PCM and Dominguez to make the transition

Just days after the farewell Champ Car race, Pacific Coast Motorsports and driver Mario Dominguez have confirmed their transition to take on the challenge in the IndyCar Series. Their first race will be the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 in May. Leaving little time to prepare for the biggest and most famous race on the 2008 Indy Racing League IndyCar schedule.

Team owner Tyler Tadevic confirmed that the team already has received two Dallara chassis. The entry number for Dominguez will be 96 and will start rookie orientation for the famed race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 4th.

“This program is an extension of our belief in the Hispanic market and of our belief the Hispanic fans have for Open-Wheel racing and Mario in-particular,” said Tadevic. “This Hispanic demographic is the fastest growing market in the United States and a very important fan-base for the IndyCar Series.”

Their Hispanic racer ended his Champ Car career, run under the IRL for the finale on the streets of Long Beach, handing the team their first Champ Car podium. Dominguez will be sponsored by the Mexico City Tourism Board. The city currently hosts the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Series who held their races at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which was ran this past weekend. The city hosted six Champ Car races there with Dominguez competing in all of them. His best finish at his home track was third in 2003 with the Herdez team.

Now at 32, the native of Mexico City looks forward to his new adventure: “I am very excited about this new project. Racing in the Indy 500 is a childhood dream of mine. I understand I have a big responsibility since I will be driving the Mexico City car. I will be representing the colors of my city and my country in the most important racing series in North America.”

Neither Dominguez or PCM are new to open-wheel racing, they both have landed landmark results. The team, based in Oxnard, Calif., earned the 2004 Atlantic championship with Jon Fogarty. They will continue their Atlantic series efforts in 2008. Dominguez has two Champ Car wins under his belt, both with the Herdez team, one pole and a total of 11 podium finishes.

“We are very excited, and proud to announce our partnership with the Mexico City Tourism Board and Mario Dominguez. We see this much more as a partnership than typical sponsorship,” Tadevic. “With our recent success at the Long Beach Grand Prix and with Mario giving me my first podium as a team owner, we couldn’t be more excited, and we can’t wait to get started.”

Named the 2002 Champ Car Rookie of the Year, the Hispanic racer is very pleased to landed this ride with PCM. He raced with the team last year as a sub-driver. For the IndyCar Series, he will be classified as a rookie due to the learning curve he and team will have as they get the feel of their new chassis powered by Honda plus returning to oval track racing.

“I am very excited to continue my efforts with PCM. We just finished on the podium this weekend and that shows that we are competitive and can be champions together,” Dominguez said. “Antonio Morron my manager and I have been working on this for a long while and we are very grateful the Mexico City Tourism Board saw the potential in this opportunity to promote Mexico City as the great tourism destination that it is. I also want to thank Mr. Alejandro Rojos, the Minister of Tourism of Mexico City, and Mr. Flavio Abed for the confidence they have placed in me. I will work as hard as I can on and off the track to give Mexico City the results that it deserves.”

Today’s press conference in Mexico City this morning was a big hit with the local media as expected. Dominguez, like Adrian Fernandez, has a huge following in his hometown. Mexico City’s Vice Minister of Tourism, Flavio Abed commented on the program, “For the city of Mexico City, this motorsports project represents an extraordinary opportunity to promote another face of our city and to show the world everything this great city has to offer.

“Mexico City is one of the more important destinations in Latin America, not only for business, but also for pleasure. Mexico City is rich with history and features beautiful parks, theatres, museums and cultural destinations. Mario is very important to this city and we are excited to promote our city to the IndyCar audience through this program,” added Abed.

Mexico City’s Champ Car race is now gone but will their be a chance for the venue to return next year with the IRL? Dominguez, no doubt, hopes his home race will be on the IndyCar schedule in the future.

For now, his thoughts and that of PCM are focused on preparing for the Indy 500.

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Orlando Motors Sport üzerinde şu anda okumakta olduğunuz 'PCM and Dominguez to make the transition' isimli yazı 24 Apr 2008 tarihinde, saat: 19:10 'de admin tarafından gönderilmiş.

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