This year will see the return of Emerson Newton-John to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he replaces Vittorio Ghirelli in the #22 Team Moore Racing machine. Ghirelli did not compete at the Indy GP last weekend, and the team has been looking for a solid driver to place in their second car. Zack Meyer will continue in the team’s #2 machine. It’s been a while, two years to be exact, since Newton-John has been in an Indy Lights car, and he performed very well in 2012 even if his last time at Indianapolis didn’t end happily. Missing the open test on the 3rd will put him and the team a bit behind the eight-ball, but there should be enough time to shake down the car on Thursday of next week if the forecast holds out. The real killer will be if it rains on Thursday. Emerson has experience with these machines and the Speedway, but there’s no replacement for track time!
Official Release from Team Moore Racing
Emerson Newton-John Returns to Freedom 100 with TMR
Pittsboro, IN May 16, 2014 – Team Moore Racing is thrilled to announce that Emerson Newton-John will make his return to open-wheel racing in The Freedom 100 next week driving the #22 TMR entry. Newton-John had a very strong showing at the 2012 Freedom 100, where he was 6th quick in practice and qualified 8th out of a field of 19 cars.
After a two year hiatus, Newton-John is rekindling his open-wheel career as well as using the opportunity to gain positive exposure for his cancer awareness charity, Pink and Blue for Two.
The race follows a very successful inaugural awareness walk during the OneAmerica 500 Festival 5k, led by his aunt and the charities primary Ambassador, Olivia Newton-John, along with Coach Chuck Pagano of the Colts.
Despite missing the May 3rd open test, Newton-John feels confident about his chances of eclipsing his 2012 statistics in a Team Moore Dallara.
“Getting back to Indy has been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs to put it mildly. It’s been almost 2 years since I have been in a racecar, and missing the open test on May 3rd isn’t ideal, but knowing that I’m going to be with a team as experienced and successful at IMS as Team Moore Racing, makes the task at hand that much more manageable. If the weather stays nice and we can get plenty of mileage in during practice, I am more than confident that we can be very competitive. This is also going to be a fantastic opportunity to create further public knowledge of our cancer awareness charity, Pink and Blue for Two, to the racing fraternity and its many fans. Please visit www.pb42.org ,” said Newton-John.
Mark Moore added: “We are very happy to have Emerson compete for us in the upcoming Freedom 100. Emerson’s past race experience at Indy should be a big advantage in a field of so many rookies this year. You just can’t shortcut experience. We had a very good test a couple of weeks ago where we worked primarily on race set up with the new shocks and Cooper Tires. I believe we all have a lot to look forward to in watching Emerson compete next week here in Indianapolis.”
Newton-John is supported by many sponsors, notably Craig Dobbs of Graystone Consulting, Borla Exhaust, Urology of Indiana, Hinchman Racewear and Longtin Family Companies.
