Milwaukee Mile Notes

West Allis, Wis ? This weekend?s ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225 presented by Time Warner Cable is the 50th time the Indy Cars have raced at the Milwaukee Mile after Indianapolis. This will be the fourth IndyCar Series event at the Milwaukee Mile.

Five Indianapolis 500 winners will participate in this weekend?s Indy Car event, Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005), Sam Hornish, Jr. (2006) and Dario Franchitti who won the ?500? last week.

Nine drivers have done the Indy-Milwaukee ?double? by winning the Indianapolis 500 and following up with winning at Milwaukee the following week. Pat Flaherty (1956), A.J. Foyt (1964), Al Unser (1971), Johnny Rutherford (1974), Gordon Johncock (1982), Tom Sneva (1983), Rick Mears (1988) and Al Unser, Jr. (1994). Juan Pablo Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 and came up to Milwaukee to win the CART-sanctioned event the following week.

The Milwaukee Mile IndyCar event is named after Hall of Fame driver, A.J. Foyt. Foyt has won four times in Indy Cars along with winning six USAC stock car races in approximately 100 races he has competed at the Milwaukee Mile. Foyt fondly remembers the Milwaukee Mile, ?It?s like it was in the old days and brings back memories, good and bad. I?ve won there and visited the hospital there too. Back then, there wasn?t as much pressure at the Mile after the pressure at Indy but that?s not the case for our team because ABC Supply is sponsoring the race. We?ll have a lot of fans rooting for us and we want to come through for them?One of the things that I really liked about Milwaukee was the food, to be truthful. They have great steaks which I don?t need anymore as big as I?m getting.?

Over 1400 ABC Supply employee and guests will be on hand this weekend to see Ken Hendricks, founder and CEO of the Beloit, Wis-based company, wave the green flag to start the ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225.

With Helio Castroneves winning the pole for the ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225, it is his second consecutive and third career pole at the Milwaukee Mile. Helio?s first career pole position occurred at the CART-sanctioned event at The ?Mile in 1999 with Hogan Racing. It is Team Penske?s third consecutive pole at the Milwaukee Mile (Sam Hornish, Jr., 2004).

Sam Hornish, Jr. has finished in the top-3 in every IndyCar series race (total of 3) at the Milwaukee Mile.

Andretti-Green Racing?s Tony Kanaan has finished in the top-4 in every IndyCar series race (total of 3) at the Milwaukee Mile.

Target-Chip Ganassi Racing?s Dan Wheldon has led the most laps so far this year (484) in the IndyCar Series and had led four of the five races so far.

Steve Zautke

Steve Zautke, a Milwaukee, WI native, was raised in the sport of auto racing. His father, Bill, was a movie photographer that shot racing footage at tracks such as the Milwaukee Mile and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1960’s and 1970’s Steve’s first professional job in racing was as an Emergency Medical Technician at tracks such as Angell Park and Hales Corners Speedway (1988-1991). Steve has also worked for the Milwaukee Mile as videographer, in media relations and historian (1993-2011). Steve also has worked as a reporter for Racing Information Systems (RIS) and has written features for ‘Vintage Oval Racing’ and ‘Victory Lane’ magazines. Most recently, Steve has written a book on Road America for Arcadia Publishing. ( http://www.amazon.com/Road-America-Nascar-Library-Collection/dp/1467111457 ) Steve co-hosts “Sparky’s Final Inspection” a motorsports-based radio show with hosts, Steve “Sparky” Fifer and “NASCAR Girl” Summer Santana on Sports Radio 1250AM in Milwaukee and is also available on the internet at www.Sportradio1250.com. A member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction Committee, Steve follows all types of racing from the dirt tracks to Formula One.

racingnation.com

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