US RaceTronics (USRT) is ready to turn it around at Houston for the 3rd round of the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda.
The bad luck that has trailed USRT driver David Garza (#4 Axtel/Tecate/Madisa/USRT) will hopefully come to a screeching end at the Fast Trac 100 at the Grand Prix of Houston Atlantic race. Carl Skerlong (#24 King Taco/USRT) on the other hand seems to have shaken off his bad luck that plagued him at the Vegas Grand Prix. Skerlong was able to muscle his way to a top 10 finish at last week's Long Beach Grand Prix. The USRT squad still has not yet shown its potential and is looking forward to showing its talent this weekend. With all of the pieces put together USRT looks forward to Houston and coming away with a great result.
For Garza, the weekend represents a home race for him with Houston being a couple of hours north of his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. With friends and family scheduled to visit the talented Mexican, what better time than this race to turnaround his season. The past two races have seen Garza adversely affected by on-track incidents that were not of his doing. Garza finished twenty-fifth in Las Vegas and in the twenty-forth spot at Long Beach. Frustrated, but not deterred, Garza plans to make the most out of his opportunity at Houston. The JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park street course in Houston can very well be where Garza sees his hard effort come to fruition.
Skerlong on the other hand was able to show glimpses of his talent at Long Beach. Finishing the race in ninth, Skerlong showed many that this racer from Mukilteo, Washington was talented enough to be among this competitive Champ Car Atlantic field. After a disappointing Vegas Grand Prix in which Skerlong was taken out after an incredibly good start, he rallied at Long Beach with a ninth place finish. He's looking forward to progressing at Houston and break into the top 3 finishing spots. Skerlong was able to have a strong qualifying effort in Las Vegas where he missed being on the Pole during Friday's qualifying session by 0.033, nevertheless, his effort showed that a pole position and a win is not out of his grasp.
David Garza - "Luck has definitely not been on our side at these 2 opening rounds. Despite getting hit at both races I think if we keep our heads up, keep pushing, and giving our best effort things will eventually change for us. I am very disappointed with both my starting results and I don't think I have ever had so much desire to get back in the car and keep driving for an incredible team and make them and my sponsors proud. We know we can run up front and I am determined to prove it this race"
Carl Skerlong - "I definitely think we've figured out some more things about running on street circuits. It's my first year competing in a championship that runs on temporary road courses and I'm still fairly new to the team so there's a learning curve which I'm on at the moment but so far things have been working out pretty well. We were fast in Vegas and maybe took a bit longer to get up to speed in Long Beach but I'm confident we'll be up there in Houston."
Shane Seneviratne -"This race is going to be an important one for the team. It represents a home race for David (Garza) since we won't race in Monterrey this year. It is very important that we get a good result for Garza and continue Carl's progress. Despite what our results have revealed we still have a lot to show in what we are capable of producing and I hope Houston allows us the opportunity to get a great result. We have to continue our focus and hard work."
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.
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
