Milka Duno has passed the official "Rookie Test" for the 2007 IndyCar Series and will participate in this weekend's activities for the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway. The race, this Sunday, April 29, will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 4:30pm ET. This will be Milka's first IndyCar Series race on a planned first-year ten-race schedule that includes the 91st running of the Indy 500 on May 27.
While Milka is an experienced and race-winning sports car racer -- just like any racer entering the IndyCar Series for the first time -- she will be considered a "rookie" during her first season and must pass their "Rookie Test" in order to compete.
With multiple scheduled test sessions over the last few weeks cancelled due to weather issues there was concern that Milka may not be able to complete the time behind the wheel of her #23 CITGO Racing Dallara Honda desired to prepare for the required test at the Kansas circuit.
But finally, and for the first time in several weeks, Mother Nature did ultimately cooperate and Milka was able to successfully complete the necessary requirements and gain additional seat time yesterday afternoon. Milka and her team were officially notified at the end of the session that she had met the requirements and could move forward.
"I'm happy. I guess now I am Indy," Duno said with a big smile. "We didn't have all the track time that we were supposed to leading up to this because of the weather conditions. My team did a great job getting the car prepared. I'm learning so much from all the guys that have experience in Indy car racing, especially my engineer, Steve Challis, and my driver coach, Pancho Carter. I was trying to do the best I could and follow the grooves. But this is just the first step. Like everyone else, you start with your first race. Every driver has to get experience, and it starts with the first race. The first practice, the first qualifying, the first race."
"This new accomplishment further demonstrates Milka's great skills and racing potential. We at CITGO are very proud of having Milka as the ambassador of our Energia Latina campaign. She is a very strong role model for Venezuelan women and Latinas everywhere. Milka: CITGO is with you at every turn," said Rafael Gomez, CITGO's VP of Strategic Shareholder Relations and Government & Public Affairs.
"We're very happy," said Peter Baron, team principal of SAMAX Motorsport. "With all the drama of the rain and cold, it's definitely exciting to be ready and moving forward to Sunday. I feel like we've just passed our college exams. It's nice to get that done and over with. It's exciting but now we are on to the next chapter."