Salazar and St. Amant to Race Trucks in Cummins 200 at IRP
29 July 1997
SALAZAR WILL COMPETE IN IRP NASCAR TRUCK RACE Eliseo Salazar will debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Thursday, July 31, at the Cummins 200 presented by the Indiana Dodge Dealers NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Salazar, a native of Santiago, Chile, will drive a Chevrolet truck owned by Kevin Doran of Cincinnati, and will be a teammate to Gary St. Amant of Columbus, Ohio. St. Amant won the Speedway Starvin' Marvin ASA 200 at IRP June 20. Salazar has competed at IRP previously, but not on the .686-mile oval. Dr. Giancarlo Moretti and Salazar won an IMSA World Sports Car event on the 2.5-mile IRP road course in 1994 in a Doran-prepared Momo Ferrari. Salazar said he expects more foreign drivers to enter NASCAR competition. "NASCAR offers so much exposure for drivers," he said. "I'd really like to drive NASCAR in the future, and I'm looking forward to racing at IRP. I like the ovals very much, and I have a lot of respect for the drivers and teams in the truck series." The Cummins 200 is the second event in IRP's three-day Kroger Speedfest, which gets underway Wednesday, July 30 with the DuPont 100 presented by Automotive Color & Supply, a USAC Silver Crown Series open wheel event. The marquee event at the Kroger Speedfest will be the August 1 Kroger NASCAR 200 presented by Ziploc, featuring the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series. Qualifying for the trucks and the top 25 positions at the Kroger NASCAR 200 is Thursday afternoon, with second round qualifying for the BGN cars on Friday afternoon. New seats and additional information are available by calling IRP at ASA VETERAN TO COMPETE IN CUMMINS 200 NASCAR TRUCK RACE AT IRP Gary St. Amant, winner of the June 20 American Speed Association event at Indianapolis Raceway Park, has filed an entry for the Thursday, July 31, Cummins 200 presented by the Indiana Dodge Dealers NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at IRP. St. Amant, of Columbus, Ohio, will drive a Chevrolet truck owned by Kevin Doran of Cincinnati. St. Amant competed in the first NASCAR truck race at IRP in 1995 in a Doran-owned truck as well, and was running near the front of field in the latter stages of the race when he crashed into an infield light pole after making contact with another truck on the backstretch. "Early in my career, I felt IRP was the toughest track I would ever face," said St. Amant. "I still feel it's the most difficult track I've ever raced on, but now that I have more experience and know what it takes to win there, I really like it. I enjoy the challenge." St. Amant's challenge will be heightened by the return of Mike Skinner, who has led every lap of the NASCAR Craftsman truck competition on the IRP oval and was champion of the 1995 Action Packed Cards 150 and the 1996 Cummins 200. The Cummins 200 is the second event in IRP's three-day Kroger Speedfest, which gets underway Wednesday, July 30 with the DuPont 100 presented by Automotive Color & Supply, a USAC Silver Crown Series open wheel event. The marquee event at the Kroger Speedfest will be the August 1 Kroger NASCAR 200 presented by Ziploc, featuring the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series. Qualifying for the trucks and the top 25 positions at the Kroger NASCAR 200 is Thursday afternoon, with second round qualifying for the BGN cars on Friday afternoon. New seats and additional information are available by calling IRP at (317) 293-RACE.
