Ben Petter’s IPS debut
 
Ben Petter got a taste of racing in the Indy Pro Series on a 1.5-mile oval. He'll be back for more.
The 24-year-old from Belleview, Wash., started sixth in the No. 8 Michael Crawford Motorsports car and finished ninth in his Indy Pro Series debut.
“We had a little bit of trouble with the car in the draft – it had a monster push – so I had to back off the throttle a little bit,” said Petter, who last year competed in the USAC Midget Series. “Everybody kind of freight trained by me at that point. Once everybody got by me and I was on clean air, I started adjusting the car and figured it out more.
“I was able to chase down Bobby (Wilson) and Chris Festa and race with those guys. Once I got the car dialed in, it was pretty good. It was too late at that point.”
Like Sean Guthrie and Racer Kashima, the weekend was a learning experience for Petter, who began racing dirt bikes in 1998.
“I've never driven anything with wings before, so I learned a ton this weekend about how to adjust the car and how to run with these guys in traffic,” he said.
Petter said he hopes to be back in the car soon.
“This is the plan; this is the goal,” he said.
August 13, 2006
By Dave Lewandowski --  indycar.com