Race Report Baltimore Grand Prix

Mike Conway Qualifies Second but Will Start 12th in the Grand Prix of Baltimore

BALTIMORE Sept. 1, 2012—Mike Conway qualified second today for the Grand Prix of Baltimore which is his best qualifying run of the 2012 season in the ABC Supply Honda. It is the second time this season that he qualified in the Firestone Fast Six, having qualified fourth for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Conway posted a lap time of 1 minute 18.5 seconds for a speed of 93.49 mph on the 2.04 mile, 13-turn street circuit.

Unfortunately the hard-pressed effort to snatch the pole from Will Power on the final lap of the session, resulted in Conway having a big moment negotiating the chicane on Pratt Street. Conway’s car launched off the curbing of the makeshift chicane (installed last evening to counter another problem officials faced with the long bumpy straightaway) and flew into the concrete barrier at the exit of the chicane.

“I pretty much hit the first curb wrong and it positioned me wrong for the second curb and I tried to take more of it knowing I was going to be in the wrong spot on the exit and it just flicked me off, put the rear end down and just tagged the wall,” Conway explained. “I kind of knew it was coming as soon as I turned in for the first part. It’s one of those corners where you need to get the car right every time. You try to save a little bit each time you go in but I was just looking for too much obviously. It’s a shame because it gives the guys a lot more work to do tonight but obviously happy to be up there.”

NOTES & QUOTES: Grand Prix of Baltimore Presented by SRT

• Mike Conway on the Baltimore street course: “Baltimore is a good track but it’s probably the most physically demanding one on the circuit because it’s really bumpy and there are so many corners, plus it’s fairly long for a street circuit. [At 2.04 miles, Baltimore is the third longest of the seven temporary circuits -- only Sao Paulo (2.5 mi) and Detroit (2.07 mi) are longer.] Last year there were exposed railroad ties and makeshift curbs that were put in on the race weekend but I expect it will be better this year because they’ve made a few changes to the circuit. I enjoy the challenge of a new circuit, getting to learn it as quick as possible and finding out the tricks of the place -- like where you can make up time. Street courses in general are always fun because the cities are pretty cool. The Baltimore circuit has a stretch where you can actually smell the food from the food stores and restaurants just before the right hander that leads onto that long main straightaway. Makes me hungry when I go through there—not really. It’s funny that you notice those things while driving a race car at speed.”

• Conway on coming back from a frustrating weekend: “Sonoma was definitely frustrating because we really wanted to do well there and going into the weekend, we thought we had a good shot at it but it just wasn’t to be. We just have to work harder, iron out all the little issues we had and come back quicker. Mentally, you put it behind you and get on with the next one.”

• Grid Penalty: AJ Foyt Racing had to change their Honda engine after the Sonoma race because the engine was well over the 1850-mile mark (the minimum for an allowed engine change). However, because it will be the sixth engine installed which exceeds the five engine limit allowed for the season, the car will incur a 10-spot grid penalty at Baltimore this weekend. It will be the second grid penalty of the year for the team with the first one occurring at Texas Motor Speedway (Conway qualified eighth, started 18th and finished 16th due to aero issues on the car).

• Ryan Homes will be an associate sponsor on the No. 14 for this race. Ryan Homes is one of the nation’s top five home builders, building new homes in 27 markets in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Established in 1948, the company has built well over 300,000 homes in the past 64 years. Ryan Homes is a member of the NVR family, a distinguished group that also includes NVHomes, Fox Ridge Homes, and NVR Mortgage.