US RaceTronics looks to start off the Portland weekend on a positive note!
The US RaceTronics (USRT) team arrived at this weekend's Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland presented by Joe's Sports and Outdoor doubleheader for the Champ Car Atlantic Championship cautiously optimistic. After a successful weekend 7 weeks ago at the Houston Grand Prix the team was looking to start this weekend's activity on a positive note.
The morning started off under cloudy and cool conditions for the practice session. USRT drivers Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) and David Garza (#4 Axtel/Tecate/Madisa/USRT) both entered the time charts in the second and forth spot respectively. Throughout the sessions both drivers teetered between fifth and tenth fastest. Using the opportunity to try some new things, both drivers pitted several times throughout the session. With 9 minutes to go the Red Flag was shown as a result of Justin Sofio (#26 RLM Investments) making contact with the tire barrier in Turn 11. With minutes remaining the Green Flag was shown once again. Skerlong would end up seventh and Garza sixth. Both were able to gain some positions.
For USRT the afternoon Qualifying session brought with it new and valuable data and an opportunity to showcase the driver's racing abilities for tomorrow's race. While neither driver ended the session in the top-5 positions they both are relatively close compared to the drivers who ended there. Once again it was a front-row sweep for the Sierra Sierra Enterprises team led by James Hinchcliffe (#9 NOCO/ProWorks) who turned a best lap at 1:06.561 (106.224 mph). Teammate Rafael Matos (#6 ProWorks) followed his teammate with a session best time of 1:06.734 (105.949 mph). The USRT team started the session in promising form as both drivers quickly entered the time charts in the top-10 spot. Throughout the session both drivers continued to creep up the charts. Throughout the course of the qualifying session both Garza and Skerlong pitted several times and with each change were able to improve the performance of the car. Ultimately Skerlong would end up in the ninth position with a best lap of 1:07.073 which he posted on his twenty-first lap. Garza ended up not too far from his teammate in the eleventh position. His best time, posted on his sixteenth lap, was 1:07.119.
The team will concentrate on improving both USRT cars in preparation for tomorrow's race and qualifying session.
Carl Skerlong - "We are not that far off from being top three in our qualifying session. The times are so close so I know we have some work to do on the car but overall I'm confident that the car will be ready for the race. The team once again has worked hard and given me the tools I need to do my best"
David Garza -"I'm looking forward to tomorrow's race. I think we can definitely improve on the car and I know that the team will work hard on the car tonight. Tomorrow's race will be interesting and I'm going to try my best to get that first win"
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
