Quick learning curve
Howard breezes from Homestead oval to Sebring road course
By Dave Lewandowski - indycar.com
Monday, March 3, 2008

You could say Jay Howard passed his IndyCar Series rookie test with flying colors last week – as in the white and red No. 24 Roth Racing car on the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval.

Howard, the 2006 Indy Pro Series champion, saw the test under the watchful eyes of three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford as another step to competing in his first IndyCar Series race March 29 back at Homestead.

"It was really cool; my first time on an oval in a big car," said Howard, who recorded about 75 laps a few days earlier on the Sebring International Raceway road course. "Definitely it is a little quicker and things are happening a little faster than in the (Indy) Pro (Series) car, but it was really good how much I could relay what I learned in the Pro car I could put into practice in the big car. That was beneficial to me. We're really happy with the times we race, and now it's forward, forward, forward for us."

Howard and team owner/driver Marty Roth moved up the highway to Sebring for 11 hours of testing spread over March 3-4 with other regular IndyCar Series teams. On the first afternoon, Howard posted 61 laps with a best of 54.6179 seconds (110.074 mph) on the 1.7-mile, 11-turn circuit. He was fourth-quick mid-afternoon before making some changes to the car that deflated gains.

"I think he did awesome," said Roth, who recorded a quick lap of 56.2981 seconds (106.789). "He's a fantastic driver and we're happy to have him on our team. You're going to see a lot of good results this year with Roth Racing."

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