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Medeiros Wins Fifth Race, Moves Closer To Title
JOLIET, Ill., Saturday Sep 11, 2004 – Thiago Medeiros dominated the Chicagoland 100 on Sept. 11, and moves closer to the Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ championship.
Medeiros, starting from the pole position in the No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, beat Jeff Simmons to the finish line by .0586 of a second to claim his fifth victory of the season. Medeiros, who started his sixth race from the pole position and led every lap, has a 95-point lead over Paul Dana with two races remaining.
“The team gave me the best car out today,” Medeiros said. “We had the best car out yesterday, too (in winning his sixth pole of the season). We were quick in qualifying, we put everything together and it worked. It’s really good to be back in victory lane. We’ve had some tough weekends, and it was a little bit hard to get a good setup for the whole race. I’m really proud to be here and the Sam Schmidt team did a great job. We had a really quick car, and I think after we won the pole, we had the fastest car. I was really confident. I took my Brazilian flag with me. I kept on the bottom of the track. The other guys tried to get around me and they couldn’t. I was just taking my time and waiting for the last lap.” It was really hard to hold off the pack. I was trying to find the best line so no one could get around me. I knew my car was quick enough to do that. I was just taking my time and had to be smart enough to take advantage of the opportunity.” I’ve got 52 important points for the championship after winning this race. I think the plan is to keep winning and keep leading the most laps. Hopefully, we can get the championship at the next race. At the same time, I have to be smart enough to get the maximum points that I can.”
Though he led every lap, Medeiros was pressured throughout by an assortment of drivers that at one time or another included teammate and front-row starter Travis Gregg. On Lap 40, the top five cars were separated by .4244 of a second.
With 10 laps remaining, Medeiros led Simmons by .0716 of a second. A pack of five cars remained within .3500 of a second of each other on the white flag lap. Simmons attempted to dart around Medeiros’ right side, but didn’t have enough momentum to complete the pass.
“I knew that some other guys could be working together trying to make a move on the last lap,” Medeiros said. “I just made sure that I had a good (Lap 54) re-start, and then I was taking my time because I knew that everybody would be waiting for the last laps, trying to do something.”
Gregg, making his second Menards Infiniti Pro Series start, had the fastest race lap at 193.248 mph. Gregg, who won the pole in his debut at Kentucky Speedway last month in the No. 5 Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry, spun coming out of Turn 2 on Lap 24. He rejoined the race after a quick check of his tires and recorded the field-best speed on Lap 57.
“It’s disappointing, but we were able to get some good experience today for (the season-ending race at) Texas. Now, we just focus on gaining the experience, so we can make a run for the Championship, hopefully next year,” Gregg said.
Team owner Sam Schmidt is ecstatic with the opportunity to win the 2004 Championship. "WOW!! This is definitely a race everyone wants to set their VCR's for,” said Schmidt. “Personally, my stomach was doing back flips the entire event. There was a pack of 12 cars separated by less than 1 second at the finish line. I am particularly proud of both Thiago and Travis. Thiago drove an extremely smart race, considering our lead in the points, and it just wound up getting him the victory as well. Now, all we have to do is start the race in California, and the 1st Championship for Sam Schmidt Motorsports is clinched. Of course, we will try our best to win both remaining races as we have nothing to lose. Travis had a fantastic weekend as well, leading practice sessions and missing the pole by .07 seconds. He continues to get excellent experience and will be very prepared for an attack on the Championship next year."
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