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IRL
News Indyracing.com
July
11, 2000
REEVES JOINS LOGAN RACING FOR MIDAS 500 CLASSIC AT ATLANTA
HAMPTON, Ga.,
Tuesday, July 11, 2000 - Two-time USAC National Midget Champion
and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Stevie Reeves will return to
the Indy Racing Northern Light Series for the first time in two
years, driving for Logan Racing in the Midas 500 Classic on July
15.
Reeves, 33, an
Indianapolis native who lives in Huntersville, N.C., will drive
the Logan Racing Special Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone at Atlanta
Motor Speedway. It will be his second Indy Racing start. He placed
10th in July 1998 at Charlotte, N.C., in a Pagan Racing entry in
his debut.
"I grew up
about three blocks from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,"
Reeves said. "My lifelong goal is to run the Indy 500. I've
wanted to run Indy cars my whole life, and I want it more than
ever."
Reeves earned this
chance with Logan Racing - a new team this season - through his
driving ability and longtime friendship with Jeff Collins, the
team's new chief mechanic. Collins recommended Reeves to team
owner Dr. Jim Logan, a St. Louis chiropractor who is the only
African-American team owner in the Northern Light Series.
Team officials
called Reeves on Sunday at Loudon, N.H., where he attended a
NASCAR Winston Cup race. The deal was done by Monday. Maybe it was
just coincidence, but the timing of Logan Racing's call to Reeves
was perfect. His desire to return to the Northern Light Series
grew stronger than ever after he watched the thrilling Casino
Magic 500 on June 11 at Texas Motor Speedway. Scott Sharp won by a
series-record 59-thousandths of a second in a race that had 31
lead changes, also a series record.
"I watched
that Texas race, and I was chomping at the bit," Reeves said.
"I wanted to be there so bad. That looked like so much
fun."
Reeves will drive a
1999 Dallara chassis this weekend at Atlanta, which he admits will
be a bit of an aerodynamic handicap. But he raced often on the
1.54-mile oval at AMS in the Busch Series, and he passed his Indy
Racing League rookie test at the track in 1998.
"I've run a
lot of races at Atlanta, so I know the track," Reeves said.
"That helps remove one of the variables."
While this is
Reeves' first Indy Racing start since 1998, he has stayed busy in
racing. This year he has driven two races in the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series and competed in a USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet
Series race. He also has served as a spotter for NASCAR Winston
Cup Series driver Steve Park and spotted for Robby Gordon on May
28 in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 Winston Cup
race at Charlotte.
Media Contacts: Ron
Green, Indy Racing, (317) 484-6425, rgreen@brickyard.com
Paul Kelly, Indy Racing, (315) 673-0184, pkelly@brickyard.com
World Wide Web: http://www.indyracing.com
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