IRL: Hamilton Getting Comfortable With New Team During Test

12 January 1998

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Davey Hamilton had a new look Monday as he returned to Walt Disney World Speedway for the first time since finishing seventh in the Indy 200 Presented by Aurora in January 1997 in a car owned by A.J. Foyt.

Hamilton, IRL championship runner-up in 1997 for Foyt, tested for just the second time with his new team, Nienhouse Motorsports, in preparation for the Indy 200 Presented by Aurora on Jan. 24. His best lap of the 1-mile oval was 21.984 seconds, 163.755 mph in a G Force/Aurora. Hamilton's first test with Nienhouse, which bought the Galles Racing team after last season, came in December at Phoenix International Raceway.

Jimmy Kite was the quickest of the five drivers testing Monday at 21.575, 166.860 in the Team Scandia Dallara/Aurora. IRL testing will continue Tuesday and Wednesday.

DAVEY HAMILTON: "We're where we want to be, I think. Now it's just a matter of fine-tuning. The car is really comfortable now. I can drive pretty much flat-out around here. This is a new team with old people, kind of. We want to run up front, and we think we're going to have a good year. That's why we're working on our raceday setups."

UNOFFICIAL TOP TIMES, SPEEDS OF THE DAY
Driver          Team                            Car/Engine      Time
Speed
Jimmy Kite      Team Scandia                    Dallara/Aurora  21.575
166.860
Buddy Lazier    Hemelgarn Racing                Dallara/Aurora  21.732
165.654
Davey Hamilton  Nienhouse Motorsports           G Force/Aurora  21.984
163.755
Raul Boesel     McCormack Motorsports           G Force/Aurora  22.102
162.881
Mike Groff      Byrd-Cunningham Racing          G Force/Aurora  22.822
157.743

Tony Stewart

Stewart's triple play: Defending IRL champion Tony Stewart will be one of the busiest racers in America during the third week of January. Stewart will drive in the season-opening USAC Silver Crown Championship Series race Jan. 17 at Walt Disney World Speedway and the "Thunder in the Dome XIV" invitational USAC Midget race later that evening in the RCA Dome at Indianapolis. Stewart then will return to Orlando to begin defense of his IRL title in the Indy 200 Presented by Aurora on Jan. 24.

Davey Hamilton, runner-up to Stewart for the IRL championship last season, also will drive in the Silver Crown opener at Orlando and the Indy 200. IRL veterans Mark Dismore and Lyn St. James also will compete in the "Thunder in the Dome" event, with Dismore also racing in the Indy 200.

Indy 200 tickets: Tickets for the Jan. 24 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway Presented by Aurora are available by calling Ticketmaster (407) 839-3900 (Orlando) or (813) 287-8844 (Tampa).

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