Enge’s first IRL finish - 21.10.2004

Tomas Enge was able to avoid all traps and accidents in a dramatic IRL race at the Texas Motor Speedway and finished the race for the first time in the series. He was 13th driver under checquered flag.

The race weekend in Texas took place under nice and sunny weather. There were 70 000 spectators on the grandstands and they saw thrilling show. Enge started from the 15th position because both Panther drivers were sent to the back of the grid due to technical infringement and Dario Franchitti had to use the spare car and was also send to the back. Helio Castroneves led for the most of the race who finally won his first race of the season. The first yellow flag was shortly after the start when Ed Carpenter hit the wall. Substantially dramatic situation happened just before the end when Franchitti lost control of his car and hit Alex Barron’s car. Both drivers were able to go away without injury despite the fact that the crash looked horribly. Enge was alone for the most of the race, as behavior of his car did not allow him to follow closely other cars. The Czech driver managed to stay away of troubles and in the second attempt finished IRL race for the first time.

Tomas Enge: “I have fulfilled my primary aim and finished the race. I am happy with this but otherwise it was not as good. The car was not ideal, especially the rear end was nervous and usually it took few laps before the tire change or restart to get everything to normal. This problem was highlighted when I was running behind another car. I had a big moment in turn one just after the halfway of the race and my main focus for the rest of the race was to go to the finish. I was able to avoid all the collisions during the race although it was very close especially after the crash of Franchitti and Barron just before the end of the race. Spotter had warned me about collision but I had to run over some debris and we therefore decided to change the tires as a precautionary measure. Completed race means a lot of experience for me and it is a good baseline for next season.”

Steve Newey, team manager: “It was a tough race. The car did not behave in an ideal way and we were also a bit down on the power. Tomas did a good job, finished the race and gained experience will come in handy in next season.”

Antonin Charouz, Enge’s manager: “I am happy because Tomas made it to the end and this is the most important thing for him right now. These races are very different to what he is used and he has to gain some experience. I have got a positive feedback from the team. The main aim of this year’s starts was to prepare for next season and I think that they served the purpose. All parties now know where they have to work for the future.”