good racing against Jesse. He won’t give me an inch, but he’ll give me a half an inch.”
Mason was happy for his teammate, but disappointed with his car’s setup on the 1-mile oval.
“We just went a little bit the wrong way on the setup, which cost us,” said Mason, who finished third in the opener in the No. 3 Segway Human Transportation Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. “We only had two sets of tires coming in here, so that’s what killed us from the beginning. We couldn’t really use good tires at any time during the weekend except for qualifying.
“It was a good weekend overall. Any time you get a result and where you’re not in the fence, it’s something you can walk away from on and build on.”
Paul Dana, driving the No. 91 Ethanol/Hemelgarn Johnson entry for Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsports, finished fifth.
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