Fastest at Indy Test
October 30, 2011
I had planned on attending the two-day Chris Griffis Memorial test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to talk to some teams about 2012 but was not expecting to get a chance to drive. When I got off the plane in Indy I had a voicemail from AJ, my mechanic from last season, saying one of the drivers was sick and they had a seat open. I then quickly called Kyle Moyer from Andretti Autosport and he said that I could drive my USF2000 car from last season in the test! I was very surprised and excited that I was going to get a chance to drive around the Speedway, it was on the Formula One track but was still an amazing experience. I brought all my gear just in case something like this happened but I knew it was a long shot, I’m glad I did! By the time I got to the track on Friday I had missed the morning session but was in the car for the afternoon.
We started the session on old tires that they had used at a private test a while ago just so I could get a feel for the track and car again. I was P1 for most of the session until everyone started putting new tires on. The same thing happened in the morning session on Saturday. We put another set of old tires on and kept on making changes to the car trying to fine-tune the set-up. For the final session on Saturday afternoon we put on some tires that only had a few laps on them and the car was good. I worked a lot with Stu, my engineer for the test, and we improved the car every session. We were quick and I set the fastest lap of the session and the weekend. It was a great way to start the off-season. I have to thank Andretti Autosport for giving me the opportunity to get back in the USF2000 car and drive this weekend. I am working very hard to try and get a budget together to compete next season.
Thanks again for all your support!
Spencer
