 |
|
|
BACK TO NEWS | |
|
||||
|
||||
| Cleveland, Ohio (July 5, 2003) - Going into the grid at 6th position, Jonathan Macri, driver of the #84 NTN Bearings swift, stunned the crowds and silenced any possible critics as he pulled ahead to earn a 2nd place finish in round six of the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship series. “It was definitely an interesting race day. I think it came down to some luck and some smart racing”, Macri stated. “On the first corner everyone decided to take the inside and I could just smell trouble, so I decided to take my car wide and that allowed me to move ahead.” Early on in the race Macri showed his intense desire to win by passing Ryan Dalziel (#28) in lap five, which was the first green lap after a full caution yellow caused by Alex Figge (#69) in lap one. This maneuver allowed Macri to take the 4th position. Shortly thereafter, the NTN Bearings team tensed as Macri and Aaron Justus (#3) made contact in turn six, but amazingly Macri pushed on in a drive for the lead, while Justus spun off the course and into the grass. Macri made his final push into 2nd place as he passed Michael Valiante (#19) in turn nine of lap 16, and held there for the remainder of the session, where he finished the race 2.806 seconds behind winner A.J. Allmendinger (#4). Macri and his NTN Bearings team are thrilled with their return to the podium and are especially looking forward to the Toronto race where they hope to clench Macri’s first victory in the Toyota Atlantic Championship series. It will be especially sweet as Macri’s hometown is 30 minutes away in Gormley, Ontario. “I am really looking forward to returning home in the next race”, said Macri. “I will have a lot of family, friends and fans in Toronto cheering for me, which makes me push that much harder for a win. I know the track and look forward to doing well and being supported by my fellow Canadians.” Macri earned his fourth podium finish of the season and the eighth of his Toyota Atlantic career in today’s race, putting him in 3rd place with 80 points overall in the Toyota Atlantic Championship standings. “The team put in a lot of hard work this weekend by making changes so that I would have the best car possible”, Macri said. “I really want to thank them for all of their support and hard work. I also want to thank my sponsors, especially NTN Bearings and Hasselgren Engines.” The 32-lap race in Cleveland will be televised on the Speed Channel on both Sunday, July 6 and Monday, July 7 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Round seven of the 2003 Toyota Atlantic Championship takes place in Toronto for the Molson Indy Toronto on July 12. To track Macri’s race results, log on to www.jonathanmacri.com. For further information on the Toyota Atlantic series, go online to www.toyotaaatlantic.com. ### |
|
|