| | Speeds Faster Than Some Planes Reach ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Team Kool Cleveland race previewParker Johnstone, #27 Team KOOL Green Reynard-Honda (Firestone), onCleveland: [Johnstone's best finish in Cleveland is 11th in 1995] "Cleveland leads your imagination to the limit in terms of passing zones - so much of itis so wide open that you could pass virtually anywhere. That and the fact that you cansee 90% of the track from the stands makes it one of the best events from a spectatorperspective."The track is technically challenging, because you have a lot of low speed corners and abig high-speed sweeper that ends in a concrete wall. It's bumpy, which puts a premiumon having the right spring and damper combination to handle the track surface." On his musical tie to the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame:[Johnstone was principal trumpet in the Oakland Youth Symphony when he was a teenand traveled the U.S. and Europe with the International Youth Symphony. He turneddown opportunities to attend Julliard and the Berklee School of Music to pursue a lifein auto racing through an engineering/computer science degree from the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley.]On racing a car at an airport where he could be flying his RV-4 sport aerobaticplane: [Johnstone's plane is a tandem two-seat experimental aircraft that he modified,maintains and pilots himself. He is a member of the Experimental Aircraft Associationand visits air shows across the country.] "Racing at Cleveland combines two of my greatest loves - auto racing and flying. It'skind of an odd feeling, though, to drive a car along the runway at speeds faster than myplane goes." Barry Green, owner, Team KOOL Green, on returning to Cleveland:[Team Green earned a victory at Cleveland in 1995 with driver Jacques Villeneuve.] "I always think of Cleveland as more of a street circuit, because it's so flat and wideopen, and it certainly lends itself to a real street fight. Everyone's out there fighting forposition and fighting to hang in, which makes for a super exciting race." |