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Friend's emergency puts sprint car ace in ride
By BRIAN SUMERS
Published April 1, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG - Appearing parched and lacking energy, Wade Cunningham sat quietly through a pre-Grand Prix luncheon Thursday.
A few hours later, the 21-year-old checked into Bayfront Medical Center. The diagnosis: appendicitis.
Roommate Geoff Dodge helped Cunningham to the hospital, and he earned a big reward for helping his friend. By 5 p.m., Dodge had a new ride.
Dodge, 22, will drive in this weekend's two Indy Pro Series races, today and Sunday. As a rookie in IndyCar's developmental series, Dodge expected to run just six races, all on oval tracks.
But for the first time since 2001 when he drove go-carts, he must navigate a street course.
"I'm trying to get into the weekend without running into anything too hard," Dodge said. "I'll try to keep it between the fences and maybe learn a thing or two along the way."
He kept the car intact Friday, but appeared timid as he drove through corners. His fastest lap was more than five seconds slower than any other driver.
After finishing seventh at Homestead last week, Dodge came to St. Petersburg to watch his teammate and friend, hoping to learn street-course racing by quizzing Cunningham.
Instead, he'll drive the car.
"It's unfortunate they don't have someone who is a little more on the ball to sit in the thing," Dodge said, sighing.
Still, he has come a long way in a short period.
Less than a year ago, he won the Knoxville Nationals, a sprint-car race in Knoxville, Iowa, to earn a trial with Brian Stewart Racing. Dodge hopes his friend Cunningham, who won the Pro Series last year and is expected to watch today, can coax him through the course.
"Maybe he can smack me around a little bit and tell me what I'm doing wrong," Dodge said.
TOP TIMES: A couple of Indy Pro Series rookies turned in the fastest practice times Friday.
Raphael Matos paced the field with a quick lap of 1:08.752, less than 0.3 seconds faster than St. Petersburg resident Jay Howard.
Matos said he raced well without pushing his car. Unlike ovals, when cars travel at top speeds, a street course requires drivers to tread carefully.
"I learned that you always have to drive 95 percent," Matos said. "If you drive 100 percent, you're risking your car."
A NEW SHOW: Through a plume of thick white smoke, drifting debuted Friday afternoon.
The Generation X-style sport features drivers who purposely lock wheels so they can skirt through turns. Instead of seeking the quickest times around the track, drivers try to impress judges with their tricks.
A group of six World Drift Championships drivers put on an exhibition after IndyCar practice, introducing fans to the relatively new pastime.
Judging by the applause, people seemed to enjoy it.
"Getting close to the wall gets people going," said driver Ernie Fixmer, 29. "I push the limits. That's part of my style.
Drifting returns at 11:30 a.m. today.
SCCA: In Grand Touring practice, Lawson Aschenbach had the fastest overall lap at an average of 81.886 mph in a Porsche 911 GT3. Leighton Reese (80.831) led the first session. In Touring Cars, Randy Pobst (77.111) led both sessions in a Mazda 6. Charles Espenlaub of Lutz was seventh; Mark Hein of Clearwater was 26th.
[Last modified April 1, 2006, 00:56:12]
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