Lee Records an Eighth-Place Finish In First Foray into Firestone Indy Lights
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Matt Lee
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SYOSSET, N.Y., July 14 2008 - Matt Lee now has two Firestone Indy Lights races under his belt, and is looking for further opportunities in the official development series of IndyCar.
It was a pressurized indoctrination for the 18-year-old driver from Syosset, N.Y., who made his series debut in the Corning Duels doubleheader at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y. on July 5. The event marked the first time in the series' history when more than one race was held on a single day. It was also Lee's first race at the historic upstate road course, and his first event as a member of Albuquerque, N.M.-based Guthrie Racing.
Despite the challenges, Lee completed both races and went home with one top-10 finish when he placed eighth in the second race.
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Matt Lee
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He qualified 15th for the first race with a time of 1:40.2217 and an average speed of 121.052 miles per hour for the 11-turn, 3.37-mile road course. That put him right behind Guthrie Racing's lead driver, Sean Guthrie, for the start of the first race. Lee's qualifying time was only 0.1865 of a second off the time posted by Guthrie, who has been competing in the series for three years.
The first race didn't start well for Lee, however, as he spun on cold tires between Turns 7 and 8 on the warm-up lap. The car's gearing was such that he couldn't get up the next hill on the track from a dead stop, so he went down a lap right away.
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Syosset, N.Y.'s Lee Posts Fifth-Fastest Time In Indy Pro Series Testing at Homestead
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Matt Lee
Photo: Linda Mansfield
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HOMESTEAD, Fla., Feb. 28, 2008 - Trying his best to impress potential marketing partners and team owners, Matt Lee posted the fifth-fastest time out of 21 drivers participating in the Indy Pro Series open test Thursday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
It was only the third time the 18-year-old driver from Syosset, N.Y. had driven on an oval track. The Indy Pro Series rookie also lost valuable practice time due to clutch problems in the morning.
He ended up getting about an hour and a half of track time during the scheduled six-hour test, but he made the most of it. His fastest lap came on the 79th and final lap he completed on the 1.5-mile oval Thursday, which took 28.6248 seconds for an average speed of 186.761 miles per hour.
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Matt Lee
Photo: Scott Morris/autoracing1.com
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Lee's fastest lap was just 0.0720 of a second longer than the fastest lap any driver ran all day. It was posted in the afternoon, while the fastest lap of the test was posted in the morning, when speeds are generally faster due to cooler air temperatures.
Only one other driver in the top 10 posted fewer laps than Lee's 79 circuits. Two drivers ran more than 200 laps, but they placed 10th and 13th.
Lee is trying to compete full-time in the Indy Pro Series, the official development series of IndyCar. The 2008 season opener is Saturday, March 29 at Homestead. All 16 Indy Pro Series races are televised on ESPN2 and run in conjunction with IndyCar races.
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RLR/Andersen Works Hard During Testing at Homestead Thursday
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Matt Lee
Photo: Linda Mansfield
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HOMESTEAD, Fla., Feb. 28, 2008 - RLR/Andersen Racing didn't complete as many laps as it hoped during the open Indy Pro Series test Thursday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but the Palmetto, Fla.-based team still ended up fifth and 12th on the time charts at the end of the day with its two Dallaras.
Matt Lee of Syosset, N.Y., who is looking for sponsorship in order to run a full season in IndyCar's development series, ran a lap in 28.6248 seconds (an average of 186.761 miles per hour) for the 1.5-mile oval at the end of the day to place fifth in the rundown in the RLR/Andersen No. 25. His fastest lap was the 79th and last one he ran Thursday. He only did two laps before the lunch break due to a clutch problem, and Thursday's test was only his third time on an oval.
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