MIKE CONWAY COMES THROUGH THE FIELD TO MAKE UP ELEVEN POSITIONS IN TOUGH MILWAUKEE INDYCAR RACE

17 Jun 2012

British racing driver Mike Conway endured a difficult Indycar race at Milwaukee after a ten place grid penalty for an engine change forced him to start at the back of the field.

However, despite the grid penalty the AJ Foyt driver was able to make steady progress through the field on this difficult-to-pass track and finished the 225-lap race in P16.

After Conway struggled with too much understeer in both practice sessions, the ABC Supply team made some major changes to the No. 14 car before qualifying in a final effort to find the car's sweet spot.

Conway turned his quickest laps of the weekend in qualifying with an average speed of 159.7mph but with the car suffering with some handling problems it was well off the pole-winning speed of Dario Franchitti who clocked in at 168.7mph.

Saturday's race was delayed by two hours due to rainfall. When the race went green Conway's lap times were competitive with the leaders but it was tough to pass on the narrow track.

With a number of strong pit stops by the ABC Supply team, coupled with some solid pace from Conway, the British driver was able to fight his way through the field to P16 by the time the checkered flag fell.

"Our race was all about trying to learn as much as we can with the car really and trying to put on a good show for the ABC Supply guys as it was their home race," Conway said. "We managed to fight our way up through the field. Restarts were tough and some of the backmarkers were difficult to get past at the end of the race. I thought I could get Marco [Andretti] at the end but couldn't quite nip him because of his straight-line speed. I'd be quicker through the corner but then coming out of the corner I couldn't pass him. That's a shame because if I could have got past him I would've pulled away. We just have to keep fighting and make the car better for Iowa."

The IZOD IndyCar Series heads to Iowa Speedway this week for Saturday night's Iowa Corn Indy 250.