8-26-2006
Klein’s Fourth-Place Run at Infineon Raceway
Tightens Points Race With SSM Teammate Howard
A fourth-place finish for Jonathan Klein, coupled with a 10th-place result for Jay Howard after he was tapped into a spin on Lap 11, has tightened the points race between the two Sam Schmidt Motorsports drivers for the Indy Pro Series championship in the first of two races this weekend at Infineon Raceway in northern California.
Starting third, Klein was caught on the outside in the run to the uphill, right-hand Turn 2, and lost one position to Nick Bussell. The twisting 2.26-mile Infineon layout makes passing difficult in the best of conditions, and today’s 30-lap race was broken up by three caution flags.
As a result, Klein was unable to regain third, but still made up almost half the points gap to Howard when the championship leader was hit from behind by Bobby Wilson on Lap 11, falling a lap off the pace as a result.
Klein’s result in Saturday’s race moves the 19-year-old rookie to within 13 points of Howard in the fight for the series title with a second 30-lap race on tap at Infineon on Sunday, followed by the season finale at Chicagoland Speedway in two weeks time.
Starting from the outside of the fifth row in 10th, Jaime Camara made a strong start, moving up two places in the opening laps and eventually finishing seventh, just ahead of series newcomer Ryan Justice, making his first IPS start for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
Camara spent much of the 30-lap contest battling with Mike Potekhen and teammate Justice, as the three disputed sixth place. The results of today’s race will be used to set the field for Sunday’s second event at Infineon, with the top six positions inverted. So a sixth place finish in the first race earns the pole for Sunday’s companion feature.
Camara made several attempts at passing Potekhen, while Justice also looked for a way past both competitors. But at the checker Potekhen held on for sixth, with Camara seventh, followed by Justice.
Sunday’s 30-lap race, the penultimate round in the 12-race IPS championship, starts at 1:20 p.m. (EDT). Television coverage of the two races will be broadcast at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, August 31 on ESPN2.
Jonathan Klein, #27 Klein Tools/Turn-Key Forging & Design Dallara/Firestone
Started 3rd, Finished 4th, 2nd in the championship with 311 points
Will start 3rd in Sunday’s race
"It was good that we got another top-five finish. It would have been nice to keep that top-three streak going, but we just didn't have the speed today, which is unfortunate. We've had the speed all week and have been among the top three, but it just didn't quite work out that way. The good thing is we did close in a bit on Jay [Howard] and we'll just go out there and try to do the same thing tomorrow."
Jamie Camara, #11 Neo Quimica Dallara/Firestone
Started 10th, Finished 7th, 6th in the championship with 268 points
Will start 7th in Sunday’s race
"Today was better for us. I was fighting hard with [Mike] Potekhen, because I knew if I passed him it would be good for the pole for tomorrow. And I could see that he was having some trouble under braking. But my car was pushing too much and I never could find a good passing opportunity. Still, the car was better today, much more consistent than yesterday in practice and qualifying. We’ll make a few more changes and it will be even better tomorrow.”
Jay Howard, #7 Lucas Oils/Isilon Dallara/Firestone
Started 5th, Finished 10th, Championship Leader with 324 points
Will start 10th in Sunday’s race
"He [Bobby Wilson] just drove straight into my rear wheel and spun me around. Because I’m leading the championship, I’m a target, and that’s the way it’s been for the last few races, and there doesn’t seem to be much I can do about it. It’s frustrating. Once I got going again, the car felt a bit different and I can see now that all four tires are flat-spotted [from the spin]. We’re starting well back in the field tomorrow and that’s discouraging, but we’re still in the points lead and not about to give up anything.”
Ryan Justice, #38 Northwest Autosport Dallara/Firestone
Started 8th, Finished 8th
Will start 8th in Sunday’s race
"It was a pretty good race for us. I learned a lot and now I have more feedback to give the team so that we can improve the car for tomorrow. I enjoyed racing in this series, it’s kind of refreshing. For the most part the driving is very professional and I enjoyed racing with Jaime [Camara] and the others out there. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s second race.” |
