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Merrill Cain: Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for joining us on this week's CART media teleconference. I'm Merrill Cain with CART public relations. We have a great lineup on tap for the call today featuring two of our champions following last weekend's CART FedEx Championship Series event in Cleveland at Burke Lakefront Airport. In just a minute we'll hear from Ryan Hunter-Reay, one of the top young names in open-wheel racing who won his third CART Toyota Atlantic race of the season last weekend. But leading off in the teleconference today we welcome in Patrick Carpentier of the Player's/Forsythe Racing team. Pat, thanks for joining us on today's call and congratulations on Sunday's win.
Merrill Cain: It sure was. Patrick qualified second for Sunday's Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland presented by U.S. Bank and he took advantage of some great pit stops in a nearly perfect car to capture his second career win in CART. It's his first win on a road or street course. He also ended the reign of four straight wins by Cristiano da Matta. The win vaulted Patrick into a fourth place tie in the season standings with Michel Jourdain, Jr. with 62 points heading into the next CART FedEx Championship Series event, the Molson Indy Vancouver in Pat's home country of Canada on July 28. Let's open it up for questions for Patrick. Question: You were telling us on the weekend that you were going to start talking to some other people. Have you had any of those conversations yet regarding next season?
But I'd like to be with Players for sure because it's a family for me and I've been with them for five years. I just love the races. If we could stay there for next year, that would be fantastic. Question: Have you had any further conversations since the big win on Sunday with the Player's people?
Question: The Player's people have always said the drivers were number three on the list of priorities, that's why they're not in any great hurry to rush you into signing. There was no disrespect toward you. Can you see the other two problems? I presume the other two are your engineers and crew, and the Reynard chassis versus the Lola chassis for next season. Can you talk about that?
I think it's when we get to a street circuit where the racetrack is actually a little bit more slippery. We have to run the chassis a little bit higher because obviously we run a little bit softer. Because of that, the Reynard seems to be producing a lot less downforce than the Lola when it's higher above the ground. So on a regular road course, we can lower the car much more. The Reynard is producing a lot more downforce that way. So I think it's a very good car in that situation. We'll see what's going to happen. Maybe they're going to find a couple more things on the Reynard that makes it equal everywhere with the Lola. But that's a team decision first. Before we talk about that, I'll just see if I'm with Team Player's next year or not. I think next year's team is going to be very good. Question: You're happy with your crew the way it is now, the engineers?
But if you want to win championships, that's where you need to be strong, and that's what I think Team Player's wanted to look at as to why we had so many problems early on. Question: It seemed like your contract with Player's always comes down to the last minute before you renew. Is that kind of frustrating to go through the second half of the season kind of unsure what's going on?
I would love to be with them if they want to have me drive for them, but I just don't want to force my way in. So I'm going to let them decide whatever they want to decide for the coming season. But I think this year, honestly, a lot of drivers' contracts are up and a lot of guys are in a similar situation as I am. With the economy being a little bit tougher at the moment, the first sport that usually get touched by a rough economy is auto racing because it's more expensive, whether it's CART, IRL or NASCAR. I think all the series lost a couple of teams, even Formula 1 right now - soon they're going to end up with 18 cars, which is what we have in the CART series. So I'd say it's just a couple years that are going to be tough for the racing and the drivers. Question: Winning on a road course, you have been I think unfairly identified by some in the past as a bit of an oval specialist. Six of your previous eight podiums came on ovals. How much satisfaction do you derive from finally getting that first road course win?
I'm just happy. I want to win on a road course and I've wanted to do that for a long time. This weekend we were able to run a fast pace and win a race. Cristiano [da Matta] was a bit faster at the beginning for sure, and they had car problems. At least we were also very fast. For me it proves a point. I'm very happy because in Formula Atlantic, whether it was on street or ovals, we could win pretty much all the races. It's good. It's satisfying for me, it really is. Question: Two years ago there were a lot of stories flying around that Player's wanted to replace you with Paul Tracy. You were struggling that season. I think all these stories got you down. Two years later ironically you're at a career high, all these same stories are resurfacing. How are you coping with it this time?
Actually, I'm in pretty good terms with the Player's people. I talk to them. I'm supposed to go have lunch with them this week. I'm not sure I'm going to talk about contracts and what's going to happen. I think I'm just going to let them decide and not force it. I think I got a couple other things that I can do. Actually, I feel I'm at a crossroads in my career, my life, and maybe we'll see what I'm going to choose and what they're going to choose. If we're together next year, I think we can have a fantastic season. But we'll see what's going to happen. I'm kind of getting used to it, though, because every year it's a little bit of the same story. Question: I read you're going to sail up and down the St. Lawrence, is that correct?
Question: Be careful. You have a history of accidents.
Question: Your lunch with Player's, that's going to be when, midweek?
Question: Will [agent] Alan [LaBrosse] attend that lunch?
Question: Do you get sort of personally involved in these negotiations?
Question: You say you have two other options.
Question: Do the other options include the IRL as well as CART?
Question: I read that you said your chances of staying with Player's are 50/50. What are your chances of staying in CART?
Question: You wouldn't put a percentage factor on your chances of remaining in CART?
Question: Something goofy always seems to happen to you guys. Did you worry something would go wrong by the end of the Cleveland race?
I decided like five laps from the end to slow down and just make sure the car was going to finish the race because it was a tough, long race on all the cars. I decided to slow down, and for some reason I lost my concentration a little bit. I almost went off the track by myself with four laps to go. After that, I decide to accelerate again a little bit. And for the last lap, if I was going to slow down, I was going to really slow down and short shift of the gears to just make sure I make it to the start/finish line. Until I crossed that thing, I was not sure it was going to happen. Question: Does all this contract talk take some shine off that victory for you at all, is it irritating?
For me, this victory was more of a personal victory, and I'm just really happy. I just drive for myself and drive to win, and for the team. It doesn't matter to me. I think it's part of the business. Question: Do you think your win has sort of given you some leverage with your talks with other teams and with Player's?
I'd say at first I was a bit, not naive, but I didn't know a lot of things and I didn't know how hard you had to work to be at the front in that series. That series is so competitive. I think 3/10ths of a second was six or seven positions this weekend, or eight positions. It's extremely tough, especially on a road course where you don't normally see that. I've just learned so much with that team and I'm very thankful for what they did. I feel at the moment we're pretty close to being ready to challenge for the championship. So we'll see what's going to happen. Question: In general, what do you think the future holds for you?
Question: Do you think you're going to sign later on in the season?
Question: I know over the years while you remained even keel, when you achieve a personal goal such as last week you tend to really psych yourself up. When you crossed that finish line Sunday, what was going on with Patrick Carpentier?
Actually, that's what I was most happy about for the guys. Question: Is personal satisfaction what motivates you when you're working with the guys?
Sometimes I just like to go against the odds and prove we can always do it. For me that was good satisfaction. Question: I find it interesting in listening to the other questions, in your mind are we in the media making more out of these contract talks than what you see as a personal thing? It's almost like we're looking for a ghost and you're just trying to do your business.
Like you said, that's what's happening every year. That's what's happening with more than half the field in CART or whatever series you have. The guys have to renegotiate. The teams these days seem to go more with maybe one- or two-year contracts instead of a long-term contract. Everybody has to go through the same thing. The team has to look at things. You look at Team KOOL Green, they're going through the same thing at the moment, a lot of stuff. I think it's just part of the business and normal. I think it just gets out of hand. Sometimes it's a bit sad because things get said. Like if I would have said I don't want to see Player's, I'm mad at Player's, this and that, and it's not really what I say, it's not what I'm thinking. I'm going to have lunch with the guys. We had fun after the race. We didn't even talk about that. I know they have a lot of stuff they need to look at, and we'll just see what happens. I also think it's a business choice. If they pick me up, it's because business-wise, and for marketability, it works for them. If they don't, then it doesn't work for them. Maybe it works for some other thing. Sometimes it's just a business deal and nothing personal. Question: I remember three or four years ago you were talking about music. You said you really like to work out and play your drums with Elvis music. Do you still do that?
Question: (Question and answer in French.) Merrill Cain: Could you give us an overview for those who don't speak French.
Question: Part of your possibility in looking at your future, you mentioned the word NASCAR in there. I know some NASCAR discussions have been going on with Paul Tracy. It's discussion, it doesn't take much to pick up a phone and talk. I was trying to remember how much stock car racing experience you might have and how much Paul might have. Is that a realistic avenue for you to explore?
But not at the moment. I don't have a lot of experience in closed-wheel cars. I tried a few in Canada, but that's basically it. We'll see what's going to happen. At the moment I think I'm going to stick more to open-wheel racing. Question: [Teammate Alex] Tag [Tagliani] is still trying to ascertain and grab that first CART win. He has come unbelievably close. You went through quite a long time before you grabbed your first CART win. Has he talked to you about how you get around this period where it's got to be so difficult knowing you have the team and the equipment and talent to win, but you haven't yet? It must weigh heavy on his mind. Has he talked to you about it?
Question: With tobacco sponsorship in Canada being against the law as of October 2003, does that have any effect on the speed or lack of speed, urgency to get your deal done with Player's? Do you think that's working on their side of what they may want to do?
No, we'll see what it is. I think we're going to start talking with them most likely fairly soon. We're going to talk to different people, too. We'll see what it is. But I don't think it changes things very much for them next year. I think they're going to keep doing what they are doing now and try to win a lot of races. I know they really want to have a championship before they run out of racing. They deserve it. Man, they put a lot of money into it to try to make this thing work. That was good for them this weekend. Hopefully they can have a championship. Question: In years past you haven't always seemed to be relaxed at this time of the season. You seem more relaxed this time. Is the pressure less from the team and from the Canadian fans than you've had in the past or does the win really help?
Then we came to Cleveland, and I never thought we'd come out of it by winning that race. Every practice, every session went really well. No mistakes were made. Ford-Cosworth put out a good engine. My engineer gave me good changes all the time. It was just almost a perfect weekend, and that's what we needed to pump up the guys. This year I'm more detached from it than I was in the past. In the past I wanted it so much. Sometimes it seems like the more you want something, the further away it gets from you or from your grasp. Sometimes when you just stop wanting it, boom, it finally happens. After Toronto, I just said, "Whatever happens is going to happen. If it does, it does. If it doesn't, it doesn't." I just keep working extremely hard and try to find any way I can to make it happen. Question: Heading off to Vancouver, do you think some of that pressure is going to return because you're back in Canada or can you maintain this relaxed but beneficial attitude?
Question: Last year you and Tag were pretty strong in Vancouver. How much of that setup and tactics can you bring into this year?
We just need a smooth weekend, no problems, so we can set the car up and find our way to the top like we did at Cleveland. Tag had a fantastic weekend. I think he should have won that race last year. Unfortunately, he ran into some problems. But hopefully this year we'll get a little bit better luck. Maybe we don't have to qualify as well, but if we finish and get a bit better luck, we can win the thing. Question: Looking about a month down the road, CART is heading for the first time into Montreal. You're one of the few drivers in the series that does have knowledge of that track. Talk about how you feel going in there. The fans there are going to go nuts when CART arrives.
They're going to be able to look at the cars, the transporters, be close to us, walk through the pits, things like that, which they haven't seen for the last 10 years in Formula 1. I think there's a good side to it. It's going to be great. For us it's a bit more pressure. We want to do well because it's hometown. We'd like to win that race. If everything goes well in the weekend, I think it's going to be a fantastic weekend. And to be at the front there would be great. Question: I was looking at the transcript of the post race press conference. You made a quip to something Paul said, saying you and Paul were going to form your own team. You could always call it Team Cool. Have you had any serious thoughts on that?
Merrill Cain: We appreciate you joining us today, Pat, on today's CART media teleconference. We know you're going to take a few days off before heading to Vancouver. Enjoy your few days and thanks for taking a few minutes to talk to us.
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