RICHARD ANTINUCCI'S INDYCAR DEBUT RACE AT WATKINS GLEN

Team 3G Italian-American driver sets fastest lap among rookies on debut and is confirmed for upcoming Canadian rounds at Toronto and Edmonton

Sunday, July 5, 2009

SUNDAY'S NOTES
Richard Antinucci started today's IndyCar round at the historic upstate New York venue from the outside of Row 10, but was immediately able to move up a couple of spots on the opening lap. The 28-year old behind the wheel of his #98 Novicomm LED Lighting Technology/CURB/Agajanian/Team 3G car quickly adjusted to the pace of his Indycar rivals, pressuring Brazilian Raphael Matos throughout the first stint of the race. Fully absorbed in this duel —they both clocked laps in the range of lower 1m33s— the former Firestone Indy Lights arch-rivals pair steadily made up ground on the rest of the pack, until Antinucci pitted for the first time on Lap 17. After his 1st pitstop Richard climbed to an unexpected 13th place. Unfortunately the front - right upright broke only a lap later, causing him to momentarily retire. When the car made it back into the pits the Team 3G crew were able to fix the problem within 13 laps of race distance and Antinucci resumed the race pushing hard until the chequered flag, utilizing this portion of the event as a further test session. This proved very worthwhile as he posted quick times, fast enough to be in the top ten in terms of raw pace

RICHARD'S TAKE
“Although we haven’t been able to achieve a solid finish to reward our efforts, I feel happy about our performance as a team. I had a good start and didn't have to take excessive risks to gain a few spots from the green flag, proving that we are truly developing our set-up at a fast rate. Sadly on Lap 18 a front upright failed, ending any chance of staying on the lead lap and thus achieving a strong finish. The guys put me back on track as fast as possible, but by then we were 13 laps down and I could only focus on pushing the car to its limits and focusing on developing further for the next event.
I can’t thank Team 3G enough for giving me this lifetime opportunity. It was a dream come true to race at Watkins Glen and to be confirmed for the next two Canadian rounds makes it even more special. Without the help of Greg Beck and his partners this wouldn’t be possible. Bring on Toronto!”