Chase Austin Returns To Compete in Iowa After Historic Indy Debut
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - June 21, 2011- Willy T. Ribbs Racing, in conjunction with Starting Grid, Inc., announced today it would again campaign Chase Austin in the Firestone Indy Lights' Sukup 100 after a strong showing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Freedom 100 event this past May. Austin will compete in the June 25 115-lap test at Iowa Speedway for Ribbs, fellow team principal Chris Miles, and Brooks Associates Racing (BAR), through a partnership with American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
"Chase is going to Iowa this weekend and he's going to shuck some corn down there," said Ribbs. "I felt we put in a solid showing at Indianapolis, and we plan to do the same at Iowa."
Austin turned some heads at last month's Freedom 100 when the stock-car driver turned in a promising outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a ninth-place finish. More importantly, the strong showing earned Austin and his team an opportunity to build on that potential in next Sunday's Firestone Indy Lights race at Iowa Speedway.
"The month of May was an amazing experience to say the least," said Miles. "To debut Willy T. Ribbs Racing the way we did was a tribute to everyone's commitment to succeed. With that said, I felt that it was important to keep the momentum going and provide Chase with an opportunity for even more success by going to Iowa. First and foremost, this gets back to Chase's racing roots, being a short track. It is also a track that he is familiar with and actually claims to be one of his favorites - so we are all looking forward to this weekend."
The 21-year-old Austin made history with his impressive outing at Indianapolis, becoming the first Black driver to compete in Firestone Indy Lights - and just the fifth Black driver to compete at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway in open-wheel competition - but making history is hardly new for the Eudora, Kansas native. Austin cut his teeth competing in 900-pound midgets, graduating to menacing, 700-horsepower dirt late-models, but it was when he was 15 that he became the youngest driver to ever sign a developmental contract in NASCAR, doing so with the Hendrick Motorsports team.
Austin made history again in 2007 with Rusty Wallace Racing, becoming the first Black driver to compete in a Nationwide Series oval-track event, highlighted by a sixth-place finish at the demanding and imposing high-banked Dover "Monster Mile". Austin has spent the past two seasons competing in the Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series prior to his outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his first open-wheel race where he started 17th and finished ninth.
Austin says he's not looking to make history; he just wants to continue to put in solid results on the race track for his team. "It's going to be a lot of fun to get back in the car this weekend at Iowa," said Austin. "To have Honda back on board with us is huge. I've run at Iowa before in a Busch East car in 2007, and it's nice to go somewhere where I have some experience. Hopefully, we can come out as clean as we did at Indy."
The Firestone Indy Lights' race will be contested on the 7/8-mile Iowa Speedway oval and will be shown live in High Definition (HD) on NBC Sports' VERSUS (VS) Network on June 25 at 5:30 p.m. (EDT). Additional coverage will be available on the IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM's "IndyCar Racing" Channel 94, with broadcast coverage summaries available at www.indycar.com.
About Chase Austin Chase Austin is a 21-year-old Firestone Indy Lights rookie driver for Willy T. Ribbs Racing. In May 2011, Austin made history by becoming the first Black driver to take the green flag in a Firestone Indy Lights race. Racing since he was eight years old, Austin has competed in go-karts, micro- and full-sized sprint cars, modifieds and late-models, on both dirt and pavement, and in ARCA stock cars, NASCAR Camping World Trucks, and NASCAR Nationwide cars. For more information, please visit Chase Austin online at http://www.ChaseAustin.net.
About Willy T. Ribbs Racing Throughout the course of his 25-year distinguished career in professional auto racing, Willy T. Ribbs achieved many firsts, including honors as the winningest African-American driver in history. In 1991, he became the first African-American to qualify and compete in the Indianapolis 500, doing so with a CART/Indy Car Championship team co-owned by entertainer, Bill Cosby. Ribbs established other firsts by becoming the initial African-American to compete in NASCAR's Winston Cup series, and test for a Formula 1 Grand Prix team. He earned two "Driver of the Year" titles while driving for such racing icons as Dan Gurney, Jack Roush and Derek Walker, and won Europe's Formula Ford Dunlop Championship early in his career. Willy T. Ribbs Racing is currently partnering with Starting Grid, Inc., and Brooks Associates Racing to field a Firestone Indy Lights entry for young Black driver, Chase Austin, at the wheel of the No.75 car (Ribbs' former car number) in the 2011 Sukup 100 at Iowa Speedway. For more information, please visit Willy T. Ribbs online at http://www.willytribbs.com/.
About Starting Grid, Inc. & Chris Miles In 1994, New Albany, Indiana native Chris Miles founded Starting Grid in an effort to help diversify the motorsports industry by developing and implementing motorsports programs that have crossover appeal and yet capitalize on ever-growing interest from minority demographics. Following stints racing professionally in open-wheel competition and as an instructor for the Richard Petty Driving Experience, Miles turned his attention to television, where he combined his love of motorsports with entertainment. Among his many accomplishments were becoming the first African-American to host a national racing magazine show; "Inside CART" that aired on both FOX Sports Net and ESPN2, as well as taking honors as an award-winning producer for his "Black History Month" vignettes created in 2004 for SPEED TV. For more information, please visit Starting Grid, Inc. online at http://www.startinggrid.com.
About The Firestone Indy lights Entering its 10th season under INDYCAR sanction, the Firestone Indy Lights is an essential stepping-stone for drivers and teams striving to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Run in conjunction with IZOD IndyCar Series events, the Firestone Indy Lights' 13-race schedule features seven races on road courses/street circuits and six races on ovals, including the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For more information, please visit the Firestone Indy Lights online at http://www.indycar.com.
