Notes & Quotes: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

Takuma Sato: No. 14 ABC Supply Honda
Jack Hawksworth: No. 41 ABC Supply Honda

TAKUMA SATO On:

Mid-Ohio: “I like Mid-Ohio because it’s a nice technical track with some fun elevation changes. It’s not one of the biggest tracks but it reminds me of a British country-like track and I love it. Also the fans are really enthusiastic, true race fans; sometimes they even bring pictures from my British Formula-3 days! I like the atmosphere a lot. The track itself is quite tricky because the track conditions can be very different from time to time. The track evolution is enormous, so at the beginning of the session there is extremely low grip but it gets better and better as the track rubbers down. We have to be careful to not chase the track conditions but still you need to know where the car set-up needs to be. Hopefully we can make the car faster with the right set-up at the right time. We haven’t run the road course tires with this aero kit since the front wing modification in June so that should be interesting. It’s been nearly three months since our last road course race so I’m looking forward to it.”

JACK HAWKSWORTH On:

* Mid-Ohio: “Mid-Ohio is one my favorite races on the schedule. The circuit is tricky and challenging but it also has a very nice flow to it. I especially like the section from turn 4 to turn 9. The series always gets a great turn out here and the atmosphere is fantastic.”
* The key to a good car set-up at Mid-Ohio: “Mid-Ohio is one of the most technically demanding circuits on the calendar. It has a mixture of fast corners mixed with a lot of medium speed changes of direction. There’s also a lot of elevation change. Looking after the outside front tire in the longer duration corners by having a car which rotates well is critical.”
* The best place to pass: “Mid-Ohio is one of the most difficult circuits we go to in terms of passing. Track position is king there but if you are going to make a pass, it’s probably going to be down into turn 4 or the keyhole.”
* How Mid-Ohio compares to tracks in Europe: “Mid-Ohio is actually very similar to the kind of tracks we have in England! It’s an old school road course with a lot of elevation change and not much room for error. It reminds me of Brands Hatch and Oulton Park, two of my favorite circuits!”

This season’s performance: Takuma Sato’s best performance to date has come at Detroit with his best start of fourth in Race 1 and his best finish of second in Race 2. It was his first podium finish since his runner-up finish in Brazil in 2103. For Jack Hawksworth this year, his best finish of seventh came in both races in Detroit, while his best start of eighth came in New Orleans. Hawksworth has been plagued by red flags (for others) during his qualifying sessions this year.

Past Performance at Mid-Ohio: In five races at Mid-Ohio, Sato’s best start was third in 2010 with KV Racing and his best finish was fourth in 2011 with KV Racing. In his rookie season, Hawksworth started 18th and finished 16th at Mid-Ohio. In eight appearances, the Foyt team’s best start (7th) and finish (4th) came in 2009 with Ryan Hunter-Reay who was subbing for the injured Vitor Meira that season.

ABC Supply celebrates its 10th anniversary of AJ Foyt Racing sponsorship: ABC Supply began sponsoring the AJ Foyt Racing team with the 2005 Indianapolis 500. The company has leveraged its involvement by entertaining nearly 70,000 associates and customers over the past 10 racing seasons. This weekend the company will entertain 775 guests, 100 more than last year.

ABC Supply national account Tri-C Construction, based in Akron, Ohio will be featured on the engine cover of the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda. Guests will receive the VIP treatment this weekend along with a Meet and Greet with Takuma Sato.

ABC Supply roofing customer, Feazel Inc., located in Westerville, Ohio won the ‘Your Name Here’ contest for this weekend. The company name will be atop the sidepods of the No. 41 ABC Supply Honda. Guests will receive the VIP treatment plus a Meet and Greet with Jack Hawksworth.

Headquartered in Beloit, Wis., ABC Supply was founded by Ken and Diane Hendricks in 1982. The company has more than 490 branches in 49 states and is dedicated exclusively to serving professional contractors. ABC Supply has distinguished itself by following a simple guiding principle – take care of contractors better than any other distributor. It remains an “employee-first” company that treats its associates with respect and gives them the tools they need to succeed. As an eight-time winner of the Gallup Great Workplace Award, which recognizes the best-performing workforces in the world, ABC Supply is one of only three companies in the world to have earned this honor every year since its inception in 2007. More information is available at www.abcsupply.com.

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be televised live on NBC Sports Network Sunday, August 2nd, starting at 1:30pm ET.

For more information on the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing program, please check our web site: www.foytracing.com. To follow us on Twitter: @AJFoytRacing, @TakumaSatoRacer, @JackHawk41, @LarryFoyt14. On Facebook, we have the AJ Foyt Racing fan page.