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For Immediate Release
Medeiros Still On Roll, Wins Futaba Freedom 100
MEDEIROS CLAIMS VICTORY IN FUTABA FREEDOM 100
Saturday May 22, 2004
INDIANAPOLIS – Sam Schmidt certainly can spot talent.
The former IRL IndyCar® Series driver signed Thiago Medeiros in January to compete in the No. 11 car for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series™. Three races later, Medeiros has two victories and two pole starting spots.
He recorded career victory No. 3 on May 22 in the Futaba Freedom 100. Medeiros, who started from the pole and led 35 of the 40 laps on the historic 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, won under caution because of a crash on Lap 38.
“I knew that the guy could come out here and win a lot of races and win the championship,” said Schmidt, who recorded his first victory – as a driver or team owner – at the Speedway. “It’s fantastic for our team. We’ve also grown our team, and I think the team has elevated, as has Thiago, our games to where we’re just really proud of the guys.
“All I ever wanted to do since I was 5 years old was come to this place. Rick Mears was my hero, and I would love to be setting where he is, but this is kind of the second best thing. You know, after everything me and my family has been through for the last five years, this is pretty special.”
Medeiros, 21, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, won the 2003 season finale at Texas Motor Speedway and hasn’t slowed down since. He finished second in the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February and led from start to finish in winning the Phoenix 100 in March.
“It’s unbelievable. I’m so excited,” Medeiros said. “I have to say thanks to the team. They did a wonderful job this weekend. They know how hard we tried to find a good setup for the race. We did it.”
It was the first time in the series that the pole sitter has won consecutive races. ... It was the second year in a row that the pole sitter has won the race.
He received stiff early competition from Jeff Simmons in the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. Simmons and Medeiros touched wheels in Turn 2 on the first lap and battled through the first half of the race.
Simmons passed Medeiros on a restart after a caution period because of contact between the cars of Jon Herb and Billy Roe on Lap 3. Herb retired because of right rear suspension damage. Medeiros caught Simmons on the front stretch on Lap 13 and stretched his lead to 2.0932 seconds three laps later.
“We have a lot of confidence running side by side,” Medeiros said. “I think that he will say the same about me. But, you know, we are here to race, and let’s go racing hard. That’s what happened. We had a lot of confidence. We just touched the wheels, but that’s one thing that happens in auto racing. I mean, he did a wonderful job. We had a very hard fight for first place. But I knew that my car was handling very good.”
Arie Luyendyk Jr., Medeiros’ teammate, has had second- and ninth-place finishes in the first races of the season, wound up third in the No. 5 Cycle Country/Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry.
“Starting fifth, I knew it was going to be hard because my car was really bad in traffic during the warm-up (May 21),” Luyendyk said. “I was a bit concerned with the car. But by the time the race came around and we went into the first corner, I was already in fourth, and then a few laps later, I was able to get Paul Dana for third, so right then I knew my car was pretty good.”
The Menards Infiniti Pro Series continues with the Aventis Racing for Kids 100 on July 4 at Kansas Speedway. The race will be broadcast by ESPN2 on a tape-delayed basis at 7 p.m. on July 3.
For More Information:
Michele Davis
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation
C: 602-741-1915
F: 805-926-4052
E: mdavis@samschmidt.org
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