IPS driver Brad Pollard to compete in final three races this season

[Down F0rce]

Pollard, 38, said during the IRL teleconference May 4 that he plans to compete in both IndyCar Series and Menards Infiniti Pro Series races at Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 11-12), California Speedway (Oct. 2-3) and Texas Motor Speedway (Oct. 16-17).

Xbox, sponsor of his Menards Infiniti Pro Series car, will be the primary sponsor of his IndyCar Series effort. Pollard said he is exploring whether to use sponsor money to “purchase and build a team from scratch or whether we’re going to just align with another team and do a turn-key operation.”

“We’re working on a plan for ’05, aligning back with Xbox for the full season in an IRL IndyCar Series car,” said Pollard, the Southwest Formula Mazda Series Rookie of the Year in 2002. “There are still a few partnerships that we’re working on that we can’t announce yet, but there are some very exciting things coming.

Great stuff. Good to see a more regular flow of talent from thr IPS is starting to pick up. And with Microsoft sponsorship too! Great too see a massive company like that getting more involved.

Full story.

[Kicking-back]

38 years old.

He's hardly the next big thing.

[GP Racer]

Originally posted by Kicking-back
38 years old.

He's hardly the next big thing.

Well he ain't dead! We'll take him!

[Tim Northcutt]

and he has a sponsor deal to run those three races...a nice progression from IPS...the way it was supposed to work...

at least he's not getting "Racing Welfare" and leasing a defunct chassis for $1 so that he can be a field filler...

[Team Owner]

Pollards the chief graphics designer for XBox. Nice guy. Late start in IPS and IndyCars but has desire. Remains to be seen if his desire can get him up front though.

[macdaddy]

After reading TeamOwner's post, Pollock reminds me of Hiro Matsu****a.
I realize that I'm in the wrong forum, but...
What exactly were Hiro's ties to Panasonic?
I remember that they were straight-to-the-top of the corporation, no?

[rustyfan]

Originally posted by macdaddy
After reading TeamOwner's post, Pollock reminds me of Hiro Matsu****a.
I realize that I'm in the wrong forum, but...
What exactly were Hiro's ties to Panasonic?
I remember that they were straight-to-the-top of the corporation, no?

According to what I have found, Hiro's grandfather is credited with starting Matsu****a Electronics Industries (Panasonic in the US). So he certainly had/has some well-funded ties to the top there indeed.

Some other info about Hiro that I found while looking for the above;

Matsu****a raced motorcycles in Japan from 1976-86 (winning a Japanese motocross title in 1980) and entered his first U.S. race (Formula Ford) in 1987. He was second at the 24 Hours of Daytona and third at the Sebring 12 Hours in 1988. Matsu****a won the Toyota Atlantic series in 1989, winning four races.

Hiro was the first Japanese driver to race in the Indianapolis 500, qualifying for the 1991 race.

About his name and the pronunciation, it's supposedly really neither "ma-SHUSH-ta"
nor "ma-tsu-SHI-ta" but more like "ma-TSU-shta." And the accent on the TSU is very subtle.

These days he resides in San Clemente, California where he is also president of a real estate company and Swift Engineering.

And that concludes our driver history lesson for today

[BootsOntheSide]

Autocensor's best friend, that guy.

It's a shame it isn't Phil Giebler who's looking to step up, but it's nice that there is still a place for gentleman racers at the top.

[Kicking-back]

Be better if it was someone with decent results in the IPS stepping up. That's how its supposed to work,

He'll be in over his head.

[rustyfan]

Originally posted by Kicking-back
Be better if it was someone with decent results in the IPS stepping up. That's how its supposed to work,

He'll be in over his head.

I don't get this apparent dislike - sure, he's no Sam Hornish Jr., but what's so wrong with him following his dream, especially considering he's doing it on his own? It's not like he's a pay-driver coming in to an existing team and taking up a spot a more deserving driver was supposed to get.

[Kicking-back]

Underqualified drivers coming into single-seater oval racing are a danger for others.

The point of feeder series is for people to prove themselves worthy of the higher series.

He hasn't.

[Tim Northcutt]

We don't need the IRL's version of "Hiro"....

I'm interested in keeping an eye on this guy to see if he "can" run...

[rustyfan]

Must admit I wasn't aware of the fact that he has only made two starts, so yes, it's a bit early to tell what he's made of.

Still, he has kept his nose clean in those two races, so I won't be as fast at dismissing him as others seem to be. Not to mention the prospect of an increased car count (we still have some ways to go to reach the 28 cars we saw take part in the 2002 season finale) is making me hope he'll do well during the rest of the year.

[climb]

I think that bare results IPS must be taken just as a reference, cos there's no authomaticjk link with IRL performances. Remember AJ IV? He seemed very fast in IPS and then
When Carpenter passed to IRL many complained, the only reason being he was a TG's relative; nonetheless he proved really worth it.