Ray records best lap in testing at LVMS

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000 | 10:34 a.m.

Defending Northern Light Indy Racing Series champion Greg Ray and Team Menard made the most of the rain-shortened Las Vegas leg of the "Test In The West" by setting the fastest lap of the day Tuesday in the Conseco-Menards Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone machine at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ray, at 26.270 seconds, 205.558 mph, was one of three drivers who crested the 205 mark around the 1.5-mile oval at LVMS. Mark Dismore, in the Bryant Heating & Cooling-On Star Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone, finished the day with a lap of 26.331, 205.081 mph.

"I was more comfortable in the new car already than I was last year at this time," Ray said. "I am always fast here, but I have never had the race results that we wanted. We have a good package now, and I am excited. We got most of our agenda done today. We had an exceptionally good test day."

Dismore's teammate, Scott Sharp, also topped 205 with a lap of 26.337, 205.035 in the Delphi Automotive Systems-MCI WorldCom Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone. Stephan Gregoire and Buddy Lazier rounded out the top five.

A total of 22 drivers and 26 cars turned laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, recording 2,313 laps of testing in fewer than six hours of on-track activity. Robby McGehee's 189 laps led all drivers, and it paid off for McGehee and the Treadway Racing team as they finished the day in the top 10.

Al Unser Jr. made his Indy Racing debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Unser was 15th on the time sheet in his No. 3 Galles ECR Racing Tickets.com Starz G-Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone. He ran 127 laps with a top speed of 201.395.

Sarah Fisher made her first appearance with new Indy Racing owner Derrick Walker. Fisher ran limited laps due to an oil-pressure problem. Her top speed was 198.829.

Northern Light Indy Racing Series points leader Robbie Buhl and the new Team Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team made another strong showing with a speed of 202.255, which put them ninth overall.

Car owners Jonathan Byrd and Dennis McCormack used the day as a driver test rather than a track or equipment test. Indy Racing veterans Andy Michner and Ronnie Johncox and rookie Derek Higgins all took laps in the Jonathan Byrd's Cafeteria G-Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone. Higgins, from Dublin, Ireland, passed his Indy Racing rookie test in December 1999 in a car owned by Byrd and McCormack at the Walt Disney World Speedway. He was a three-time winner in '99 in the Indy Lights series.

The Las Vegas 500 is scheduled for Saturday, April 22. Tickets are on sale at (800) 644-4444.

Testing now moves to Phoenix International Raceway on Friday and Saturday.