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©1999 SpeedCenter and CART |
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T.E. McHALE:
Good afternoon to everyone. Welcome to the first CART
Media Teleconference of the 2000 season. We'd like to thank you all for
joining us today for what we hope will be an informative, albeit, lengthy
conference call.
During the next two hours or so, we will welcome the top five finishers in the 1999 FedEx Championship Series, spending 20 to 25 minutes with each. We will begin shortly with Max Papis of Team Rahal. He will be followed in order by Michael Andretti of Newman Haas racing Paul Tracy and Dario Franchitti. Both of Team KOOL Green and defending FedEx Championship Series Champion, Juan Montoya of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. We thank you again for joining us today in preparation for the FedEx Championship Series opening event; the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami, Presented by Toyota, March 26th at Homestead Miami Speedway. As is usually is the case, we have a large media turnout for our season opener call and limited amount of time with our drivers, as a consequence we would be grateful of those asking questions, please limit yourself to one question and a brief follow-up whenever possible. Thanks in advance for your understanding. We will begin with Max Papis of Team Rahal, fifth place finisher in 1999 FedEx Championship Series. Good afternoon, Max, thanks for being with us this afternoon. Max joins us off the most successful of his four seasons in the FedEx Championship Series. He scored 11 Top-5 finishes in 20 starts and closed the season with consecutive career best runner-up efforts at Australia and California Speedway respectively. He also recorded his first career FedEx Championship Series pole position during the inaugural Target Grand Prix at Chicago Motor Speedway. Max scored points in 14 of 20 starts overall, including 9 of the final 11. He led the series in laps completed with 2,650 of a possible 2,769, and in miles completed with 4,403.463 of a possible 4,652.675. He was also running at the finish in a series high 18 of 20 events and finished second to series Champion Montoya with 328 laps led. He finished fifth in the FedEx Championship Series with a career best 150 points. At this point we will open the call to questions for Max.
Question: You had a couple of busy months of testing Max, everybody has been hard at it, the Ford engine looks very strong and competitive, how do you assess the situation, do you think you will be able to get your first win this year Max?
What I really feel, you know, before thinking of anything like fighting for Championship or things of that, you need to think about winning. I have not done that yet. I won close. But I am very, very confident that it will be my time and I really feel that it would be very shortly. You never know, maybe Homestead, you know, you never know. I feel that I have been working pretty well towards the goal and that my goal this year, most of all, is being competitive and what I think happened my -- last year many Top-5 finishing. I feel that this year, these Top-5 I should get transformed more into podium finishing; that would, I think, would assess a pretty good season for me. Question: Anything new this year that we can expect from Max except for a renewed determination?
Question: Can you explain what you mean by that?
Question: Yeah.
Question: Okay.
Question: Is it possible to be a little too confident? Looks like -- I mean, there is 10 Ford powered cars and Bobby's crew is so good at setting up his cars. You are an exuberant person. Is it possible to have a little too much confidence going into this year?
We are by no means, you know, we are not at the top of our performance. That means, that we are not weak, but we have a margin for improvement and we all know about it. And we try to do it all the time. So I feel that I can speak for myself and for my team, you know, we are pretty humble and we are humble and how I approach the season is like last year, just with more confidence because I know that, last year I was coming from the best place finishing was fifth. Now I have some podium finishing. So I know that -- I know that it is not impossible to finish on the podium. I know what is required to finish on the podium right now. I don't know yet what is required to win, but I think inside of me I know. So I start with more knowledge of our potential, but always in a humble way because I feel that arrogance is only when you drive. Outside the car you shouldn't have it. Question: Hair color still blue or any other colors?
Question: Max, how has -- has Kenny changed anything at the team? Do you share better than Bryan do you get more motivated with Kenny on the team? Any change in your relationship in that respect?
Kenny is a very determined and I know him for quite many years. But to tell you the truth, I don't think anyone can change my approach more than myself because I am -- I push very hard myself and I always try to look at myself first, how I can improve. So it is nice to have someone that you know you need to really make your best, you know, to beat him, but that was very similar with Bryan as well. With Bryan you can never underevaluate him. He was always pretty good. Sometimes he was not very, very good in some oval in the race, but that was another deal. I know that Kenny, he is a determined person. I like him and as I said in the past, I like people that are honest and I think he is. Until he will be honest and straightforward with me, we are only going to have battle on the track. Off the track we have a common goal that is, you know, taking Team Rahal up there, you know, and beating everybody else and so that is how I think -- that is how I think about motor racing. Question: Do you in these last few weeks before the season starts, do you kind of get anxious in expectations, so to speak for the season?
But on the other hand, I am building with confidence, you know, and good approach to the first race, so what I really feel that I am stronger than ever inside and out, so I am going down there in Homestead with very similar approach that I had last year, just with more knowledge of our potential. Question: The one thing that I have learned from you and about you over the years that you and I have known each other is that you seem to pull something out of each season put in your book of racing knowledge. Talk about that first year with Bobby Rahal and compare it to the couple of years prior to that, how much more was your learning curve expanded or was it?
I really feel that last year joining Team Rahal with all the up and down we had during the season, I learn to keep a steady emotion and to try to never let yourself down and actually come out of the difficult situation stronger than ever. That is what I really learned about it. More than ever, like when everyone has expectation on you, when everyone is waiting for you to do good result and everything, sometimes it is not easy when things, they don't come together to still know that you can make it and that is what I feel that I learned last year. Question: The tough Michigan loss was actually positive to you? What did it teach you?
I promise that this year, you know, they are not going to be a situation like that. We are going to see many special events. Question: You commented on the press conference following the Formula I opener. How about, I presume you watched the race, compare what people saw in that race to what the CART opener will be like?
So my feeling is that it is going to be, you know, you guys are going to have a lot of things to write about us after Sunday, but the most important things that I think you are going to see, you are going to see a very close racing and a lot of sport, a lot of sport and I really hope that this season, you know, is going to be held in a safe environment and in a more happy and more enjoyable environment than what happened last year. Question: From your standpoint what kind of new things has Don brought to the plate this year?
T.E. McHALE: Thank you, Max. Thank for joining us this afternoon. Best of luck in the season opening Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami, Presented by Toyota, next weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway and best of luck throughout the season for you, Max.
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