Palm Springs, Calif. (April 7, 2000) – Round three of the Toyota Atlantic Championship series will hit the streets of Long Beach, California this weekend, April 14-15, part of the Long Beach Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach CART FedEx Championship weekend, where World Speed Motorsports rookie sensation, Pete Mercier will make his debut on the famed southern California street circuit.
“I have never raced on a street course before, but I’m certain it will be an exciting challenge for me,” said Mercier. “We have been testing, and I feel very confident that this race in Long Beach will set the pace for the rest of the street courses this season.”
Mercier, the driver for the #14 World Speed – Nortwest SpeedWerx/Walker Racing Swift 008.a, finished in the top ten at the season-opener race weekend in Miami and will prepare for the street course the same way that he does for ovals, “Focus and determination is key. World Speed has such a great track record at Long Beach with engineer Mike Doyle that I’m confident
we’ll have a great car set-up and we will run a solid race,” said Mercier.Last year, World Speed set the fastest lap at Long Beach with Brazilian Nicolas Rondet behind the wheel. “Long Beach should be a good race for us. World Speed has always been very competitive on street courses,” said World Speed team owner, Chuck West, who qualified third and finished third at Long Beach in 1996.
Since then, the circuit at Long Beach has been slightly modified. The newly redesigned 1.97 mile, 11-turn circuit has a new short straightaway between Turns 5 and 6. Drivers will gear up from Turn 5 before breaking hard for the tight left-hand Turn 6. West, now in his seventh year as an Atlantic team owner, knows his team illustrates championship potential this season. “In Miami, Pete ran in the
top three and proved he definitely can be competitive. I feel comfortable that we’ll provide a strong car and that Pete will keep us in the hunt,” said West.
Mercier, of Las Vegas, Nevada, worked his way into the driver’s seat following several years as a professional race car mechanic and engineer. His background includes crew chief responsibilities for the Russell Racing School, engineering a Star Formula Mazda team and car preparation for 1995 Toyota Atlantic Championship winner Richie Hearn. Behind the wheel, Mercier has been a winning driver in shifter karts, Skip Barber Formula Dodge and the Russell Racing and Formula Mazda series. He has served as a driving coach for Star Formula Mazda competitors and currently instructs at the Derek Daly Academy at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Mercier joins the 2000 Atlantic Championship as part of the Northwest SpeedWerx driver development program. This program was designed 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.
World Speed Motorsports is considered one of America’s most dynamic racing organizations, featuring entries in CART’s Toyota Atlantic Championship, as well as the Star Mazda Pro Series. Founded in 1991 by Chuck West, World Speed initially focused on the Formula Mazda series where West finished third overall and won the Rookie-of-the-Year title in his first season as an owner/driver. 1992
resulted in the series championship by virtue of West’s five wins, ten podiums and three track records.
Since then, World Speed has captured six Formula Mazda championship and five pro series Rookie-of-the-Year titles under West’s guidance and Doyle’s engineering expertise, featuring such drivers as Ben Massey, Pete Wise, Mike Conte, Mike Miller, Jeff Bucknum and Grant Ryley. Most recently, World Speed campaigned Rondet in 1999, capturing a podium finish at Trois-Rivieres, and averaging a top five running position at every race.
Qualifying is divided up into two sessions for Long Beach, Friday April 14 at 4:30 p.m. and day, April 15 at 8:55 a.m. The Toyota Atlantic Championship race is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Saturday. The Long Beach race will be televised on espn2, Sunday, April 23 at 4:30 p.m. with a repeat broadcast on Thursday, April 27 at 5:00 a.m. Round four of the 12-race CART Toyota Atlantic Championship season takes place at the Milwaukee Mile, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 3.