[Note: Arciero-Wells Racing will become MCI Racing for the 1997 season. Ed.]

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. Arciero-Wells Racings team owners Cal Wells III and Frank Arciero Sr. continue to enlist qualified individuals to their IndyCar program in preparation for a two-car effort in 1997. Most recently, Ed Nathman, who won the 1991 PPG Indy Car World Series championship as team manager for Michael Andretti, has joined the team as assistant technical director.

Nathman's 12 years of Indy Car experience including 30 victorieswill strengthen the teams engineering department headed by Gordon Coppuck. Specifically, Nathman will assume responsibility for Arciero-Wells engineering staff as well as implement and oversee a dedicated test team for 1997.

With Ed Nathman and Gordon Coppuck working together, I believe we have engineering department to take us to the championship-contending level, said team co-owner Cal Wells III. The amount of information we gather on a race weekend is limited. With this in mind, it is imperative that we build a test team to continue the development of the Toyota engine and bring us to the next level of competition. We hired Ed because he has the experience necessary to achieve the goals we have set for this program.

Since graduating with a masters in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas in 1974, Nathman has pursued his interest in motorsports as a driver, fabricator, mechanic, team manager and engineer. In the Indy Car arena, he has worked for Patrick Racing, Newman/Haas Racing, Galles Racing International, and most recently Brix Comptech Racing where he supported the Honda engine development program. He is a proven engineer in the industry, having worked with top-rated drivers such as Michael and Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser, Jr., and Parker Johnstone.

Arciero-Wells Racing is preparing for its third season of IndyCar competition and for the first time will field two entries. The team line up includes two Toyota-powered Reynards on Firestones. Max Papis will drive the MCI Racing Toyota, while the driver of the second car has not yet been officially announced at the request of the teams corporate sponsors.

Arciero-Wells Racing, along with the Team Toyota off-road racing program, is based out of the Precision Preparation Inc. (PPI) facility in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, which Cal Wells III owns.