World Speed Motorsports driver Grant Ryley again set the pace during today’s CART Toyota Atlantic test session at the Milwaukee Mile, after topping the time sheets just weeks ago during the previous Atlantic test day at Nazareth Speedway. Ryley, in his first appearance on Milwaukee’s one-mile oval, was the only driver to break the 150 mile per hour barrier today with a time of 24.752 seconds (150.097 mph) in preparation for this weekend’s third round of the 2001 CART Toyota Atlantic series.
“We’re all pretty excited, really,” said Ryley, who drives the #14 Northwest Speedwerx/ Cupertino Electric/Velocity Ventures/Del Monaco Specialty Foods Swift. “After a disappointing finish at Nazareth, this is exactly what we needed. The guys worked real hard to get the car together and the fact that we rolled right off of the truck and were running at the top really says something about the quality of this team. Chuck (West -team owner) gave me some great pointers going through turns one and two. It definitely helps having him here coaching me and showing me where I need to be on the track. Let’s just hope that the rain stays away and we get a chance to qualify tomorrow.”
Joining Ryley on the two-car World Speed squad is rookie Tom Wood, of Calgary, Canada, who is making his second Atlantic appearance this weekend. After clipping the wall during the recent Nazareth test, Wood is taking a step-by-step approach to finding the fast way around the Milwaukee Mile.
“We’re progressively improving, which is what we set out to do this weekend,” said Wood, who will campaign the Atlantic oval events this year for World Speed with support from Super 8 motels. “Nazareth was kind of a disaster after crashing right off of the bat in testing. I didn’t want to duplicate that mistake here, so I’m just taking it one step at a time. It’s a tremendous help to have Chuck here to show me the fast way around and to help with the set-up. It’s great to be back and I look forward to picking up the pace tomorrow.”
Ryley most recently captured second in the 2000 Star Mazda Pro Series – Western Division championship while driving for World Speed. His record included three wins, six podiums and three poles, as well as third overall in the Best Western National Championship series. In 1999, Ryley finished second in the rookie championship by virtue of one win, three podiums and two poles. For 1997 and 1998, he competed in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge Western Series and continues to serve as an instructor at the Skip Barber Racing School.
Northwest SpeedWerx was established to identify aspiring young drivers and assist them with the resources and promotional guidance to move their careers forward through participation in a multi-year driver development program. Focusing on CART’s ladder system, including the Toyota Atlantic Championship, the goal of Northwest SpeedWerx is to train the next generation of drivers for competition in the CART FedEx Championship.
Based in Palm Springs, California, World Speed Motorsports operates multi-car programs in CART’s Toyota Atlantic Championship, as well as the Star Formula Mazda Pro Series. Founded in 1991, World Speed has captured six Formula Mazda championship and five pro series Rookie-of-the-Year titles since its inception. Last season, World Speed captured their first Atlantic victory at Gateway International Raceway with driver Case Montgomery.
The third round of the 12-race 2001 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship season in Milwaukee, part of the Miller Lite 225 CART FedEx Championship weekend, officially begins with practice at 8:00 a.m. Central, Friday, June 1.
Further information is available on the team’s web site at www.worldspeed.com as well as the official Atlantic series site at www.toyotaatlantic.com.