PROCUP NEWS

 

Tuesday, May 17, 2005 Fans Sport St. Amant In Indianapolis It appears that the clouds that had been following Gary and the team may have departed when the sun started shining this weekend at IRP. After spending the first half of the practice session working on the car, Gary took Lightning around the half-mile oval at a pace that placed him in 9th on the speed charts for the day. The qualifying effort did not please anyone, least of all the driver. The normally cheerful Gary St. Amant was not up to his usual level of smiles. But, even in the worst of times, Gary still finds some positive way to look at the situation he had before him. When we went out to the track for the start of the autograph session, we were greeted by Rev. Jim Evans, Chaplain for the series. As is customary at all races, Rev. Jim prays with each of the drivers, asking for their safety and well being in those prayers. Once Gary departed from Rev. Jim’s grasp to greet his fans, the smiles were back. Gary was greeted by so many of his fans, that some folks thought maybe Gary was giving was money!! When the drivers were announced to the crowd, Gary had a huge ovation from his fans, many of whom were waving the JEGS hats they had gotten during the autograph session. After a welcome like that to send him to his car, what else could he do but get his car to the front? The race was plagued by 7 cautions throughout the afternoon, resulting in 47 laps under yellow flag conditions. One incident, involving the 98n of rookie Travis Miller occurred right in front of Gary, as well as a later one in which the 06n of JJ Pack smacked the front stretch wall extremely hard, as the leaders were coming through. When the sun shone on the track, Gary’s lap times were as fast as, and often faster than the leader. His fastest time of 23.55 showed up on lap 178. Once the sun went to hide behind the clouds, the times fell off, the car tightened up and the passing was much harder. A pass by Brian Ross late in the event bumped Gary out of the top five, and he crossed the checkers in sixth place. A position that provided enough points to move him up to 7th place in the Northern Division standings, just 85 points behind new points leader, AJ Frank. All the action, and an interview, can be caught on Speed Channel, Saturday, May 21st at 10:00pm, and again on Friday, May 27th during the noon hour. Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! or send a letter to the editor!