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©2000 SpeedCenter Publishing Indianapolis, Indiana, April 11, 2000 Team Player's announced today that Memo Gidley will replace Patrick Carpentier and take part in this weekend's Grand Prix of Long Beach, after the Canadian driver suffered a broken wrist on Monday. Dr. Terry Trammell, CART's Chief Orthopedic Surgeon, will perform surgery on Carpentier's left wrist tonight in Indianapolis and supervise his rehabilitation. The accident occurred in Carpentier's Las Vegas home when the 28-year-old driver lost his balance while going up the stairs carrying a heavy suitcase and fractured his wrist trying to cushion his fall. He will be out for at least the next two FedEx Championship Series events. "I'm extremely disappointed to find myself on the sidelines after starting the season on such a strong note with a fifth-place finish at Homestead, said Carpentier. "I feel bad for all the guys on the team who have worked so hard to get us to this point, but this latest setback will only increase my resolve to help make Team Player's a championship contender when I come back." Gidley, who made a combined 10 starts for Walker Racing and Payton Coyne Racing during his rookie season in CART last year, is grateful and excited about the opportunity to rejoin the circuit, especially since it will happen in such a familiar setting for the California resident who won at Long Beach while racing in the Atlantic series in 1998. "It's kind of strange because I replaced Patrick at Lynx Racing after he won the Atlantic Championship in 1996, and while this situation is totally different, I know that Patrick will be equally supportive and root for me and his Team Player's crew,” said Gidley, who was born in La Paz, Mexico. Neil Micklewright, Vice President of Operations at Team Player's, did not hesitate to call upon Gidley after learning the extent of Carpentier's injury. "You hate to lose one of your drivers this early in the season, but we need to keep the momentum from Homestead going and we feel that Memo is best suited for the job,” said Micklewright. "As you can imagine, we have a lot of things to do in preparation for the weekend, but I am sure that everybody at Team Player's is up to the task."
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