Electric Car Racing: Ohio State Scores Dominating Win at IRP
18 May 1998
Columbus, OH - The Ohio State University electric race car team registered a virtually uncontested victory in the Indy Electric Classic at Indianapolis Raceway Park on May 16. Professional race car driver Seth Taylor of Austin, Texas piloted the car in a substitute role for his father, and regular driver Craig Taylor who was unable to attend the race. Live coverage of the event was expected on ESPN2, but a last minute schedule change moved the race out of the broadcast time slot.From the first practice session on the .686-mile oval, the Ohio State Smokin' Buckeye was at the top of the time charts, which was a position that it would not relinquish during any session. In qualifying, Taylor ran a phenomenal 26.41-second (93.510 mph) lap that yielded the pole position and was 1.6 seconds faster than the second place qualifier Bowling Green State University. The lap was also two seconds quicker than his fastest practice speed and one second faster than his father's track record set last year.
In the 12 lap race, Taylor led the nine car field to the green flag and got a good jump on Bowling Green when driver Larry Crosser failed to immediately come up to speed. Farther back in the pack, the University of Oklahoma car driven by Indy Racing League competitor Billy Roe made a series of impressive moves at the start from his seventh place starting spot to move into third place by the end of the first lap. It was also Roe's first lap in the car because he missed all of the practice sessions while he was across town attempting to qualify for his second Indianapolis 500. The Oklahoma car was practiced and qualified earlier in the day by team crew chief Todd Cannon.
During the second lap, the Kettering University entry came to a rest on the backstretch, which resulted in a brief red flag period while the car was moved to a safe position. On the restart, Taylor held off challenges from the University of Notre Dame and University of Oklahoma to eventually open up a comfortable margin over the field. In the remaining laps, nobody could match Taylor's pace and he raced uncontested to the checkered flag followed by Oklahoma and Bowling Green.
Following the race, Taylor was very pleased with the results. "This race was a lot of fun and the crew gave me a car that was perfect," said Taylor. "We made a few minor changes to the car during practice and they just made it better. Nobody could have touched us today; we had the field covered. The new motor from Shoemaker Electric was great and it was definitely a factor in the outcome."
