McHale: "We'd like to extend a special welcome to our guest this afternoon, Christian Fittipaldi of Newman Haas Racing. Christian is recovering from a broken right leg that he suffered in the Sunbelt IndyCarnival in Australia on April 6. He sustained two breaks in his right tibia, one in his right fibula, and one to a metatarsal on his left foot. He has begun rehabilitation and his recovery is expected to take two to three months. Welcome Christian."

Christian Fittipaldi:"Thank you."

McHale: "Christian was named the 1995 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year for his second place finish. He finished fifth in the 1996 PPG Cup competition with 110 points. He recorded thirteen top ten finishes in 16 starts, and scored points in all but two of 16 events. He made podium appearances in Detroit where he finished second, Portland, where he took third, and another third at Vancouver. With that we're going to open it up for questions, beginning with Dave Phillips of IndyCar Racing Magazine."

Dave Phillips: "Hi Christian, I hope you're feeling OK. Needless to say, and I think I speak for everyone, we're sorry to see what happened in Australia and hope to see you back on the racetrack soon."

Christian Fittipaldi:"Thanks David, thanks everyone. I'm feeling pretty good actually. I'm very happy with the progress. I can really notice the difference. Every day I can bend my ankle a little bit more, and can bend my knee a little bit more. It's pretty encouraging I would say. It's nice to feel that you're getting better and not just laying in bed and not seeing any progress."

Dave Phillips: "I basically wonder, and it's probably the first thing on everybody's mind, what is your hope for your schedule in the next couple of months as far as getting back in a race car?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"Hopefully, if everything goes as planned, I will have a lot better idea when we go down to Rio. Actually, I will be at the Rio race. We're going to do a couple more X-rays after that. If everything goes well, I think that right after Portland I should be testing the car, and I should be able to go to Cleveland to run the car for the first time in a race event. I think that right after Portland I should be running in a test at Elkhart Lake. Then one more time at Mid-Ohio before I go to Cleveland."

Dave Phillips: "Very good. Continued good luck in your recuperation."

Christian Fittipaldi:"To be quite honest with you, I just think that, in a way, I just took an extreme, big hit. But I think that where I hit on that specific part of the track, there wasn't a lot more that we could have done 'cause it was basically down the straight. There was a small corner bearing to the right, but it was very, very small. The way that Gil and I hit, my car just went the opposite way to the corner, and I couldn't steer the car. I had a big head-on impact, which was where I broke my leg and my foot on the first impact when I hit the wall at about 150mph. Then I got knocked out for a second. When the car went to the other side of the track then rolled back again, I didn't even know that that had happened until I saw [the tape] on TV on Tuesday. The car started spinning and stopped at the first chicane, and that was when I woke up.

"I remember Lauren being right in front of me cutting the car and Steve Olvey arrived on my right hand side. I was talking to them normally and was telling them that I had broken my leg and that my foot was trapped. I don't think that there was a lot that we could have done to the track. I think that we did a lot in the car from last season to this year [to improve safety.] The new headrests and pads and everything that we had in the car definitely helped a lot. My head was standing straight a lot more because it basically couldn't move. I didn't have room for my head to move around this year as opposed to last year when we had a lot more room. [Meaning that the design in the Swift gives the head a lot more stability for safety.]"

Christian Fittipaldi:"No, I have seen Dr. Steve Olvey who works together with many other doctors also. At the same time, I'm in a stage that's a little bit too early, and there's not a lot that I can do because it was a pretty serious break, especially on my right leg. As I said before, after Rio when we have a look at the leg again, we'll have a better idea of what's going to happen. For Portland or Cleveland, maybe I could be back in the car a little bit earlier. Or if it's not healing as quickly, then maybe I'll have to wait even more. As far as the physical [therapy] is concerned, I started last week in Miami, then I'm going back to Brazil soon, maybe this week. I have a pretty good team set up over there and I'm going to continue working hard while I'm there. I will be coming back to America right after the Rio race. That is when things will get really serious with regards to making a decision when I'm going to be back in the car."

Steve Eisner - The Mansfield News Journal: "Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with Michael [Andretti] and Bryan Herta at Mid-Ohio. One of their concerns is, as we talked about the fine to Paul Tracy and that sort of thing, is that they're worried that CART officials may be trying to 'assume' a drivers' intentions possibly a little too much in handing out the fine. They think it's a whole different ball game when you're sitting in the car as opposed to just sitting and watching trying to dictate these things. What are your feeling on the matter?"

"Sometimes, when there's no room for you to go, you basically have to back off and try again [rather than] leave your car there and touch someone else. That could eventually set up a very big accident. [Then what do you do, just] hop out of the car and say, 'I'm sorry it was never intentional'?" After an accident is done, it's very easy for you to say 'sorry.'

"In a way, I think they [track officials] have to be strict. In my opinion, what's basically happening now-a-days is that CART has become so competitive that it's exactly the same thing as in Formula One racing. [When you have] fifteen cars that are exactly the same when you start, you certainly would generate more incidents during the race because they run very, very close. This is what's happening in CART. We have about twelve or fifteen cars that run very, very close and it's easy for you to hit each other now-a-days."

Mike Hollander - RIS: "Can you describe the cast you're wearing and all the things that are going on in your leg right now?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"The cast I'm wearing is a half fiberglass cast which I can take off and put back on again. I tend to stay with it the whole day because last week I hit the sofa at my house and my leg fell down two time. That was a small crash I had in here. Another thing, I went to eat last Friday and my wheel came off of my wheel chair and I fell in the middle of the restaurant. So it's a pretty good idea to have the cast on all the time. When I'm really doing some exercises with my leg is now the only time when I remove the cast. Apart from that it's pretty simple. I have a big rod that goes from almost at the knee to almost the ankle. I have two screws that are holding it close to the ankle and two screws that are holding it again close to the knee."

Hollander: "How much of that will you keep with you after all of this is done?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"I could keep everything with me. I could carry the rod and the screws and they say it's not going to be a problem. On the other hand, the doctors have told me that I'm still young and that I should think of taking everything off because it can really make a difference for me in my future, especially if I have another accident. If I should have another accident and there is [no rod] it can be a lot easier."

Christian Fittipaldi:"I am of the opinion that there should be some reduction in points. It's a lot easier for the high-paid drivers to pay a fine than for someone who is working hard and struggling to get a package together and go racing and also dreaming that they will one day get to run with a very good team. It's one thing if you fine one driver fifteen or twenty thousand dollars, but another thing if you fine some drivers fifteen or twenty thousand dollars and it really makes a difference for them. I think you would feel the loss a lot more if you take the points out of the championship instead of just fining all of the drivers."

Christian Fittipaldi:"Formula One is definitely a lot more political. I would say that in CART they really concentrates on putting on a nice show for the fans. They try to make sure that the cars run very, very equal, which I think in a way is very good for the sport. In F1 there's a lot more money involved. Technologically speaking it's more advanced than CART. One of the reasons in my opinion that CART is so successful is because the tend to hold back a little bit to make sure that the cars are very, very equal. To be honest, I'm really enjoying racing here and don't even think of going back. I really enjoy the races here and I like living over here also. At the moment I'm a very happy person, and I'll be even happier when I get back in the car."

Walt Clodder - KMOS Radio: "I was out at Gateway International yesterday and we did a story out there and the track is being paved. Unfortunately you'll miss running on it [this year] but it's going to be a great speedway and I hope that you'll come for the race."

Christian Fittipaldi:"I'm definitely coming to the race. As I said before, I'm going to all of the races from Rio onward. Hopefully I'm going to be in St. Louis Thursday evening before the race. I'm going to try to cheer on that Budweiser car as maximum as possible if I am going to lose out running there. The two most important races of the year for me are Rio and Gateway. I will lose a lot but that's the way things are in life. The only thing I can do is look to my future and try to get better as quick as possible. Looking back to my past won't do me any good. I just have to exercise and work to get back in the car very, very quickly."

Ron Martin - Focus on Racing Radio: "I'm wondering if you've talked to other drivers or athletes who have experienced the same type of injury? If so, what kind of advice have you been given?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"I'm going pretty much with what Steve Olvey is telling me. Dr. Olvey has a lot of experience at the race tracks and has seen a lot of injuries before. Actually, he has seen a lot of injuries similar to what I have. At the moment I'm just trying to work as hard as possible. The physical therapy is really doing me good. I really can notice a difference. Everyday when I wake up I can bend my knee a little bit more and I can bend my ankle also. It's really getting better. The most incredible thing that I see is how much strength you can lose after an accident. On Sunday morning when I woke up before the race I was completely great, and then when I woke up on Monday I was completely junk. Then on Wednesday when I tried to get up I couldn't even stand up. I was just faint. Things slowly start coming back to you. But you really have to work hard at it, and at the moment this is what we're aiming at doing. I intend to work very, very hard and I hope that I can be back in the car as quick as possible."

Martin: "At least psychologically, can you turn this negative into a positive in your life?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"I think you have to turn it into a positive. As I said before, looking at the past won't do me any good. I can learn a couple of things, but I can't just stay home saying 'wow, if I was in a different place' or 'I if Gil wasn't there' or 'I wish that hadn't happened' or this or that. It happened. That's the way it went, and think I was very lucky because I had a very strong hit and maybe it could have gone completely in a different way. Maybe I wouldn't even be here talking to you guys. I think I was very lucky and I just have to try to take the good things that I learned from the accident and keep them in my mind. I just have to try to wipe off the bad things and go on to the next race."

Billy Edwards - Focus on Racing Radio: "Well, the first thing I want to know is who was your tire changer on your wheelchair? I hope it wasn't somebody from Gil de Ferran's crew."

Christian Fittipaldi:"Actually it was a friend of mine. You basically have to plug-in the wheel on my wheelchair, and I think he didn't plug it in completely. I rolled it from where the car was parked and came into the restaurant. I started eating and during the evening it started moving more and more and more, and by the end of the evening I was looking at the bolt. I started looking at the wheel and I said 'wow, there's something wrong with this.' Then suddenly when I moved it a little bit more, the whole wheel just came out in my hand. As soon as it came out in my hand I fell completely backward on the floor. My mother was with me and she started shouting. You know how moms are. At least nothing happened and I was OK. They put me back on the wheelchair and I just continued eating."

Christian Fittipaldi:"The first thing that went through my mind is 'I've had enough of this.' 'I'm not here to kill myself, and obviously no ones out there to do that.' We're out there not only to be very competitive for ourselves but also to put on a nice show for the fans and for the sponsors. No one wants to get hurt. Obviously, because of the pain, at the moment you're sitting there you're not thinking very well.

"But then after you get out of the car and you get to the hospital, you're already asking the doctors how long it's going to be before you can get back in the car. When you start re-thinking things, it's just the way life is [as a race driver.] Sometimes it happens that way and you just have to try and be strong. You just have to try and get better as quick as possible. Regarding the CART safety crew, I never had any doubts. I'm sure that they are very good people. They got up to my car pretty quick. I think it took them 30 or 45 seconds or something. I can't remember very well, but after about seven to ten minutes I think, I was coming out of the car.

"The problem was that my foot was completely trapped. I couldn't move my right leg and couldn't move my foot because everything was broken down there. I had some pain...some pretty big pain. But I wasn't so terrible that I couldn't stand it. The people were very good and they cut the car up completely very quick. They managed to take my foot out of the pedals so that I could come out of the car."

Janet Brownsbane: "I have two questions. First I wanted to know if you've talked with Emerson or done any physical therapy with him?

Christian Fittipaldi:"That's a good question. Emerson came here to see me last week, and actually we were laughing. Lately, the hospital close to where we live only the Fittipaldi family have gone in there. We were saying how we've got to quit doing that. Apart from that, the girl that is doing his physical therapy is exactly the same one that is working with me. We were having a laugh last week because we were going to the same hospital getting treated by the same doctors. I wish this won't happen again anymore [laughingly].

Brownsbane: "Which hospital is that?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"The Jackson Memorial"

Christian Fittipaldi:"Well I had a pretty big one...that was in '92 in France. I broke my C4 and C5 [vertebrae in the neck]. It was a different feeling from now, because I didn't have to be operated on. I just put a neck brace on and stayed with that for about 45 days and that was it. Then I could take it off and I was pretty much ready to come back into the car. I would say that, this time in Australia, I definitely had a lot more pain. I was operated on Sunday evening. My leg is still pretty big [from swelling.] It's getting smaller every day, but it's still pretty swollen up. It's a different kind of pain than I felt when I had may accident in '92. I think that the consequences could have been a lot bigger in '92, but I was a lot more impressed this time."

Roger James: "Christian, I hope you're feeling as well as you can today. I actually missed the first couple of questions on the teleconference, so I would like to ask about what your indications are to be back in a car, and what is your rehab schedule like?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"My rehab is pretty tough. I'm working every day in the morning about an hour or an hour-and-a-half up to the maximum that I can right now. It's still pretty early. I was only operated on exactly two weeks and two days ago. In the afternoon I go out on my wheelchair for about 6...I mean about four or five miles...I was going to say 6 kilometers. Then I come back home. At least I can work out my arms. That's very, very good for me. Regarding when I can come back...I think that I'll be back testing the car for the first time right after Portland. Hopefully, if I'm OK and I'm good enough, I can go back racing in Cleveland, which if I'm not mistaken is on the 11th of July."

James: "Thank you Christian and all the best to you."

Christian Fittipaldi:"You're welcome very much."

Christian Fittipaldi:"Well, I know that Roberto is on for the next race in Nazareth. I'm not sure what kind of deal that Carl [Haas] has with him. Apart from that, I think that he has a lot of experience. He ran Formula 1 for a lot of years. I think that he can get the program going. It's a shame that I had my accident right in the beginning of the season. If I was to choose if I wanted to have it in the beginning or in the end of the season, in a way I would want to have it in the end of the season and only lose out on one or two races. I think that the whole program was running very strong with Mike [Andretti] and also myself. The car was getting better every race. Even at Surfer's my car was very, very good and it was a shame that all of that happened. The only thing I can say is that I hope Roberto can do a very, very good job in these next four or five races. I have to take good care of myself and make sure that I can go back in the car very, very quick so that I can continue the testing and the program that we had set since the beginning of the year."

Mike Hollander - RIS: "Is there a reason that you need to be at all of the races even though you're not going to be driving?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"Well, first because I want to be together with the team. I think it's one thing when you watch the race on TV, and another thing when you're down there with the team. Secondly, I think it's a way to say thank you to all of my sponsors. I think that the whole program is still continuing. Unfortunately I can't race for about six or seven races, but I think that my PR life in a way still continues. I'm trying to make up for that the best way possible, and I think that one of the best things that I can do is to go back to the races and try to stay with them as maximum as possible and try to be together with the team. My major reason is being together with the team and seeing what they are doing in the car and trying to be next to them. I think that's going to make a big difference for me when I come back. That way, when I do come back, at least I know exactly what's going on instead of staying home for about two months and not having a clue of what's going on."

Chris Jenkins - The Sporting News: "How disappointed are you not to be racing in Rio this year?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"Well...a lot. As I said before, I'm sure that I'm going to miss out on the two most important races for me, which were going to be Rio and the following race going to St. Louis. Those were going to be important for me but obviously I won't be able to make any of those races. The only thing I can say is that I won't be racing there in '97 but I will be back in '98, and try to make up for it in '98. There's not a lot to say. I lost it."

Christian Fittipaldi:"Actually, I have all the races from last year [on tape] so I have plenty of time to see that also. I'm down here at my house trying to keep up as much as possible talking to everyone on the team. I learned a couple of things like, trust me, when you go out in the afternoon and see other people that are permanently [confined to] a wheelchair, you notice that it is really, really tough. You only notice that when you're in one and you have to spend the whole day sitting down. That's basically what I do. I mean I can't stand up or, if I do it's only for about four or five minutes, and then I have to sit down again. Life gets very complicated. Like I take about double the time I usually take to do things like taking a shower or going to the bathroom. Or even if I am going to eat or sit down on the sofa to watch something, but at least it's not terrible. Imagine the people that have to permanently stay in a wheelchair. They are very, very, very strong."

Martin: "So it's kind of an awakening?"

Christian Fittipaldi:"Oh yeah. And it makes you give a lot more value to life. Sometimes I think we get a little bit dragged and we get a little bit of-course and we just complain because everything isn't going perfect. We're just [whining] and moaning 'I wish this, I wish that.' When you have a hit this size and you see what really could have happened to you, you start saying that 'wow, I'm really a very happy person.' I'm talking to you guys over here knowing that everything is OK in my head and knowing that I'm going to be back in a car in about fifty or sixty days. On the other hand, it could have been a lot worse. I could be not here talking to you guys and maybe I wouldn't be able to drive my car again. Sometimes I think that God does things this way. He's just shaking you to wake you up and make you give a lot more value to life and make you take some approaches a little different that you were before. Not that I was taking everything for granted before, but it's just a very different kind of life I'm living right now."

Kathi Lauterbach - Newman Haas Racing PR: "This is just a follow-up. I wanted to make a point regarding the last time Christian did not start a race due to an injury. That was in 1992 at the French Grand Prix. I also wanted to ask him a couple of more questions. I understand that on your floor in the hospital in Australia, there was a gentleman with the same name as one of your owners. Talk about that."

Christian Fittipaldi:"Well I was on the left side of the floor in a room, and on the right side of the floor there was a Paul Newman there. It was in a way very strange. I was sitting on exactly the same floor and I was looking straight ahead into his room and there was a Paul Newman that was also injured. Another thing that was very funny was a guy...I can't remember what he had...but when Mario came into the hospital to see me on Monday to spend some time with me before his plane left, this guy was a real big race fan that was about two rooms from mine. When he knew that Mario had just walked in, he called one of the nurses and he said 'You wouldn't believe who this guy is. This guy is the absolute ultimate in life. Mario Andretti...he's a great guy...he's a great racer. I promise you that if you bring him here to my room, I'm going to get well and leave the hospital. I just need to see him and I just need to touch him.' That was really, really funny."

Christian Fittipaldi:"It was very good. It's especially good for the series when, at the end of the day, and all of the drivers are trying to go after the same goal. Adrian [Fernandez] stopped by, Jimmy Vasser stopped by, and he actually brought me a sock, at least it wasn't smelly. Then Michael...he came in the next day and we stayed in there a long time talking together. Then a lot of drivers just called me to see how I was. That was very good, and honestly, for me it made a very big difference."

T.E. McHale: "That about does it for today. We should point out that Christian has a lot of fans rooting him on. Christian we wish you a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing back in a car real soon."

Christian Fittipaldi:"Thank you very much. I look forward to seeing all of you at Rio and then seeing everyone in the following races when I come back in [the car.]