IRL, Indy 500: Infiniti Insider Daily Report

20 May 1999

All five Infiniti Indy drivers went on track today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the Indy 500. CBR Cobb Racing driver Roberto Guerrero was the quickest of the bunch, recording the ninth fastest speed of the day with a 223.380 mph lap. Guerrero's run was not only the best speed of the week for an Infiniti Indy-powered car, it was also the fastest speed ever for the Infiniti Indy power plant on The Brickyard oval.

Eddie Cheever was second fastest of the Infiniti contingent placing both his backup and primary cars in the top 15 of the day. The No. 51T Team Cheever/The Children's Beverage Group Dallara was 14th quickest with a 222.883 mph lap and the No. 51 car was 15th quickest with a 222.778 lap. Cheever did experience some trouble mid-day when he pulled into the pits with a failed engine in his backup car.

23rd quickest of the 46 cars that went on track today was Infiniti Indy driver Robbie Buhl with a quick speed of 221.609 mph. Scott Harrington and Jeret Schroeder also went on track but neither reached full speed, running under ten laps each.

Daily Practice -- Speed Summary

1. Tony Stewart, 226.683
2. Greg Ray, 226.085 
3. Arie Luyendyk, 225.096
4. Kenny Brack, 224.411
5. Stephan Gregoire, 224.193
6. Robby Unser, 224.042
7. Robby McGehee, 224.025
8. Eliseo Salazar, 223.714
9. Roberto Guerrero, 223.380 (46 laps)
10. Kenny Brack, 223.270
14. Eddie Cheever Jr., 222.883 (16 laps)
15. Eddie Cheever Jr., 222.778 (11 laps)
23. Robbie Buhl, 221.609 (43 laps)
45. Scott Harrington, 211.015 (7 laps)
46. Jeret Schroeder, 206.911 (8 laps)

Quotes:

Roberto Guerrero, No. 50 Motor Trend/CBR Cobb Racing Infiniti/G Force/Firestone (9th fastest): "We had a really good day. It was the first full day we had to work. I was getting a little nervous when we didn't run on Saturday and Sunday. When I drove on Monday, and we reached the speeds we did in the wind, I was a little more confident. We will keep working on the little things. The basic setup is close. We'll just keep chipping away at it." (Compare the Oldsmobile Aurora to the Infiniti): "They are close enough now. You would have to do a back-to-back test on the same day, under the same conditions, with the same car to see the actual differences."

Eddie Cheever Jr., No. 51 Team Cheever/The Children's Beverage Group Infiniti/Dallara/Goodyear (14th and 15th fastest): "This track is notorious for being hard on engines. We've been running the engine in qualifying mode because we wanted to see where the envelope was. We've obviously gone past it. We are pushing everything right now...engine, tires, the chassis, everything. We want to know that we've squeezed every last bit out of this car to find more speed. We're almost there."

Practice will be televised live tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m. eastern time on ESPN2.

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