Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tests American Le Mans Series Corvette at Infineon:
May 21, 2004 at 12:00 AM
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was introduced to the American Le Mans Series version of the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R race car in a test session on Wednesday and the NASCAR superstar was more than impressed. Taking advantage of a rare off weekend on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Earnhardt will join Corvette Racing and compete in the Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma for the American Le Mans Series July 16-18 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Veteran road racer Boris Said will co-drive with Earnhardt as the Corvette team fields a special third entry for the event. Earnhardt and his father, the late Dale Earnhardt, drove for the factory Corvette team in 2001 in the 24 Hours of Daytona, both making their first-ever appearance in a sports car race. But Earnhardt, Jr. had never driven the car in its high-tech configuration for the American Le Mans Series until Wednesday. Said, a former GT class winner in ALMS competition, was also getting his first drive in the car. Earnhardt and Said were joined by two-time ALMS GTS class champion Ron Fellows for the test session at Michigan’s GingerMan Raceway road racing circuit. Fellows, who has driven for the factory Corvette team since its inception in 1998, helped Earnhardt and Said adjust to driving the Compuware Corvette. Fellows and co-driver Johnny O’Connell will be gunning to win the GTS class in the ALMS event at Sonoma for the fourth consecutive year. The Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma will get the green flag at 11:30 a.m. (PDT) on Sunday, July 18, and will be televised live in North America by CBS Sports and in Europe on MotorsTV. The American Le Mans Series Radio Web will have live coverage online at www.americanlemans.com. Ticket information is available online at www.americanlemans.com or by calling (800) 870-RACE.(Infineon Raceway PR)(5-21-2004)
