As he got more comfortable in his car Sunday, Moreno’s practice speeds climbed and he knew it was time to get aggressive instead of waiting for a faster car to bump him.
“I saw that I achieved 220 (mph) and was solid in the car and said, `OK, guys, that’s enough. Let’s go for it.’ “Moreno, who got his ride in the No. 77 Chastain Motorsports car on Friday, the day after Stephan Gregoire crashed, fracturing a vertebra, was up to the challenge. His first lap was over 219.8 and the next three were all over 220, giving him an average of 220.299 — more than 4 mph faster than the speed he posted on Saturday.
“Yesterday, we were not ready for it,'’ Moreno said. “We played around too much with the car. I told my engineer to just make me comfortable so I could go flat around this track. I’d never done that. My cars I drove before, I never drove flat here.'’
Moreno, who finished 19th in 1986 and 20th in 1999, was so happy with his run on Sunday, he took his hands off the steering wheel before he completed the final lap, raising his arms in triumph and shaking his fists.It proves that old guys can compete. I think AJ Foyt raced open wheel cars into his late 50’s.
Credit Yahoo IRL for the quote.