IPS: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course pre-race notes

SUPPORT SERIES TO DO BATTLE DURING THE ACURA SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE / THE HONDA 200 AT MID-OHIO PRESENTED BY WESTFIELD INSURANCE

DUBLIN, Ohio (July 18, 2007) -- The Indy Pro Series, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge presented by Trenton Forging and IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge will all make the trip to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course alongside the American Le Mans and IndyCar Series for bragging rights during the Acura Sports Car Challenge / The Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance, July 20-22.

The final five Indy Pro Series races will include three races on road courses, including the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, as the premier ladder series of the IndyCar Series, will visit the Lexington, Ohio road course for the first time. Alex Lloyd is re-writing the Indy Pro Series record book by starting the season with seven wins in the first 11 races. Lloyd, of Sam Schmidt Motorsports looks to continue his dominance of the series with his first-ever win at Mid-Ohio on July 22.

"Mid-Ohio is a nice track. It has wonderful scenery. It's a great example of what a natural terrain road course should be," said Lloyd. "When we tested there, we did pretty well. I'm really looking forward to racing there as I think we should put on a good show, and more importantly, it will be a fun race for us to drive."

The 40-lap Indy Pro Series race will commence on Sunday, July 22 at 10:45am EST.

SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge presented by Trenton Forging will see their two classes do battle in separate races at Mid-Ohio on July 22 for the sixth straight year. In GT action, Randy Pobst in the No. 22 K-PAX/3R Porsche 911 is on a hot-streak after winning the last two races, and finishing no worse than seventh place this season.

Mazda is the magic word this season is SCCA SPEED Touring Car as Randy Pobst thrives here as well in the No. 73 Tri-Point Mazda 6, while teammate Jeff Altenburg in the No. 72 car sits right behind in second place. The domination of the two is driven by four race victories in six rounds, split equally between them. Although Pobst now leads both the SCCA SPEED GT and Touring Car Drivers' Championships, he still remains winless at Mid-Ohio in five World Challenge starts, a statistic he'll look to change this weekend.

"Mid-Ohio, just up the road from the place of my whole family's birth, Dayton, Ohio, has always been terrific for me. In fact, I won from the pole the first four times I raced here. It is the site of "The Greatest Win Ever", one of my recent SportsCar magazine columns," said Pobst. "While I am winless so far in World Challenge here, it has been mighty close. In 2004, the race was stopped early when I was holding second, ready to pounce in the last five minutes, which never came. In 2005, I had pole and fastest lap in my Tri-Point Mazda 6, but jumped the start and had to pit! Coming in on a red-hot streak, I'm way overdue, and happy to give it another shot."

SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race will be on Sunday, July 22 at 8:45am EST, while the GT racers will close out the weekend during their race at 4:15pm EST.

Rookie Charles Scardina has been the story of the IMSA GT3 Cup season thus far and hopes Mid-Ohio will be another good luck charm. With four wins in five starts in the full field of Porsche GT3 Cup cars, Scardina has a healthy 27-point lead on Bob Faieta. Dino Steiner, Tom Pank and Wade Carter are in the midst of a battle for third in the championship with 11 points separating them. IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge will go for broke on Saturday afternoon at 1:35pm EST.

A comprehensive motorsports facility, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course features a permanent road-racing circuit with two primary configurations: a 2.4-mile, 15-turn, and a 2.25-mile, 13-turn circuit. The park-like, 330-acre complex in Lexington, Ohio also features an amateur motocross venue. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional riders and drivers.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TrueSports, Incorporated is a privately held motorsports entertainment enterprise. The company owns and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School, and promotes a wide variety of motor racing, driver instruction, corporate, and family entertainment events throughout the year.

-credit: moscc