Valvoline Team USA Nations Cup VII Qualifying Report

Nov 2, 1996 (Melanie Cannon, Cotter Communications)
Donington, England – Valvoline Team USA is prepared to take on the world tomorrow in Nations Cup VII after posting third and 15th place qualifying times today.
Teammates Jerry Nadeau and Tony Renna home to take home a medal when the 1996 Nations Cup concludes tomorrow at the 1.957-mile Donington Park road course.

Renna posted a third-place start for the first of two races with a time of 1:10.635 seconds at 99.75 mph.

“I knew I could get more speed out of the car after the first [qualifying] session,” said Renna, a DeLand, Fla., native. “The handling on the car came to me the longer the session lasted. The car is perfect for racing on new tires. I couldn’t be much happier.”

Bad luck plagued Danbury, Conn., native Nadeau and his John Village Automotive racer during both rounds of qualifying. During the first session a broken shifter linkage send him back to pit road for repairs, while rain hampered his efforts in the second session.

“Bad luck followed me today,” said Nadeau. “But the good news is, the race is tomorrow. We are very close on the setup for the car but a little difference affects a lot. Today didn’t go my way but tomorrow should be a great, tight race.”

Nadeau’s time of 1:11.155 seconds at 99.02 mph earned him the 15th starting position in the first of two races that make up the Nations Cup event tomorrow. The starting order for the second race will be determined by the finishing order of the first race.

The final awards are based on team score. Nadeau and Renna face two-car teams from 12 other countries including Brazil, Germany, Great Britain and Portugal.