Conquest Racing put in one of their best combined oval qualifying performances of the year today during the qualifications for the PEAK Anitfreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Jaime Camara recorded his best starting position of the season with the 17th spot on the grid while new teammate Alex Tagliani will make his return to oval racing with a 19th place in the starting lineup.
Tagliani, who last ran on a superspeedway in 2005 and who was participating in only his second race weekend aboard the Conquest Dallara, was the second driver to put in his qualifying run. The Las Vegas resident registered an average speed of 212.943 good for 19th overall.
Camara, sitting 17th in the qualifying order, put in four strong laps averaging a speed of 213.417 to temporarily place himself ninth. By the time the final qualifier took the checkered flag, the Brazilian rookie was 17th, his best starting position this season.
The green flag drops on the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at 3:30 p.m. eastern time tomorrow. The race will be broadcast live on ABC.
Conquest Racing Quoteboard
17th - Jaime Camara #34 Sangari Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Lap 1: 25.6521 (213.316 mph), Lap 2: 25.6526 (213.312 mph),
Lap 3: 25.6375 (213.437 mph), Lap 4: 25.6174 (213.605 mph)
Total Time: 1:42.5596
Average Speed: 213.417 mph
"It was a good run. We made a lot of improvements and the car is handling well. The guys did a great job once again. That’s the best qualifying run we’ve had this season and it feels good.
We lost some spots from when I first went out but I’m happy with my qualifying today. Now we’ll just focus on the race and finish the ‘points’ paying season in good shape."
19th - Alex Tagliani #36 Conquest Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Lap 1: 25.7447 (212.549 mph), Lap 2: 25.6999 (212.919 mph),
Lap 3: 25.6903 (212.999 mph), Lap 4: 25.6534 (213.305 mph)
Total Time: 1:42.7883
Average Speed: 212.943 mph
"It was good and such a long time since I had been on a superspeedway! First of all I have to say thanks to the Conquest organization. They have a very good group of people and I feel very fortunate to be here and to help them with the car.
This weekend the boys are doing a fantastic job, again. We’re a little further back than what we would’ve liked on the grid but the car was running well in traffic during practice today, so hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow."
Eric Bachelart, Conquest Racing Team Owner
"We’re making progress and I believe that we are heading in the right direction. Obviously there is still ways to go but I feel we can have a good race tomorrow because we have a good race car. The engineers, the crew and drivers have done a great job today and I am really proud of the team effort."
- Karina Redmond -
