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©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing HILLIARD, Ohio (December 2) -- Forsythe Racing's McDonald's Championship Racing Team has formed a joint venture with Swift Engineering and the Arciero family to race a factory team on behalf of Swift in the 2000 CART FedEx Championship Series. The Swift 011.c chassis will be powered by Honda and piloted by CART's 1998 Rookie of the Year Tony Kanaan, who claimed his first Champ Car career win earlier this season at Michigan Speedway. "If you look at the results, Swift has proven its competitiveness on the race track," said team owner Jerry Forsythe. "To have full factory support from Swift combined with our continued relationship with Honda, which has claimed four consecutive driver's championships, has very strong potential. This is a tremendous opportunity for our team. I am very excited about our new relationship and our prospects for the future. "I am also pleased to be able to expand my relationship with the Arcieros. I have known Frank and the Arciero family for many years on both a personal and business level." Swift Engineering has amassed 37 top-five finishes and four race wins since debuting in Champ Car competition in 1997. The San Clemente, California-based company finished second in the 1999 CART Constructors' Championship, while Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi brought home fourth and seventh-place finishes in the championship. "We believe we have the best of all possible worlds in joining Jerry Forsythe and the Arcieros," said Hiro Matsushita, Chairman of Swift Engineering, Inc. "We have combined all the assets necessary to win races and championships. "With Jerry Forsythe at the helm, the racing heritage of the Arcieros, a driver of unquestioned winning talent in Tony Kanaan, the unmatched Honda engine and Firestone tires, we feel that we add the one element that will turn the tables in our favor -- the Swift chassis." The Arciero name is well known in the Champ Car community. Frank Arciero has been intimately involved in racing for over 40 years, and first became a CART team owner in 1980. A successful businessman, his interests include the Arciero Companies, real estate developers and concrete contractors throughout California; a 5,000-acre alfalfa ranch in the Mojave Desert; and the Arciero Winery in Paso Robles, California. "Like most good things, this took time and effort to put together," said Frank Arciero. "I can't think of better partners to have than Jerry Forsythe and the people at Swift. We picked out Jerry and Swift because they are known winners. I believe we are going to impress a lot of people this year with our success." "We're looking forward to the 2000 season with McDonald's Championship Racing and driver Tony Kanaan," added Robert Clarke, General Manager of Honda Performance Development. "They have all the ingredients needed to contend for the championship. It will also be our first experience with the Swift chassis, which will give the team a unique package in the FedEx Championship Series." Jerry Forsythe, Chairman and CEO of the Indeck Group of Companies, is a substantial force in motorsports. In addition to owning two CART racing teams, Player's/Forsythe Racing and McDonald's Championship Racing Team, he is a director and limited partner in the British American Racing Formula One Team.
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