Friday

HVM Racing SunTrust Indy Challenge Qualifying Report

E.J. Viso Headshot

Venue: Richmond International Raceway, 3/4-mile oval, Richmond, Virginia

No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing Honda Dallara – E.J. Viso

Lap Time: 1:05:6020 total lap time
Speed: 164.629 miles per hour
Qualifying Position: 7th

Notes:

Recent testing at Richmond International Raceway proved to be valuable for HVM Racing Friday. E.J. Viso’s No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing Honda Dallara qualified seventh for Saturday’s SunTrust Indy Challenge with a speed of 164.629 miles per hour and a total lap time of 1:05:6020. The result is HVM’s best qualification result on an oval in the series to date and Viso’s best oval qualification in his career.

HVM tested at Richmond International Raceway on June 10 in preparation for the season’s remaining short ovals, and the information gathered put the team in a good position going into the race weekend. The No. 13 car was strong in the morning practice session, posting the sixth-quickest time.

The team is looking for back-to-back top-10 finishes at Richmond. Last year, Viso finished 10th after starting 19th.

The SunTrust Indy Challenge starts at 8 p.m. Saturday on Versus.

Comments from HVM Racing Team Principal and Owner Keith Wiggins after qualifying at Richmond:

“It’s nice to get a good result in qualifying after all the preparation we did at the test session and the weeks leading up to the race. Our previous qualifying efforts on ovals this year have not been up to expectations, so we knew we had to make some improvements.

“It will definitely be good to start closer to the front. This race can get rough, which we saw last year.”

Comments from PDVSA HVM Racing Team Driver E.J. Viso after qualifying at Richmond:

“I think we did a good job. This little achievement shows that testing is very important, and obviously the development we did here a couple weeks ago is paying off right now.

“It’s also important to qualify close to the front at this track, being one of the most difficult tracks to overtake in the championship and being such a ‘criminal’ track last year in the race. Less than 10 cars finished, and that means there were many accidents. Obviously you want to be as close to the front as possible to have fewer risks in front of you.”

HVM is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. In its eight years of competition, the team has earned six wins, two pole positions, and an additional 16 podiums since 2001. The team finished fourth and third, respectively, in the Champ Car championship standings in 2006 and 2007, and earned its drivers Mario Dominguez and Robert Doornbos Rookie of the Year honors in 2002 and 2007, respectively. In 2008 with driver E.J. Viso, the team earned seven top-10 finishes, including a fourth at St. Petersburg in its inaugural year in the IRL Championship.

- HVM Racing, Press Release