Both, Dario and Paul are here at the race shop with us and Dario is with us now on the teleconference and Paul will join us shortly. So, in the meantime, I will pass it back to you, T.E., to mediate our questions."

Although I had the odd conversation with Paul, you know, we didn't really get serious at all until last week. and, when that opportunity came up, you know, we thought it would be a brilliant combination. Paul is very, very fast and we think the combination of him and Dario working together, Paul's experience and especially on the ovals, which will help Dario, I think the two of them working together will be very, very strong. We are certainly very excited.

Really, I am very excited to be here and I am excited to be working with Honda next year. And, also, I am excited to be working with Paul. That happened last week, and I was really, you know, I think it is just going to be great to work with him get the experience that he has and try to learn stuff from him.

When Barry first told me that Paul was coming to the team, I was on my cell phone and the phone cut out, and he phoned me back 2 seconds later and he said, you know, 'did you just hang up there; did I upset you that much?' But I am really excited to be working here and I am looking forward to the 1998 season."

But we had to get back to what the real goals are for the team. And in this team we employ a lot of great people, and every one of these guys wants to run at the front. Our sponsors want to run at the front. That is the name of this game. and we had to get this team back to the front. And, we think that we had to go out - to do that we think we had to go out and hire the best combination that we could put together. And, you know, it came down to a few weeks after the season. I wanted it in place long before the end of the season, and it didn't quite happen. and, by gosh, I am so pleased that we waited and finished up with this combination.

And that is the goal. The goal is to run at the front. We needed the best equipment, the best drivers and the best team to do that. We think we have put that together now.

And, the America tradition, I mean the American driver tradition will carry on and we have got to build that program. And, like I said, we are starting that tomorrow out in Las Vegas."

We think it is important - we think that, you know, it is a challenge to run two-car teams. A two-car team is not twice as big as a one car team. It is probably three or four times as big as a one-car team. But I have done that in the past very successfully and know what the benefits are there. And we believe without doubt running a two-car team with a couple of drivers like we have now, is a competitive edge and we needed to get to that next step.

But Kool just believed in the program; believed in the series and believed in the team. , and sure, it was a big decision, but look at what we have finished up with.

And, our new season will start just next week. We are off testing next week. And the whole team is excited. The sponsors are excited and the drivers are excited, so looking forward to next year."

Formula 1 is somthing that I would like to do in the future. But, I was thinking of next year that the best opportunity for me here right here with Team Kool Green and they have a Honda package, and I am very happy to be running with them.

As I said before, it was a very difficult decision to leave Mercedes, but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. And, there we go."

As you know, the contracts are quite complicated. Remember, please, that Dario is managed by Jacque Villeneuve's manager. A very strong management team, so the contracts are very, very complicated. We finally got them signed just a little while ago.

But, you know, we still had commitments to us to another driver and certainly Dario, to another team, and we felt that we shouldn't - no announcement should be made until the end of the season. Our team in the meantime was working very, very hard on putting a second car together. And, we really wanted to announce our lineup all in one.

And, again, I am glad that we were patient and we hung around long enough to sign Paul Tracy."

First we, back at Galles/Kraco, ran that operation with Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal, and Danny Sullivan, and we feel that we have got a pretty good handle on how to run that. Many of my people that are with me here today, my crew chiefs and managers, are people that were with me back there at that operation.

It is no different than just running a normal team. I think that we know Dario can drive and win. We know that Paul can drive and win. We know this team can win. There is only one thing left and that is just the communication channel and how well the team will work together and how well the team will pull in the same direction. I am so big on teamwork. And, my favorite saying - and I have said it a million times - you can take the eight best mechanics in the world and have the worst race team. You have got to have the best team. Not the best mechanics, the best drivers, you have got to have the best team. That is going to be our secret. These guy shave - Dario has to learn, Paul and vice versa, and the team have to learn these drivers and wrap their arms around them, and understand what makes them tick; understand what is going to make them go to the next level. And I just - I think that the chemistry here is just going to be perfect and it is going to be a lot of work, but at the end of the day, communication, just how well we communicate as a group.

And we haven't finalized our plans as to what Parker is doing in the future as of yet. But, you know, as I said, he is free to explore all other options.

I think towards the end of the season I started to get very frustrated in my driving and I think you can see I was just pushing too hard on occasions [and] because of them, the lost opportunities. As a team, we had a lot of things going for us, we just didn't get it together completely and that was a big disappointment for me, because I think we could have done it, really. If you look at the points we scored, and you look at some - the way we led races and qualified pole positions, that sort of thing, we should have scored a lot more points than that. But ifs and but, and all that, doesn't work; you have to score points. And I am going to work on that for next year."

Tony is a guy I talk to when my plans are firmly in place, and that just happened. I don't talk to Tony about what if and this, that , and the other. Tony wants to know what our plans are and how I can fit in. All my efforts have been put into putting this two-car program together and getting these two drivers signed and sealed.

And, now I can sit back and start looking at how to piece the other parts of the puzzle together."

I had expressed displeasure with the performance of the car to my engineers. And it was a frustrating season for everybody. We started off the year fantastic, leading the championship, and then basically ran into a bring wall in terms of performance. We were not moving forward and people were getting into the stride, other teams, and subsequently we were going down and down in the qualifying order. And, that was getting very frustrating. And, you know, it is like Barry said, you have to move forward. And, it is something that really wasn't talked about.

But at the end of the day, you know, I was released as of last Thursday, and obviously was scrambling to put together a deal and very, very lucky that I was able to get together with Barry and Team Kool Green and Brown & Williamson. It has been - it came together very quickly, but it is the right situation for me and the team.

I looked at the type of sponsorship that was in place, the people that Barry is working with. And, obviously, I was - I have been impressed with the Kool operation right from the get-go. Really, there was, I was actually surprised by the amount of options that were still available. But really, before I even had started, my number one choice, right off the top of my head, was with Barry and Kool. And, I did talk to other teams, you know, Pat Patrick, Gerry Forsythe, Carl Hogan, a couple of Formula 1 teams, all in about a 24 hour span. I was basically on the phone for 24 hours straight.

But, really, in my heart of hearts, I had already made my decision what would be the best place for me to go. I was just hoping that Barry was of the same opinion of me, what he needed and everything worked out.

So, I mean, I am very happy with what I have put together and I feel it is the best opportunity for me right from the very start of my career to win a championship in Indy Car."

I mean, I have got a new opportunity. I am coming in here. I have got to learn the people. I have got to learn the engineers. They have to learn me, so there is going to be - communication is going to be key. And, we've got a short amount of time here to get everything in place by the time March rolls around, so we've got a lot of work. But I think it is going to be a fun project. And, I think it is going to be a great opportunity for everybody to really have a good time and enjoy themselves. And, hen things are going well, and you are enjoying yourself, that is when things are going right."

I was immediately making phone calls and I knew as soon as I walked out the door where I wanted to go if there was a place available and that was with Barry. And, I wasn't sure what his situation was and, you know, when you are in that state of emotions, you are at the point of thinking 'is my career over? Am I going to get a chance to land a top class seat?' because that's what I've been accustomed to through my whole career. I have been with Penske Racing and Newman/Haas. So, obviously this came as a big shock, both of those seats are now not available to me and to get the opportunity to drive for another championship winning team, I guess, is unprecedented.

I have had three key opportunities and I feel that this is the best one that I have ever been involved in. I have always been in the shadow of, you know, say Al or Emerson or Rick (Mears) at Team Penske. And when I was with Newman/Haas, you know, I kind of played second driver to Michael (Andretti.) And to be involved with Barry as the key guy here with Dario, who is obviously a fantastic driver, and is going to learn a lot. I guess we are kind of leading the charge here, and it feels good to have this opportunity. So we are going to make the most of it."

I guess, you know, from my standpoint, now is the time. I have got all the pieces in place. Barry has the team in place. We have got the equipment. There is really - Barry and I have no excuses to be made. And, you know, we are ready for this challenge and ready to move forward and start testing next week."

When I had driven the '96, I mean, it just did everything it was supposed to do. You could drive the car, and, you know, and just concentrate on driving instead of fighting and wrestling and trying to man-handle the car. I mean, that is what our objective was is to try to get at Penske, but couldn't achieve it.

And obviously Reynard has got a fantastic car. I have got a long-term relationship with them. I had driven for Reynard when I was at a younger age...16, 17...when I was a works driver in Formula 2000. I have known Rick and Adrien a long time and have a good relationship with them. So this is really coming full-circle for me. It is a fantastic opportunity and I would think one that they are very excited about and I am very excited about working with them again."

Obviously, I have got a goal here and that is to win a CART Championship. I felt that, you know, I have been here six years now, racing full-time since 1993 and this is something that I have to achieve before I go to the next step. And, it is something that I feel I have the best opportunity that I have ever had in 1998."

I am not looking to get one over on anybody. It is - this is and equal opportunity for both of us, and we have got to work together and really, you know, point this team in the right direction and go from there."

I mean, obviously, you always - when you go from one move to another, there is always uncertainty and there is always question, but there is absolutely no question in my mind or doubt or fear of not having the right package. Obviously, the Reynard has won the last three championships in a row. Firestone has won the last two championships in a row, and Honda was first second and third in the championship this year. Their performance is second to none. Their reliability is unprecedented and that makes me sleep good at night. There is no question that all the key ingredients are here."

I mean, whatever comes after that is going to be a decision by both of us. And, obviously, I have goals and Barry has goals. But, you know, I am not getting any younger and I feel that the best opportunity right now for me for the next couple...three years is right here and making a family right here. And, where we go from there, we won't know, but I am very happy where I am right now."

There are going to be some decisions we make to be able to settle up that may not always be the right decision, and Paul will be as mad as the rest of us, but it is going to be all of us in the same boat, all of us in this together and all of us focusing on that same goal and that is the championship.

As I said before, it is going to take both of these guys working together for one of them to win the championship."

On race day, they will race against each other. Having said that, though, they will remember they have a team mate out there with another green and white car. We may have some team orders coming into the last one, two or three races depending on where we are in the championship, but we will weigh that up as we go.

As far as the start of any race, whoever outqualifies the other guy, if they are both on the front row or both on the second row or both on the third row, whoever has outqualified the other guy will have the right-of-way in the first corner. But, apart from that, they are racing against each other as two No. 1 drivers."

Obviously, Barry wants to win as well, giving Dario and I the reins to direct his team where to go. So, that is the key.

I think the whole problem was that I felt, first of all, we had some problems during the season when both sides from myself and the team and I just thought that it wasn't the best opportunity for my career to stay there. I felt I had to move on. And I don't really think that showed up on the track.

I think right up until the end there, we were working well together as a team. So I don't think that had any bearing on what happened towards the end."

He is obviously very good at setting up those cars and test driving and so, he is all right by himself and I just see the combination of these two together. I think, again, Paul helping Dario tremendously on the ovals and that is what our series is all about: what a great combination, big, ovals, street racing, street fights at Long Beach, and Toronto and places like that and then road circuits. And you have got to have it all, and experience certainly helps. But, I think the combination of these two is going to be very, very strong."

And to stay focused on that will be our challenge. And, I think that either of these guys will have a good chance to win that championship this year."

We started off with a good finish. Backed it up with three back-to-back wins and some pole positions, and then ran into a brick wall. And, obviously, there was a frustration and, you know, there is good with bad. You are going to go through that in any season; whether it is a good season or a bad season, there is always ups and there is always downs. So, obviously, people were frustrated but optimistic of a new car.

And, like I said, this came as a surprise to me. I didn't know that I was being let go and it was awfully late in the season. And, I have been very, very fortunate to have the opportunity to put this together with Barry because I think if any other scenarios could have gone another way I would be standing here with no ride at all. So, I think this has really been the silver lining in the cloud for Barry and myself - a key opportunity for both of us and I am glad that Barry didn't make any hasty decisions and I am very glad that he has awarded me the opportunity."