Long Pond, PA – August 22, 2015 – Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) drivers James Jakes and Ryan Briscoe will start 15th and 18th, respectively, for Sunday’s ABC Supply Co. Inc. 500 race at Pocono Raceway.
 
After a tough morning practice session in the condensed Verizon IndyCar Series weekend, the SPM crews worked hard to make the necessary setup adjustments for the afternoon qualifying session.
 
Jakes’ No. 7 MediaTech Oculus Honda had a two-lap average of 218.246, putting him on the outside of row eight.
 
“Not a bad session for the No. 7 SPM Oculus Honda. It wasn’t quite what we were hoping for but I think it was better than this morning. I think we can have a good race and get back into the top ten.
 
“It’s going to be a long day tomorrow – 500 miles – so I’m looking forward to it and the weather’s good. We’ve got another practice session early this evening so hopefully we can improve the balance some more.”
 
Briscoe’s two-lap qualifying average was 217.241. He will start on the outside of row nine.
 
“Qualifying today was a little so-so. We didn’t quite hit the balance. The first practice session flew by so quick and we never got our qualifying sim in, so just missed the balance a little bit. I felt like we had the right amount of downforce on it and we had good speed. I just had to lift in turn one because of the understeer. That kind of hurt us but we were able to relay that feedback back to the No. 7 car and I think it helped them out.
 
“I think qualifying could’ve been better but the car felt reasonably strong and we had good speed, so hopefully that will translate into a good race.”
 
On Sunday, the Verizon IndyCar Series will complete the 15thrace on the 2015 circuit. The ABC Supply 500 will take place onAugust 23 at Pocono Raceway. The 200-lap race will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from 2-6 p.m. ET and tickets are available at PoconoRaceway.com.