Tough Time at Edmonton for USRT

It was another rough day at the office for the US RaceTronics (USRT) duo of Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) and David Garza (#4 Axtel/Tecate/Madisa/USRT).  One driver was dealt with continued bad luck while the other would complete the race but under extremely challenging circumstances. 

Eighteen year old Carl Skerlong would start the race third on the grid, which happened to be his best starting position this year.  The optimistic youngster from Seattle, Washington had a great standing start but soon realized that something was wrong with the # 24 King Taco/USRT entry.  After completing only seven laps, Skerlong limped back to the pits.  The team immediately realized the problem was catastrophic and Skerlong was forced to retire from the race after only seven laps completed, shattering all hopes of a promising race.  Skerlong now lies thirteenth in points with 85.  The culprit was a wheel bearing.

Garza's race, while not as devastating as Skerlong's, was nevertheless challenging.  Garza also had a great standing start and immediately began jockeying for position.  At Turn #1 on the first lap Garza was hit on both sides, causing damage to both sidepods.  Garza quickly experienced steering issues and realized that the impact earlier in the lap had actually bent his steering wheel leaving the car difficult to drive.  Once pitted, Garza's crew was ale to repair the car and replace the steering wheel with Skerlong's. The pit stop cost Garza 6 laps.  Once on track Garza was able to put up competitive times and race his fellow competitors.  Garza would finish the race in the twentieth spot.  Garza is now fifteenth in points with 75.

Carl Skerlong - "We'd been running really well and definitely had the speed to stay at the front.  I started to lose power, I wasn't sure at first if it was the motor but it looks like it was a wheel bearing that was out. This isn't what we wanted, especially after what happened in Saturday's race. I guess it's just one of those things and we again have to move on. All the guys worked really hard this weekend and it's a shame things have ended this way as we deserved more with the pace we showed."

David Garza -"The day didn't go exactly as I planned it would go but we made the best with what we had.  The team did their best to get me back on the track and I was able to race and gain valuable experience.  I'm looking forward to San Jose where I think we will do very well."

About US RaceTronics: 2007 marks the third year of competition in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Series for US RaceTronics. Led by former Dorricott Racing Team Manager Shane Seneviratne, US RaceTronics enters the 2007 season with Monterrey Mexico native David Garza and American Carl Skerlong.  US RaceTronics is part of Pacific Coast Motorsports Jr. Team program

 For more information on US RaceTronics and its partners, visit www.usracetronics.com.  You can visit David Garza's website at www.david-garza.com and Carl Skerlong's website at www.cskerlong.com