Riley & Scott Debuts IRL Chassis
25 July 1997
RILEY & SCOTT DEBUTS ITS IRL CHASSIS
Kelley Racing receives delivery of first R&S MK V IRL car at Charlotte
Race
For Immediate Release
July 25, 1997
(Charlotte, NC) -- Riley & Scott, Inc., the Indianapolis based
manufacturer of the championship winning Trans-Ams and World
SportsCars, delivered chassis number #001 to its new car owner today
at the IRL VisionAire 500. Bob Riley, Mark Scott and Bill Riley of
Riley & Scott, Inc., "handed the keys over" to Tom Kelley of Kelley
Racing and his driver, Mark Dismore, at the 5pm press conference at
the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
"Since my initial discussions with Tony George and Riley & Scott,
I've felt that if I was going to be in the IRL business, this would be
the way to do it," said a delighted Tom Kelley, Car and Team Owner,
Kelley Racing. "I was very impressed with what I saw at their shop when
we first started discussions and I'm very impressed now."
"I have always believed that our preparation is one of our
greatest strengths as a company," commented Mark Scott,
Vice-President, Riley & Scott, Inc. "We've been champing at the bit to
get here earlier, but it is always better to do the job right the
first time."
The R&S MK V is the only American designed and built car
competing in the IRL. It seems fitting, therefore, that this first
ever American IRL chassis would also be designed by Bob Riley whose
1977 Coyote was the last all-American race car to win the Indy
500. With that same hope in the mind of its customers, Riley & Scott
already has nine chassis on order.
"It has always been our vision at Riley & Scott to build, sell
and race Indy cars," spoke Bob Riley, President, Riley & Scott, Inc.
"I'm anxious to compete against such respected car constructors as
Dallara and G Force. I'm anticipating a great year."
Though Riley & Scott is naturally keeping many design changes
under wraps, the R&S MK V machine will be immediately and noticeably
different to the eye. Unlike its flat paneled competitors, the air
scoop of the R&S MK V has been shaped in tiered fashion.
Additionally, pulling from its successful development in the R&S MK
III World SportsCar, the under skin of the R&S MK V will include the
famous "Riley Rocker" which strokes the shocks and springs at
different rates whereby enhancing the mechanical grip.
"There is always just one more adaptation you could consider
making," said Bill Riley, Chief Design Engineer, Riley & Scott,
Inc. "We have the advantage of learning from our other successful race
designs as well as leaning on our engineering experience, so, at the
end of the day, we feel fairly confident that our chassis will perform
well straight out of the box."
Test schedules of the car are planned by Kelley Racing, PDM
Racing and Metro Racing Systems throughout August. Chassis 001 and
002 owners, Kelley Racing and PDM Racing, plan to debut their ca1rs in
full race trim at the Pennzoil 200 at New Hampshire International
Speedway.
"We've been very competitive and consistently fast on the ovals,"
spoke Mark Dismore, Driver, Kelley Racing. "I'm ready to win some
races. I think this new car design is a big step in that direction."
Metro Racing Systems and team owner/driver Stan Wattles will
receive chassis 003 on August 18th. The team will start testing in
late August and hopes to be ready for the Las Vegas 500k in October.
"Riley & Scott have a terrific reputation for producing winning
chassis, and the MK V looks like another winner," said Wattles. "I'm
really looking forward to receiving the chassis, and I'm extremely
anxious to get back on the track and see what it's about."
Riley & Scott, Inc., engineers and manufactures award winning
designs worldwide for the race, pre-production and prototype
automotive industries.
Founded by Bob Riley and Mark Scott in 1990, Riley & Scott's
winning designs include pre-production automotive prototypes, its
championship winning race cars, the R&S MK I and R&S MK III which
compete in the Trans Am and World SportsCar series respectively, as
well as the newly introduced R&S MK V IRL car. Riley & Scott has also
recently made available to the marketplace its first street legal
vehicle, the R&S Hunter MK II Roadster.
Uniquely able to service its customers from the concept to the
competitive arenas, Riley & Scott's new 56,000 square foot factory
reflects the company's commitment to providing full service, one stop
design, engineering and manufacturing support to its race and
automotive customers. In conjunction with the race team facility
located on Gasoline Alley, the new Speedway, Indiana complex will
house the design, engineering, composite departments, a CNC Machine
shop and fully outfitted steel fabrication facility.
For more information, contact Riley & Scott, Inc., at (317)248-9470 or
visit the Riley & Scott website at http://www.riley&scott.com.
# # #
QUICK
FACTS
R&S MK V IRL
Project Personnel
Bob Riley, President
Mark Scott, Vice-President
Bill Riley, Chief Design Engineer
Chris Finch, Project Engineer
Jim Eccles, Parts Department
General Specification Information
Chassis: Carbon Fiber & Aluminum Honeycomb Monocoque
Suspension: Unequal Wishbones Front And Rear
Pushrod Activated Non Coil Over Shocks And Springs
Drive Train: EMCO IRL 6 Speed Gearbox
Bellhousing: Bonded High Strength Aluminum
Brakes: 4 Piston Alcon Calipers, Iron Rotors
Wheels: BBS Forged Magnesium
Weight: 1620 Pounds
Dimensions: IRL Specifications
Chassis Owners
Chassis # Car Owner Team Scheduled Driver
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
001 Tom Kelley Kelley Racing Mark Dismore
002 PDM Racing PDM Racing John Paul, Jr.
003 Metro Racing Systems Metro Racing Systems Stan Wattles
004 Bob Nienhouse Nienhouse Motorsports Mike Shank
005 Tom Kelley Kelley Racing TBD
006 Gary Peterson Intercar Motorsports Gary Peterson
007-009 To Be Announced
Crash Test
The R&S MK V IRL chassis was successfully crashed tested in Phoenix,
Arizona by FAA, Inc., on Friday, July 11th.
.
Upcoming Test Information
Extensive testing will begin immediately following the Charlotte IRL
race.
Race Schedules
Mark Dismore and Kelley Racing will debut the R&S MK V IRL car at the
Pennzoil 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Metro Racing
Systems is slated to race its R&S MK V IRL car at the Las Vegas 500K
in September.
Contact: Krista Elliott
Phone: 317-733-0319
