Catchfence

WEST ALLIS, Wisc. -Vision Racing and Bryan Herta Autosport, technical partners in Firestone Indy Lights competition, with drivers James Davison and Daniel Herrington will start seventh and 11th for the Husar’s House of Diamonds 100 at The Milwaukee Mile on Sunday.

Herrington’s two-lap qualifying average in the No. 28 Le Bleu Special was 143.569 mph and good enough for the 11th position.

In five races so far this season, Herrington has only started in the top-ten once, but has come away with one top-five and has yet to finish outside of the top-ten. In fact, in the opening events on the Streets of St. Petersburg this season, Herrington started both events from the 11th spot and finished seventh and fifth.

In last week’s event at Indianapolis’s Freedom 100, Herrington started from the ninth position and battled an ill-handling racecar to finish seventh in what was the first start for Herrington and the team on Indy’s 2.5-mile oval

Now Herrington will be racing the one-mile oval at The Milwaukee Mile for the first time in a Firestone Indy Lights Dallara/Firestone and looking for yet another impressive finish. His best career-oval finish came earlier this season at Kansas when he finished sixth, starting from the 12th spot.

Herrington’s strong drives have him currently seventh in the championship point standings.

Driving the People’s Liberation No. 21 Dallara/Firestone for Vision Racing, Davison’s two-lap qualifying average was 146.166 mph which was faster than the pole speed at Milwaukee just last year. After qualifying second and holding the provisional pole for a while, Davison eventually slipped to seventh which is where he’ll start from in his second attempt at “The Mile.”

Davison competed at The Milwaukee Mile for the first time last season driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. He started that event in the 4th spot and finished in the 6th position.

Currently 10th in the championship point standings, Davison has four top-ten finishes in five total starts this season. Most recently at Indianapolis’s Freedom 100, Davison ran a clean race, starting from the 10th position and was able to take advantage of his competitors’ mistakes to finish in the sixth spot.

On Sunday, Davison will be looking to give Vision Racing their first-ever win while picking up a second career victory for himself. His current best career-oval finish is second which came last year at Kentucky Speedway.

Vision Racing is returning to Milwaukee in Firestone Indy Lights competition for the first since 2005 where they started and finished sixth with driver Jay Drake.

Sunday’s Husar’s House of Diamonds 100 at The Milwaukee Mile begins at 12:30 p.m. ET. Television coverage will air on Monday, June 1, 2009 at 4 p.m. on VERSUS.

Qualifying and Practice Results and Quotes: (May 30, 2009)

Daniel Herrington – No. 28 Le Bleu/BHA Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Qualifying Position: 11th

Qualifying Speed: 143.569 mph

Top Speed in Practice: 143.558 mph

Overall Rank in Practice: 7th on speed chart

Laps in Practice: 88

On qualifying:
“So far it’s been a bit of a rough start. We tested the No.28 Le Bleu car here two weeks ago and it went pretty well but we’ve been chasing our tail here a little bit today. We haven’t quite figured out what it is that we’re missing so qualifying didn’t go very well. The important thing is to have a good car for Sunday’s race so we’ll keep working on that overnight and see what we can do. We’ll be thinking about what we have to do to get good balance throughout the whole race as that’s the most important thing for us right now.”

James Davison – No. 21 People’s Liberation/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Qualifying Position: 7th

Qualifying Speed: 146.166 mph

Top Speed in Practice: 145.468 mph

Overall Rank in Practice: 2nd on speed chart

Laps in Practice: 74

On qualifying:

“I’m fairly happy with our qualifying result. We thought we’d end up a bit closer to the front but the second qualifying lap was definitely an “on it” lap while the first the no.21 People’s Liberation entry had some understeer that slowed our average just enough to miss out of being closer to the front. I have to give full acknowledgement to my Vision Racing crew and engineers for the team effort and preparation. We were really looking forward to getting to Milwaukee where we can control our own destiny relative to the “flat out” mile and a half ovals. Being a new team, it was crucial for us to test here two weeks ago to get the car in the ballpark of where we need to compete with the leaders. We planned the work and now we are working the plan and getting the car ready for a good result in Sunday’s Milwaukee race.”

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About the Husar’s House of Diamonds 100: The 100 lap/100 mile race at The Milwaukee Mile will run Sunday, May 31st. Television coverage will air on VERSUS, Monday, June 1st at 4 p.m. (ET).

About Vision Racing: Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George as well as actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition. The team features returning IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and welcomed veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay for 2009. Also new for 2009 is a return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series with driver James Davison, as well as a technical partnership with new FIL team Bryan Herta Autosport and driver Daniel Herrington. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Racing.

About Bryan Herta Autosport: Bryan Herta Autosports is owned and operated by veteran driver Bryan Herta and Steve Newey and will field a car in the Indy Lights Series for the first time in 2009 with driver Daniel Herrington.

Bryan Herta enjoyed considerable success in the lower formulae, winning the Barber Formula Ford and Barber Saab series championships, and dominating the 1993 Indy Lights championship, then graduating to IndyCar racing in 1994. As of 2006, Herta has started in the Indianapolis 500 five times (1994-1995, 2004-2006) with three top ten finishes, including a best of third (3rd) in 2005. Herta moved to American Lemans Sports Cars full time in 2007. He joined Vision Racing as Road Course Consultant for the 2008 season and will continue that role through 2009.

Steve Newey has been involved at the highest level of professional auto racing for over 20 years. Subsequent to earning his engineering degree, Newey lived in England where he was a design and race engineer in Formula One. On his return to the United States, he engineered the car driven by Bobby Rahal that won the IndyCar World Series Championship in 1992. Newey assembled the Patrick Racing in 1993 then helped put together Mo Nunn Racing in 1999. In 2003, he took over as Vice president of Operations at Kelley Racing. Most recently Newey lent his expertise in Sportscar series, namely with Andretti Green Racing and their ALMS program.

- Bryan Herta Autosport/Vision Racing, Press Release