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The Menards IRL Infiniti Pro Series made its debut in mid-2002 with an inaugural
season of seven races run in conjunction with the Indy Car Racing Series.
The 2005 championship consists of fourteen races beginning in March at Homestead-Miami Speedway and concluding in mid-October at California Speedway. For the first time, four races were contested on road courses and the remainder took place on ovals.
Drivers compete in a Dallara designed and manufactured for the Infiniti Pro Series. The car is powered by an Infiniti Q45 engine which produces approximately 450-horsepower and weighs 1,430-lbs. All cars race on Firestone tires. Like Indy Car Series regulations, costs and development for the Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series are tightly controlled by the Indy Racing League. The penultimate round of the 2005 Menards IRL Infiniti Pro Series was contested at Watkins Glen International. The Corning 100 saw drivers compete for twenty-nine-laps around the eleven-turn 3.337-mile road course.
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The penultimate round of the 2005 Menards IRL Infiniti Pro Series at Watkins Glen International was won by Jeff Simmons. Simmons was driving the No. 24 Team ISI Dallara / Infiniti and qualified on the outside of the front row. He grabbed the lead on the opening lap in turn five. On the following circuit, Simmons was passed by Marco Andretti, but he retook the top spot and the victory on lap-27 of twenty-nine. |
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Finishing in the runner-up spot was Marco Andretti. Andretti, driving the No. 26 Vonage Dallara / Infiniti, had grabbed victories earlier in the year at St. Petersburg, Indianapolis and Sonoma. At Watkins Glen International, he qualified fourth, but moved into the lead on lap-2. After losing first place, Andretti was challenged by the points leader, Wade Cunningham, but held on to finish second by a margin of 0.6316-seconds. |
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The championship leader heading into the penultimate weekend at Watkins Glen International was the Kiwi Wade Cunningham. Cunningham was yet to collect a victory, but eight podium finishes in twelve starts put him at the top of the standings. He qualified on the pole for the Corning 100, his first of 2005. Cunningham lost the lead before the end of the first lap but would claim the final spot on the podium. |
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The Menards IRL Infiniti Pro Series requires the use of a spec motor. The engine used is from Infiniti’s Q45 model. The power plant is Nissan’s VK45DE, which is a V8 aluminum block with double-overhead-camshaft aluminum cylinder heads. The 3.5-liter race version of the motor was developed by TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) and produced 420-horsepower. Fitted to the engine is a six-speed sequential transmission. |
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Entering the penultimate round at Watkins Glen International, Travis Gregg had five podium finishes, of which three were victories. However, the wins came on ovals and road courses weren’t his ‘strong suit.’ Gregg, driving the No. 7 Lucas Oil Products Dallara / Infiniti, was eighth fastest in the qualifying session. He spun in turn eight during the race and eventually lost two laps to leaders and finished in the twelfth position. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Jeff Simmons | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 2 | 4 | Marco Andretti | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 3 | 1 | Wade Cunningham | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 4 | 6 | Chris Festa | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 5 | 13 | Nick Bussell | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 6 | 12 | Phil Giebler | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 7 | 3 | Jaime Camara | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 8 | 7 | Larry Connor | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 9 | 5 | Bobby Wilson | Dallara/Infiniti | 29 | - |
| 10 | 9 | Marty Roth | Dallara/Infiniti | 28 | - |
| 11 | 11 | Jon Herb | Dallara/Infiniti | 28 | - |
| 12 | 8 | Travis Gregg | Dallara/Infiniti | 27 | - |
| 13 | 10 | Rocco DeSimone | Dallara/Infiniti | 4 | Mechanical |
| 14 | - | Scott Mansell | Dallara/Infiniti | - | Did Not Start |
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