Copyright © IRL/Ron McQueeney

Jeff Simmons has been alternately frustrated and disappointed at times this season in the No. 24 Team ISI Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone.

No top-5 finishes and only one top-5 start in the initial six races was not what the Menards Infiniti Pro Series veteran expected when he rejoined Kenn Hardley Racing after four races with the team in 2004.

Prospects began to change at Nashville Superspeedway last week, when Simmons was runner-up to Jaime Camara in the Cleanevent 100 on the 1.33-mile concrete tri-oval. At The Milwaukee Mile, it all came together – although late.

Simmons, starting seventh, passed series points leader Wade Cunningham in Turn 1 of Lap 97 and went on to give Hardley his first victory in the series. Nick Bussell finished third in the No. 9 Vision Racing car, matching his season and career best. Jon Herb, who joined pole sitter Camara on the front row, was fourth in the No. 6 AERCON car, while Camara finished fifth.

“Even more frustrating than not winning the races was having so many problems along the way and not even getting good finishes,” said Simmons, whose last victory came at Kentucky Speedway in August 2003 – the season he finished runner-up in the standings. “When you're down near the bottom of the order or you don't even finish, it's always frustrating.

“But obviously we tried to keep the morale of the team up and everybody positive. We knew that we would be stronger on the short tracks. That's what we're coming into now. When we go to Pikes Peak, we expect to be very strong there, too.

“It's great to get that win and great to get the first win for Kenn Hardley and Team ISI. He's been great and been behind me so much, behind the other guys, the rest of the guys on the team.  I'm really thankful I could get that win for him.”

Cunningham finished second for the fifth time in eight races, and increased his points cushion to 36. Travis Gregg faded to an eighth-place finish and dropped to third in the standings, four points behind his Sam Schmidt Motorsports teammate Camara.

“I led a lot of the race today,” said Cunningham, driving the No. 33 Motorsport New Zealand car for Brian Stewart Racing. “I led the final 30-odd laps. So I'm really disappointed to come home second again. But that's the way racing goes. A little bit of miscommunication, lap traffic on the second-to-last lap cost us the win.”

Copyright © IRL/Ron McQueeney

Simmons led Cunningham across the start-finish line by 7.4337 seconds on Lap 60, but a caution period created when the No. 19 Space-Pak/CareCentric/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car driven by Chris Festa spun and made contact with the Turn 2 wall bunched up the field.

Cunningham passed Simmons on the Lap 74 restart and remained in front by 0.05994 of a second on Lap 90. But Simmons challenged inside and out in the turns and frontstretch before making the deciding maneuver.

“Our car was pretty good right off the bat,” Simmons said. “We were able to hold it low and get some guys coming out of the corners and put the power down a little better than they were. It was a long, hard race. That yellow flag obviously hurt us when it allowed Wade to get by.

“We had a little problem picking up fuel there for a lap and a half. That's how he got us in the restart. I just had to try to remain patient but push really hard at the same time because the laps were ticking away.”

Set for the season
Bussell said he plans to complete the season with Vision Racing.

“Last weekend was our first weekend with the team,” he said. “It was a last-minute deal. I didn't know if I would be competing the rest of the year. To go into Nashville, have a decent run there, to come here, knowing this place is what it is, I think we did quite well.

“The new team, learning the communication with my engineer, is something I haven't developed over the course of the season with Larry (Curry). I think so far we've hit spot-on on what we like to hear out of each other and I think it's been good.

“I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.”