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Indy Lights: Rainy Weather Puts a Damper on Milwaukee Test

5 May 1998

The rain showers that delayed the start of the recent Nazareth race reduced a scheduled two-day test session at The Milwaukee Mile to a half-day. Despite the loss of track time, useful data was collected that will benefit both drivers when they return to Milwaukee for the May 31 Indy Lights race.

During the abbreviated test, Cunningham ran 190 miles and Boss completed 160 miles as they tried to establish an effective spring package for their race setups. "Both drivers progressed well and we should have good setups to start with when we come back later this month," said Boss's race engineer Burke Harrison. "The lap times that the drivers ran were slower than those turned last year during the race weekend, but weather plays a critical role on the ovals with these cars. The rain washed the rubber off the track and the cold track temperatures reduced the amount of grip available to the drivers. However, the laps that Boss and Cunningham ran were on pace with those turned by the drivers from Brian Stewart Racing and Team Rahal that were sharing track time with us."

Lucas Place Motorsports is only one of two teams competing in the PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Championship with two drivers ranked in the top ten in the points standings. Geoff Boss is currently fourth in points and is the highest ranked American driver with his early season consistency and a strong second place finish at Long Beach. Brian Cunningham recently moved to tenth in the overall standings and into third place as the top rated American in the Rookie of the Year points following a fourth place finish at the most recent round at Nazareth.

The next obstacle for Indy Lights competitors will be the fast 1.27-mile Gateway International Raceway oval on May 23. The short gap between races is the perfect opportunity to check out the Lucas Place Motorsports website at www.lucasplace.com for recently added photos chronicling the 1998 season. You can keep track of Geoff Boss and Brian Cunningham's progress during race weekends at www.indylights.com for live session results and current news.