Lindenhurst, New York, (June 20, 2017) - Group-A Racing had originally entered one car for round 4-6 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for full time driver Jonathan Scarallo. The weeks leading into it the team was in communication with 1996 Indy 500 Champion Buddy Lazier for his son Flinn to make his debut, with a deal getting finalized at 4PM on Thursday to make it a 2 car effort.
“This is great getting to have Flinn drive for us here at Indy. It’s a true testimony to the type of program we run for an Indy 500 Champion and a family with a long legacy of success in racing to trust us with Flinn’s racing,” said team owner Joe Scarallo
Friday practice would show mixed results with Jonathan struggling finishing 20th and 24th in the two practice sessions. Flinn showed more potential pace finishing the two sessions 7th and 14th.
Everybody worked together Friday night to come up with setup changes along with driver coaching to improve in qualifying Saturday morning. Lazier was able to get his car up to 6th and Scarallo struggled for a clear lap but managed to improve to 13th in the very tight competitive field.
Race 1 saw Scarallo get a great jump to move up to 7th coming out of turn one and found his way past his teammate, Lazier, for 6th by the end of the opening lap. Lazier dropped back initially to 10th before the full course yellow came out at the start of lap 3. The yellow was lengthy and consumed 20 of the 30 minutes of the race. After the restart, Jonathan instantly jumped up to 5th past Jacob Loomis with his sights set on Forcier and Eves for the final podium spot. He made a 3 wide pass around the outside to claim 3rd where he would finish. Lazier was charging back through as well and managed to get his way up to 6th in the closing 3 laps. Unfortunately, after the race in tech, Scarallo’s car came in with 1/10th of a degree past the legal limit on the right front forcing him to be disqualified.
Due to the penalty, Scarallo would start race 2 in 30th and Lazier would start 7th. Scarallo has provided plenty of entertainment in the races with his charges to the front so far this year and this race was no different. Carving his way through the intense competitive field, showcasing the speed in himself and the Group-A Racing prepared machine, he charged all the way to 9th without the help of any full course cautions. Lazier’s race saw him move up one spot to 6th and finished there earning another solid result in his debut weekend.
Race three saw Lazier starting 9th and Scarallo 15th. Lazier dropped back initially, but started charging through the field, making his way forward into another top ten result. Unfortunately, he would have some debris get caught in his side pods causing his engine to overheat, forcing him to stop. Scarallo was providing the entertainment as usual, carving his way from the back to the front, but midway through he made a very rare unusual mistake causing a spin forcing him to finish at the back.
Flinn Lazier – Driver #30 Xtreme Hot Sauce, Tivoli Lodge, Stock It, Group-A Racing Car. “The whole deal came together very late and was quite a rush but in the end was very worth it. Straight into the weekend all the guys were fully focused on the task at hand and did a great job even though we did not know each other. The whole weekend we were constantly learning but still managed to come out with a 5th and a 6th place finish which i'm happy with at the moment, but think we can be up in the top 2 very soon. Non of this would have been possible without Timothy, Xtreme Hot Sauce, Tivoli Lodge, Stalk It, and Group A Racing, Thank you.”
Jonathan Scarallo – Driver #29 Group-A Racing Car “This weekend has been quite the rollercoaster with the penalty and having some great speed in the races. Obviously unless we win all 3 races we are never completely satisfied, but we re-reminded this entire paddock this weekend that when things go our way it’s going to be really difficult to beat us and the Group-A Racing is as strong as any other.”