PANTHER DRR FINISHES
20th IN THE FIRESTONE 550 AT THE TEXAS MOTOR
SPEEDWAY
RACE NOTES/QUOTES---- Dallas, Texas, June 9,
2012
Fast Facts:
Oriol Servia
- Due to two cars having issues at the start, Servia started the
race 11th. The yellow came out on Lap 31 and the team brought
him in on Lap 35 for a full fill of fuel and fresh Firestone
Firehawk tires. The pit stop gained Servia three positions
and he filtered out to P8.
- Another caution came out on Lap 64 and Servia pitted on Lap 66
for a full fill of fuel and fresh tires. He came in P11 and
filtered back out to P8. It was at that point that trouble
would set in. After the Lap 7 restart Oriol started to drop
back and on Lap 89 he had to come in because there was a fuel
pressure problem and his day was ended early. Servia finished
the race in 20th position.
- Yesterday Servia qualified 12th for the Firestone
550 at the Texas Motor Speedway. He was 16th in
line today for qualifying and earned his best qualifying result
ever at this track. He secured a spot on the grid with a
two-lap average qualifying speed of 213.957 mph (Lap 1-214.029 mph,
Lap 2-213.884 mph).
- This weekend marked Servia's 4th start at Texas
Motor Speedway. Last year he started 14th and finished
21st in race one and in race two he started
17th and finished 15th. In 2008, he
started 16th and finished 26th due to
contact.
- In six races, Servia has gained a total of 73 positions (7
positions in St. Pete to finish 16th, 13 positions in Barber to
finish 13th, 7 positions in Long Beach to finish 16th, 12 positions
in Brazil to finish 11th, 23 positions in Indianapolis
to finish 4th, and 11 positions in Detroit to finish
5th).
- The Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix marked the second
top-five finish in a row for Panther DRR and Oriol Servia.
Last weekend,
- This year's Indianapolis 500 marked a career-best result in the
race for Oriol Servia and Panther DRR. It was the Spaniard's
fourth start and he finished the day with his best result for the
race. It was the same story for the team. Last Sunday's
race was Panther DRR's 13th start and their best result
for the Indianapolis 500 race as well.
- Servia qualified 27th for the 96th
Running of the Indianapolis 500 and finished a career-best at the
IMS track with a 4th place result. After a last
minute stop due to a tire going down in the early part of the race,
Servia went a lap down for most of the event as a result.
During the last stint, Servia got his lap back and went from
18th to 4th place in 20 laps.
- Valspar is the primary on the No. 22 machine this weekend. The
Valspar Corporation is one of the largest global coatings
manufacturers in the world, providing coatings and coating
intermediates to a wide variety of customers and applications.
Since 1806, Valspar has been dedicated to bringing customers the
latest innovations, the finest quality, and the best customer
service in the coatings industry.
- Last year Oriol Finished fourth in IZOD IndyCar Series
standings….Recorded 11 top-10 finishes, with a best of second at
New Hampshire and Baltimore….Among three drivers to be running at
the finish in all 17 races….. Led all drivers in laps completed
(2,103 of 2,011)….Oriol was the only driver to finish in the top 10
in first five races of the season.
- This weekend marked Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's
18th time to compete at the 1.5-mile oval. The
team has started at least one car in every race at the track since
2000. In 2001, Robbie Buhl finished team best of
3rd in 2001. DRR has led a total of 33 laps at
Texas Motor Speedway.
- It was announced in May that the Indianapolis-based squad has
united with two-time IndyCar Series champion Panther Racing to form
a strategic alliance on Oriol Servia's entry for the remainder of
the 2012 season. The No. 22 Panther/DRR team will utilize Panther's
second Chevrolet engine lease and work in conjunction with the No.
4 National Guard team and driver JR Hildebrand.
Oriol Servia, No. 22 Panther DRR, on the race:
"It's one of those things that happen in motor
racing. The Valspar car was running great and we worked
really hard over night to come up with a good setup. I
thought that I had a better car than anybody around me so I felt
really strong for the race. We wanted to have a mistake free
race and get there in the end like our style and then attack.
Everything was going according to plan until I started to have a
fuel pressure alarm on the steering and then I started to feel it a
little bit on the end of the straights. The last 15 laps and
the whole lap around I was full throttle but it was rattling and it
just wouldn't carry any speed. We think that we had a fuel injector
problem or something, which is rare, but it happened today. It was
unfortunate because the guys did a great job, but now we move onto
Milwaukee."
Back on Track: Panther DRR will be back on
track next weekend for the Milwaukee IndyFest in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. The race is scheduled at 1:00 pm ET. Live coverage
will be on ABC and the IMS Radio Network. Please visit
www.dreyerreinboldracing.com for more updates.