Asian Motor Sports

LOS ANGELES, California – Just like they used to do it in the Old West, the Newman/Wachs Racing Atlantic team held a shootout last week and in the end only two drivers were left standing. A strong performance on track and good chemistry with the first-year Atlantic team enabled both American Joe D’Agostino and Daniel Gaunt of New Zealand to emerge as the squad’s new marksmen for the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship Presented by Yokohama.

A total of nine drivers participated in the three-day audition for the team, co-owned by legendary actor Paul Newman and his longtime friend and fellow racer Eddie Wachs. All of the drivers who tested at Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Florida, February 6-8 showed skill and promise, according to Wachs, but four seemed to set themselves apart. Both D’Agostino and Gaunt shined along with Brazilian racer Tuka Rocha and Frenchman Simon Pagenaud.

When it came time to make the final decision on which drivers would secure the two seats available for the full-season entry in North America’s top open-wheel development category, however, both D’Agostino and Gaunt proved to have that extra ingredient that the team was looking for. “The test went very well and they all did a good job but it really came down to who showed the most improvement and who communicated best with the team,