25 July 2012
This week Dr. Jim Lowe, the World?s Fastest Neurosurgeon, will be making another check-mark on his ?Must Race? bucket list. JLowe, along with co-driver and IndyCar Star Paul Tracy, is heading out to the world famous Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) for the inaugural GRAND-AM Rolex Series Brickyard Grand Prix running on Friday, July 27th. JLowe and Tracy will pilot the 77 Doran Racing M&M?s Snack Mix Ford Dallara Daytona Prototype through the fast and technical 2.534 mile Formula 1 road course during the timed three-hour race. This one-day event will mark the opening day of competition for the Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard on July 27-29, 2012. The Brickyard Grand Prix is the third and final round of the GRAND-AM North American Endurance Championship (NAEC).
While PT has navigated the four-corners at Indy many times in his career, both he and JLowe saw the Formula 1 road course at the Brickyard for the very first time during two days of testing which took place three weeks earlier on July 6-7.
?After running the Indy road course which includes running the IndyCar Turn One clockwise (in the opposite direction), I have nothing but growing respect for the drivers taking those corners at 230mph,? recalled JLowe. ?The turn is tighter and flatter than I imagined, and the track itself is narrower than, say, Daytona?s oval. Fortunately there?s great grip on the oval portion, so we?re flat out and full speed through that section. The infield, however, is a different story altogether. The surface is basically concrete, and there?s so little grip that it feels like a wet track. There?re a lot of opportunities in the infield to spin, and I certainly wasn?t the only guy out there having off-course adventures during testing. During the race, the low grip levels in the infield should make for some exciting moments and close racing as we all struggle to add speed carefully.?
The weekend is set to be jam-packed with racing?s biggest modern day stars from NASCAR and IndyCar taking part in GRAND-AM?s road racing debut at the Brickyard and the finale of the NAEC. Massive high-speed talent will be on hand in the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Sebastien Bourdais, Eliseo Salazar, series regular Scott Pruett, and our own Paul Tracy. ?Whether I won (the 2002 Indy 500) or got second place, it was still a great achievement,? said PT. ?Now to be involved in GRAND-AM and the first North American-based sports car series to run on the road course track that was purpose-built for Formula 1 is a real feather in the cap not only for GRAND-AM and all of endurance racing, but for all the drivers who have a chance to go there. It?s going to be a great event and I?m excited to get going.?
Another high-point of coming to Indianapolis for Dr. Lowe, the Philadelphia based Neurosurgeon, is his 20 year association with the ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation. Established in 1986 by America?s Neurosurgeons, the foundation has 138 chapters across the United States with a center located at the Indiana University Health ? Methodist Trauma Center, the infield hospital at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. ?The program is centered on educating school-age children to make safe choices,? says Dr. Lowe. ?To think first before engaging in dangerous actions that could lead to brain and spinal cord injuries. The best way to treat brain or spinal cord injury is not to have it happen in the first place.?
The Doran Racing Ford Dallara, led by Team Owner Kevin Doran of Lebanon, Ohio, will take on new colors at Indy with sponsorship from M&M?s Brand Snack Mix. Introduced in May 2012, M&M?S? Brand Snack Mix offers a combination of roasted peanuts, oven-baked mini cookies, pretzel twists, and real chocolate M&M?S? Brand Candies. It?s one-stop snacking satisfaction!
GRAND-AM Rolex Series action at the Brickyard begins Friday morning, July 27th with practice and qualifying. The three-hour timed GRAND-AM Brickyard Grand Prix will follow and air LIVE 4:00 PM ET on SpeedTV.