Guy Smith earned another top-ten finish his rookie Champ Car season on the challenging Surfers Paradise street course source: rocketsportsracing.com Smith started 18th and drove the No. 17 Rocketsports Lola hard to a ninth-place finish in the Lexmark Indy 300. Meanwhile, teammate Alex Tagliani suffered his first incomplete race of the season when contact with the No.34 car sent him into a concrete barrier. Damage to the left rear suspension of the No.8 Johnson Controls car terminated his race in lap 20 of 57 on the 2.79 mile race track. In five starts of his rookie Champ Car season, Guy Smith scored his second ninth-place finish. The young Brit, who earned the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours victory, demonstrated his skill and grit as a driver with the impressive finish on the tough Surfers Paradise circuit. Smith only joined the Champ Car competition with Rocketsports in Round Eight at Road America (his first ninth-place finish). He has faced three unfortunate mechanical or electrical situations that have prevented him from finishing, but endured one of the most challenging races on the schedule to sit among the top-ten finishers. "It's a great feeling to have the No. 17 Rocketsports car finish in the top ten again," said a relieved Smith. "My crew did a great job with the pit stops and the car was the best it's been all weekend. It took a while for it (the car) to reach its potential, but we improved our times and performance in the race and as the weekend advanced, even despite loosing Friday to shifting issues, which the crew solved. I was a little conservative to start with, as this course was new to me and notorious for incidents. The strong finish is a good boost heading into the season finale in Mexico City."
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