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Jay Drake: Pro Series Iron Man |
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July 1. Vision Racing’s Jay Drake does a whole lot more than just
drive in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. Drake is another
example of the remarkable talent that you will find in this Series.
While he was qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on
Thursday, May 26, for the Futaba Freedom 100 race on Friday, May 27, he
also had a couple of other events on his schedule that week. On
Wednesday, May 25, he ran in the “USAC 50” sprint car race at Anderson,
Indiana. Then after the Pro race at IMS in the afternoon of the 27th
Jay raced over to the Indiana State Fairgrounds that night to run in
the 54th “Hoosier Hundred” Silver Crown event. Jay skipped
driving a race car on Saturday because he was on his way to the Eldora
Speedway to run in another USAC sprint car race on Sunday, May 29.
If all of this sounds like something only someone like Tony Stewart
would do, maybe it tells you something about why Drake drives Midgets,
Sprints and Silver Crown cars for Tony Stewart Racing
Enterprises. That’s right; he drives in all three of these
series. Do you suppose Tony sees a little of himself in Jay?
Last year Drake won the USAC National Sprint Car Series Championship,
and this year the defending champion is again leading in the points
standings. Just to let you know how good Jay is, in 2000 he tied
A. J. Foyt’s then single season USAC record of 19 feature wins, which
included victories in midgets, sprints and Silver Crown cars.
Before this year Drake had recorded a total of 41 USAC main event
victories that included all three categories. And for those of
you who follow midget racing, Jay also won the Chili Bowl main event in
2001. That is a big deal!
Jay is definitely not uncomfortable with speed. In 2003 Drake set
the world record for sprint cars with a 144.950 mph qualifying run at
Pikes Peak International Raceway, which brings us back to the Pro
Series [which will race at Pikes Peak on Sunday, August 21.]
Last year Jay had a single race opportunity to compete in the Pro
Series. If you would have asked him which race he would have
wanted if he could choose, he would have said the one at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As it turned out the 2004 Futaba
Freedom 100 was Jay’s moment. Driving for AFS Racing, Jay
qualified an impressive fourth, and more impressive, he finished
fourth.
When Larry Curry became the Team Manager for the newly formed Vision
Racing back in February, Tony George asked him who he wanted as his Pro
Series driver. Larry, who had been, and also is, Jay’s Team
Manager for Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises, immediately said, Jay
Drake! Now Jay had a ride for the 2005 Pro season.
Having told you a little about Jay’s background we’d like you to
meet him personally and for him to tell you some of his story. We
met up with Jay in early May as he was racing back and forth between
the Vision Racing garage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the
Tony Stewart team shop in Indianapolis.
Can you tell us what your first Pro car race here at Indy was like last year? 
"The first time I ran in a Pro car was here a year ago, and it was
obviously thrilling for me just to come here and get a chance to drive
around this race track. It was something I had always dreamed of from
the time I was a little boy, but never really thought I'd have the
opportunity. So, obviously when I got the opportunity just to drive
around here it was very thrilling for me. Then to actually get to come
and race on that day was a big event in my life. As it turned out we
had a real great race. We qualified fourth, dropped back a little bit
in the race and then raced back up to fourth for the finish. It was a
big thrill and I'm excited to come back and try it a second time for
sure."
What were the differences you found going from the type of cars you had been racing into a Pro car?
"Well there are many, too many to go through all of them, but it's
a whole different operation from anything I'd ever done before. For
example, there are the wings and the down forces. And then there is the
shifting [a six-speed sequential gear box] that goes on in this type of
race car. The engine's behind me. Everything I've driven before had the
engines in front. It's basically like starting over because the racing
experience I had from the different kinds of cars I've raced doesn't
carry over to this type of racing. So honestly, for me, it's basically
a whole new learning process, but I think I'm picking up on it and
having a lot of fun trying to figure it out."
What are your goals in racing and where do want to get to - IndyCar or NASCAR?
"My only real goals are to win races and in every type of race car I
get into as the opportunities come along. And honestly, I've exceeded
everything I thought I'd be able to do when I moved back here. [Jay
moved from California to Indianapolis a couple of years ago.] But for
me to be able to come here and race cars for a living, which is what
I've been doing for the last number of years, is beyond what I ever
thought I'd be able to do. So everything I'm doing now is just a bonus
and quite a thrill. I'm just fortunate to be able to do it."
The day before the February media conference in Phoenix when Tony
George made the announcement about Vision Racing you had gone out and
tested in a Brian Stewart Pro car. How did that come about?
"Well, Brian Stewart had an extra car there, and Roger Bailey, who
runs the Menards Infiniti Pro Series, kind of made an arrangement with
Brian to let me get in and run a few laps. I had actually passed the
rookie test during the open test here last year before I raced here at
the Speedway, so in Phoenix it wasn't really a test but just an
opportunity to go out and take a few laps so I would know what it was
like to run a Pro car on a shorter race track. You know, that was great
and I owe a lot to those guys for letting me do that. With as expensive
as it is for these cars to run and for Brian to just let me go out
there and run a few laps, that was a big thing for him to do. It was a
lot of help when we went back there [to race on March 16.]"
How was your first race this year at Homestead?
"It was great. I feel like it was successful for a first race by a
brand new team and with virtually a new driver and Larry. Everything
was thrown together at the last minute and we went out there and had a
top five finish. I think we went away pleased from our first race and
we're pressing on from there." [Jay qualified 11th, but finished 5th.]
Then you were on to Phoenix. You are clearly familiar with that track
and the difference in turns 1-2 and 3-4. At least you knew the track
even if the cars are different. Was that easy to adjust to in the Pro
car? 
"Running the amount of races I have there in the USAC series obviously
helped. It helped some with this type of race car, but other than that,
you know, the way you have to drive these race cars as opposed to the
way you drive a midget or spring car around there is completely
different. But just knowing the race track and knowing places you can
and can't go with those other type of cars was a big help in trying to
get up to speed in the Infiniti Pro cars. Anytime you race at a place
you're familiar with it is helpful in this business; the more practice
you get the better off you are. And that's probably true no matter who
you are. So when we go to places I've run before its going to help my
learning curve a lot. And I'll come along quicker." [In this race Jay
qualified 5th, but was involved in a first lap accident with two other
cars.]
You had a chance to practice on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Formula One road course down here.
"Yah, we did, but not as much as we would have liked to. We came here
right after Phoenix where we had an accident, so the guys were working
real hard trying to repair the damage that we did. So we didn't get out
till real late in the day and only ran a small handful of laps. Still,
it was a thrill to run here, and anytime I get to run here at the
Speedway is a thrill. It is a lot of fun, and to go around it in the
wrong direction is interesting. I'm looking forward to coming to that
race. It's going to be a big weekend here being with the Formula One
crowd and getting to race in front of all those people. It's going to
be a neat deal. The special thing I like about it the most is that the
Menards Infiniti Pro Series is going to be the only series to race here
twice in the same year, and I'm proud to be part of that."
After the Indianapolis road course testing you moved on to St.
Petersburg. While road racing isn’t maybe your specialty you
ended up doing pretty well there.
"That's an understatement to say that's not my specialty. That was the
first time I've ever done anything like that. It was a thrill though
and it was probably the most fun I've remembered having in a race car
in a lot of years. I came away with a whole new respect for road racers
in general. It's a lot of work. You're busy the whole time you're in
that car. And there are so many different things you've got to think
about. In racing if you ever listen in on a scanner you hear them
telling the guy to ‘hit your marks’. Well on an oval that probably
means there are two marks, there is one in Turn 3 and one in Turn 1.
And those are the two marks you have to concentrate on hitting." 
"On a road course and a street course like that there's probably 14 to
20 different marks you've got to hit every lap. You've got to shift the
gears, and know which gears you've got to be in and where, and the
concentration level goes up a ton on those road courses. It's a lot of
work and I had a huge learning curve there. But every time we ran we
got better by seconds a lap and it was a good feeling. We went away
from there very happy."
"We didn't race great, but we were running in the top. I think I was
running 7th when I broke the gear box. By race time we were running
within a second of the lap leaders so I think that was a good situation
to come away from there with. We started out the weekend 10 seconds off
the leaders; the fastest guy. So to make up that amount of time in that
short of a weekend was a big accomplishment I feel. Anyway, I'm excited
about going to the next one. I'm interested in taking what I learned
there and becoming competitive in that kind of racing. It is a lot of
fun. You're shifting gears, you're braking, you're turning, you're
trying to figure how much throttle to give it off of each corner and
which gears to be in. That's exciting racing!" [Jay qualified 10th, and
finished 10th after dropping out on lap 28 of the 40 lap race.]
You've worked with Larry Curry for quite awhile so you two guys know
how to interact and relate. But now you've got an extended family
teammate in Jon Herb. We know that Jon is delighted to have you as a
teammate and share certain types of information. What are your thoughts?
"Jon's run a handful of IndyCar races and he's run quite a few Infiniti
Pro races so he's got a lot of experience. That's something I can use
and feed off of with him. Jon helps me out quite a bit with my learning
curve and tells me things he's learned not to do from making certain
mistakes that I might go out there and make. So he's been really great
that way and giving me a heads up on pointers here and there. Jon is a
lot of fun to have around, too. It's a good relationship."
How was the IMS 2.5 mile oval test for you here on the May 3?
"It went well. We were, I think, 7th fastest on the day, which is
decent, but it took us a while to build up to that speed. We were
working though some things and we found the direction we need to go
right there at the end of the day. And then we just ran out of time.
But I think it's going to be a lot better when we come back here. We
were hoping honestly to be a lot better than we were right off the bat,
but we took some time to build up to speed and then once we got going
the day ran out on us. But I'm confident that when we come back here
next week or the week after the car's going to be really good and we're
going to be competitive."
Can you make any comments on the level of competition this year at Indy compared to last year when you drove here?
"Just from the number of races we've had so far it seems like the
Series is far more competitive this year than it was last year and than
it was the year before. There's a tough bunch of guys out there; a lot
of good racers and it really makes for an exciting Series. We've had
three races and three different winners and you know you didn't see
that pattern last year. So for this year it's going to be an
interesting and tough season. I think you're going to see a lot of
different winners and to me that means it's going to be a good Series."
Two weeks later Jay went out and qualified 4th again for the Futaba
Freedom 100 race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5 mile oval
track. The following day he finished 3rd third in the race, behind Wade
Cunningham and race winner Marco Andretti. From there the Series moved
on to the fast high banked Texas Motor Speedway. There Jay qualified
5th and finished 4th, after running in 3rd during parts of the race.
Jay's most recent race was the Liberty Challenge on the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway road course during the Fl weekend. Jay qualified 11th
and finished 10th. However, as he and his teammate for that race,
Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter, took turns racing and passing each other
it was clearly another road course learning experience for Jay. In this
case it was a more difficult Formula One level road course. So while
Jay continues his accelerated education in road racing look for him to
be heading toward the front on the ovals. The season has six
oval races left and jonly two road races. Remember Jay's goal is
to win
races in any type of car and on any type of track. For that he has a
great role model in Tony Stewart!
[Jay currently stands 7th of 25 drivers in the Pro Series points. For additional information see his official web site: www.jaydrake.com.]
[Earlier stories on Vision Racing featured Jon Herb and Tony
George. Watch for a future story on their Team Manager, Larry
Curry.]
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