Cunningham Joins Forces With Top Team

FAST COMPANY
Press release
For immediate release

01-04-09

Cunningham Joins Forces With Top Team

Kiwi Wade Cunningham will be back behind the wheel of a Firestone Indy Lights championship series single-seater full time this year after agreeing late last month to a deal to drive for the series' top team, Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the #1 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsport car.

Since moving up to the Indy Lights series from FF2000 in 2005 (winning in his debut year for Brian Stewart Racing) former World Karting Champion Cunningham's strongest competition has come from the Sam Schmidt Motorsports team and the now 24-year-old says that joining forces makes perfect sense.

"Up here (in the US) they are pitching it as the pairing of a championship winning driver with the most successful team in Firestone Indy Lights history and, that, pretty much, is what it is," he said from Indianapolis this morning.

While his key goal remains a drive in the Indycar series won last year by fellow Kiwi Scot Dixon, Cunningham says that being one of the front-runners in the Firestone Indy Lights series remains the best way to keep your profile high in the United States.

"I know that nothing in this game is guaranteed and that even winning doesn't guarantee you a seat in Indycar but my attitude has always been that if I'm running up front and winning races, the rest will take care of itself."

That has certainly worked for other drivers the now 24-year-old has raced against in the Firestone Indy Lights class. And Cunningham says there's no reason why, particularly now that he will be behind the wheel of the #1 Lucas Oils car, that he can't again be the driver everyone else has to beat.

"To be honest, " he says," I'm honoured to be part of the team. There are big expectations placed on the driver when they step into this seat because of the success that the Lucas Oils car has had, but I know that I'm more than capable of handling the expectations from the team and myself to deliver the results that are needed."

Cunningham's CV is certainly impressive, the young Aucklander having won five times in his Firestone Indy Lights career as well as collected six poles, leading 567 laps, collecting 27 additional top-five placings and finishing in the top ten in more than 75% of his race starts.

Sam Schmidt Motorsports has been the dominating force and all-time win leader of Firestone Indy Lights having won 27 races to date (including one joint victory with Andretti Green Racing in 2006) and three driver championships.

The 2009 season kicks off on the streets of St. Petersburg this weekend with a double-header weekend before heading to California for the big Streets of Long Beach meeting on April 19.

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