Manning Returns to Oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Homestead, FL – Darren Manning returned to an oval track for the first time since July, 2005 when he tested the No.14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda this week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Both Manning and A.J. Foyt were pleased with the progress the team made over the course of the two-day IndyCar Open Test at the 1.5 mile superspeedway.

“I thought it was a good test,” said Manning. “I think we improved quite a bit from when we unloaded. We really worked on getting a good race combination. We wanted to get the car comfortable where it would run anywhere on the track and we were able to do that.

“We had a bit of a tough day yesterday. We didn’t really turn too many laps. We had a bit of a clutch problem which curtailed the running towards the end of the session.

“We’re a little down on the speed charts but that’s because some of those times were the result of big tows and I didn’t get any. I was really happy with the way the car handled in traffic. I think we have a real good starting point for the race weekend.”

Foyt concurred, saying, “We have a good car for the race. Darren and I are still working on our communication but overall, I’m happy with the way things went.” 

The team is planning to spend more time in the wind tunnel before the race which opens the season on Saturday night, March 24th. It will be televised on ESPN2 at 8 p.m.

Testing Goes Well for Manning and ABC Supply Team

Daytona Beach, FL—The first Open Test session of the season for the IRL IndyCar Series held at Daytona International Speedway Wednesday and Thursday went well for Darren Manning and A.J. Foyt’s ABC Supply IndyCar team.

“We were using this test to try a lot of different things so we could get a feel for what Darren liked in a race car,” said team owner Foyt. “With Darren being new to us, we wanted to rule out the things that don’t work for him. This way when we go to the road races, we won’t waste time because we have an idea for the basic set-up he likes.”

Manning was 12^th overall at the end of the first day of testing around the 2.72 road course. The team made some big set-up changes for the second day of practice but Manning didn’t like the feel as much. They put the car back during the lunch break on Thursday but only got one hot lap before the rain came. They finished the second day 14^th overall.

Manning said, “It’s going very well. Yesterday was my first time in the car with A.J. Just a lot of familiarization going on there from my part, from the team’s part, engineering-wise, getting the car to what I like to feel from the car. We made some big changes on the car overnight but now we’re going back the other direction.

“It’s quite different from driving a DP (Daytona Prototype) car around here. It was a bit of an eye-opener in the first couple of laps.”

As for working with Foyt and his team, Manning said, “He’s still as passionate now as ever. I spent quite a bit of time already down in Houston with the team and things. It’s a real race team.

“He’s in there everyday, working hard. He’s got stories galore and he’s got a memory like an elephant. You know, he knows everything. I was quite impressed. I didn’t really know what to expect. I went in there pretty open-minded.

“And you know, having raced with big-teams, massive organizations, big structures and things, to get back to a proper race team, or a normal kind of race team, is quite good and quite exciting.”

The team will have one more Open Test at Homestead-Miami Speedway Feb. 21-22 before the season opener at that track.

Manning and Foyt will travel to the Bahamas on Monday to join in sponsor ABC Supply’s 25^th Anniversary Celebration. A gathering of nearly 400 guests will be on hand for the annual Managers Meeting which usually takes place in the States. Along with attending some of the presentations, Manning and Foyt will attend two Awards Dinners.

For the first time in their IndyCars Series history, the IndyCar teams will open their season with a Saturday night race on March 24th. The race will be aired on ESPN 2 at 8 pm Eastern Time.