Simona De Silvestro (#5 Deans Knight/Wasteco) is the only woman racer in the field and joins Lewis on the two-car Walker Racing operation. Walker Racing owner Derrick Walker is one of four Champ Car World Series owners who will also field Atlantic entries this weekend. The others are Red Bull Team Forsythe owner Jerry Forsythe, who fields Wickens and 16-year-old American rookie John Edwards (#7 Red Bull/INDECK), Conquest Racing owner Eric Bachelart, who has entered Italian rookie Giacomo Ricci (#18 Banca Italease/Lotto/Global) and American youngster Matt Lee (#44 Integrated Structures), and Academy Award-winning actor Paul Newman, who is partnered with Eddie Wachs as owner of the car driven by Hildebrand. Newman is also a co-owner of the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Champ Car team.
Newman is not the only Hollywood type to be associated with the Atlantic series this weekend, as rookie driver Frankie Muniz (#13 Chandler Development) is a former actor who has shifted his focus to becoming a professional race driver. Muniz is part of a two-car Jensen MotorSport team alongside American rookie Tom Sutherland (#2 Drive Energy Soda).
Completing a strong, 26-car entry list—the largest Atlantic field at Cleveland since 29 cars competed in 1998—are rookie drivers Adrian Carrio (#17 Carrio Cabling Company), Brian Thienes (#19 Thienes Engineering), Bret MacDonald (#21 Brelia Ent. /BAM/BCP/Rock House), Mike Forest (#32 Miracle Sealants/Konica Minolta/Dynacor/Earthwater), Richard Heistand (#27 Eola Capital Investments), and Adrien Herberts (#45 Paladin Motorsports), as well as Atlantic veteran Justin Sofio (#26 RLM Investments). Sofio is the driver with the most Atlantic experience at Cleveland with four previous starts, and the Californian celebrated a C2 class victory and seventh-place overall result in Race #1 of a doubleheader in 2005.
On-track activities for the Champ Car Atlantic Championship at the Grand Prix of Cleveland get underway on Friday, June 22 with a 45-minute practice session from 10:45 to 11:30 a. m. ET, followed by first round qualifying from 2:30 to 3:05 p. m. Saturday’s schedule calls for the Atlantic machines to practice from 8:50 to 9:35 a. m., with final qualifying slated for 12:40 to 1:15 p. m. Sunday’s race-day schedule will see the Atlantic competitors on track for a 15-minute warm-up session beginning at 8:00 a. m. and Round 6 of the 12-race 2007 Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, the Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by LaSalle Bank, will begin from a standing start at 10:30 a. m. The race will have a 50-minute time limit.
All Atlantic cars are Swift 016. a Atlantic chassis powered by 300-horsepower Mazda-Cosworth MZR engines capable of speeds in excess of 175 mph. Each entry will ride on new Cooper Atlantic racing slicks and rain tires throughout the weekend.
For the first time this weekend, live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Grand Prix of Cleveland will be available on ESPN360.com. The race will also be televised on a tape-delayed basis on ESPN2, and is scheduled to air at 6:00 p. m. ET on Wednesday, July 4. It will also air to U. S. service men and women in over 130 countries around the world through the American Forces Radio & Television Service.
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