JUST RELEASED! — The Official Directory for CART Racing
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Cosworth XD |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| "The addition of the Gateway race is important to the series. We needed to get a race in the St. Louis market. It's a great sports twon and the people in the area have supported the addition with lots of excitement. To have a race in Budweiser's home town is important to our team. It'svery special to win in your hometown or at your sponsor's race. The track will be difficult from whatI've heard. Our [Swift] car should be good there since it has been on the other short ovals. It hurt us inthe PPG cup standings to drop out of the last race in Rio so we need a good run at Gateway toget back in the lead." | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
| PAUL TRACY | |
| "I've seen a videotape of the track which WallyDallenbach took a couple of weeks ago, and it looks a lot likePhoenix International Raceway. I've done well at Phoenix before andwe had a good test there in December, so we should be looking goodfor the race. I think we've proven in Miami [Homestead], Nazareth andRio that the Marlboro car does well on ovals, so we're hoping forsome good results in St. Louis." | |
 | PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes |
| MARK BLUNDELL | |
| "Obviously, it will be a thrill to race theMotorola car in the Motorola 300. I know that the Memorial Day weekendis an important time for racing in the [United] States, so the wholePacWest team will be aiming to put on a good show. We're coming off adecent result in Rio, so we'll be aiming to keep the momentum up. There will be ahuge number of people from Motorola present, and I'm sure the eventis one they'll be very proud of." "TheGateway International Raceway track looks interesting and challenging.In my short time in America, I've learned that no two oval tracks arethe same, and Gateway certainly looks to have its own little tests.It will be faster on one end than the other, and the key will besetting the car up so that it handles well on both ends." | |
 | Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
| ROBERTO MORENO | |
| "I definitely have the car and team to win races. We had a good chance at the lastrace in Rio. I can be 100% on the road courses and Rio is more like a road course. I knew we would be good there.I don't have as much experience on short ovalslike at Gateway and it takes testing to catch up to the others.I think we have a good chance at Gateway because it's a new venue and no one has beenable to log 100's or even 1000's of testing miles there. It will be more of an even playing fieldbecause it's the same for everyone. The Swift is a good car on short ovals. It's obviously goingto be a very important weekend because St. Louis is Budweiser's home town. It will be even more important and special to have a good finish." | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
| AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| ""I've seen avideo on the St. Louis track, and it looks great. It reminds me a lotof PIR [Phoenix International Raceway], with longerstraightaways. "I don't change my drivingstyle at all when we go to a new venue. The one thing that's goodabout going to a track for the first time is that we can all takeadvantage of the extra practice day CART provides. This willdefinitely help Marlboro Team Penske prepare for what will hopefullybe our third win of the season." | |
 | Miller Lite Reynard Ford Team Rahal |
| BOBBY RAHAL | |
| "I don't really know why I've done sowell at first-time events because it takes a total team effort. Iguess I've driven for very good teams. At St. Louis, no one will havean advantage of testing prior to the race, and I like that. It's evenfor everyone. Maybe my experience will come in handy at a new track.That experience has worked in the past." "I believe ChrisPook has put together another great event for CART. The Long BeachGrand Prix is an icon for racing worldwide and we hope the Gatewayrace can be the same. It's great to race in the St. Louis areabecause it has tremendous racing heritage. So many top drivers havecome from the St. Louis area. It's nice that the local racing fanswill finally get the opportunity to see world class racing up close.It's exciting for us, too." | |
 | Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
| CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| "I really wanted to race in 'Budweiser City.' It was one of my biggest races all year but I'll still be there keeping up with the developments in the car and doing lots of sponsor appearances.It's always good to add a new market to the series. It's a great opportunity for all of the fans thatfollow Indy car racing only on TV. It's a present for all the fans in the area that will be able to come and see it in person. CART racing is very much a see-it-to-believe-it sport. The sights and soundsof racing is what hooks people and turns them into fans. Hopefully, we'll be able to increase our fans in the area.It's very important for us to do well at Gateway for Budweiser. It would be nice to celebrate a victory with Budweiser on Saturday afternoon. I obviously wish I could be driving for them, but right now my biggest task is to get back together 100 percent as soon as possible. Now all the pressure is on Roberto's shoulders for Gateway" | |
 | MCI Arciero Wells Reynard Toyota |
| MAX PAPIS | |
| "It's a new adventure, because I amnot even sure where St. Louis is located in the United States. I needto find a map and see where I am going. It will be no problem todiscover the track, as everyone else will have to do the same. Theextra day of testing will work as an equalizer. It will be veryexciting for me to see how fast people like Al Unser Jr., who has alot of oval experience, will learn the track, and maybe see if I canbeat them on that. It was very encouraging for the team to finish therace in Brazil, and to finish the best we have this season. Thechallenge for us this weekend will be to see how good we are atinterpreting our data and applying it to the car on this oval inorder to quickly get the 100 percent set-up of the car." | |