TRV Savannah Test 1999-12-09

SAVANNAH, Ga., Dec. 9 - The TRV Motorsports team accomplished quite a bit during a two-day test Wednesday and Thursday at Roebling Road Raceway here as it made preparations for the 2000 season opener and its biggest race of the year, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Feb. 2-6 at Florida's Daytona International Speedway. The team's Supreme Exhaust System Products/Racer Parts Wholesale Riley & Scott Chevy completed approximately 400 miles of testing on the 2.02-mile, nine-turn road course. The team elected to use the course's chicane in order to test the car's brakes, since brakes are so vital in endurance racing. Four drivers participated: lead driver and Indy Racing League rookie Jeret Schroeder of Vineland, N.J.; team owner Tom Volk of Blissfield, Mich.; Barber Dodge stand-out Peter Boss of Narragansett, R.I., the 23-year-old brother of the Bosses who run Indy Lights; and Formula 2000 driver Ken Stiver of Avon, Ind. Immediately after the test was completed, Schroeder was on his way to Walt Disney World Speedway in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where he will test Tri Star Motorsports' IRL car tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. Schroeder was named as the driver for that Indy car team earlier this week. Boss and Stiver had never driven a Sports Racer (formerly called World Sports Cars or Can-Am cars) before, with the bulk of their experience coming in formula cars. Schroeder and Boss had driven other cars here before, but Volk and Stiver were making their first visit to the facility, as were most of the crew members. "We think we finally found the electrical problem that plagued us in the second half of the season, so we'll just have to see if that problem is solved now," said Volk. Schroeder is not going to be able to participate in the Rolex 24 in 2000 due to a scheduling conflict with the Quail Unlimited Celebrity Quail Hunt he is already committed to attend. He is an avid hunter; one of his sponsors in this year's Indy 500 was Stukel's Birds and Bucks of Gregory, S.D. He does expect to be back with the team at the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 18 in Sebring, Fla. "I think that within a week we'll have our drivers' line-up for Daytona," Volk said, and added that Boss and Stiver were both prime candidates to join him behind the wheel on Daytona's high banks. Another test will be held at Daytona Jan. 5-8. "Everybody drove very well, but of course Jeret was fastest," Volk said. "Both Peter and Ken took to it like a duck takes to water, and they'd both be great additions to our team at Daytona. Barry Waddell was here helping out too. Everyone got along fine and did a great job. It was a very successful two days of testing." "All the drivers did very well, and appeared to understand the importance of taking care of the equipment for a 24-hour race," said Mike Madden, team manager. "Both Ken and Peter had never used the type of electronic dash that we have, and one of the things we did to test them was to ask them over the radio to scroll through some data for us. They both handled that very well. They both handled everything very well." "Jeret and I are old hands at this, but this was new to Peter and Ken," Volk added. "But they both proved that they can drive these cars and they both proved that they have the mental discipline that is required to drive these cars. "We sent Ken out to bed in brakes and we sent Peter out on a cold track and on cold tires because those are the kinds of things they'll face, and they both did great. They kept to the RPM limits they were told to do; they listened and they communicated well. Those are all vital things for this type of racing. There is no question that they can drive these cars. They ran consistently and they never put a wheel wrong. They were great!" "I really enjoyed the experience," said Boss. "The car was a lot of fun to drive. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but it's really very easy to drive when you get used to it. The hardest thing to get used to was the power steering and the braking characteristics of the car. Handling-wise the car was superb. I got to drive around 40 to 50 laps over the course of the two days." "The whole experience was great, and I want to thank Tom and Mike for giving me the opportunity to test with them," Stiver said. "Mike, John and Matt did an excellent job preparing the car for this test and making me comfortable. I also want to thank Jeret for his friendship and insight in telling me about some of the handling characteristics of the car. With his knowledge and experience at Roebling Road, he passed along some tips that helped me get around here quickly. "The team had the car prepped so it was easy to drive; the hardest part was maintaining the rev limits that they instructed us to keep," he added. "It was very tempting to go faster, but it's vital to follow instructions to save the equipment like we'll have to do at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. "I can see why this team is so good; it's because it's a cohesive unit and they have such great team spirit. Everyone pitches in and works together very well. I'm working aggressively to find additional marketing partners because I really want to do this, and over the last two days I believed I proved to the team that I can do this."