Kenny Bräck, driver of the Team Rahal No. 8 Shell Ford-Cosworth, has experienced a great deal of success in his first season in the CART FedEx Championship Series. After two successful seasons racing in the Indy Racing League (IRL), where he captured the 1998 season championship and the 1999 Indianapolis 500, the rookie driver has posted four podium finishes this season, including second-place finishes in Cleveland and Australia, and has scored championship points in 14 of 19 races. Having already clinched the Jim Trueman "Rookie of the Year" award, Bräck is currently tied for fourth in the chase for the CART drivers' championship. Heading into the last CART event of the season in Fontana, Bräck looks forward to the race at the California Speedway and discusses the drivers' championship.

QUESTION: KENNY Bräck - No. 8 Shell Ford-Cosworth - WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON STILL BEING ALIVE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOLLOWING YOUR SECOND-PLACE FINISH IN AUSTRALIA?

Kenny Bräck: "It's great because we didn't expect that going into Australia. I thought we were going to battle for a podium finish in the championship which is still possible because we still need a little bit of luck to pull the championship off. But now we're there and we can win the championship if we do a great job in Fontana and have a little luck go our way."

QUESTION: DO YOU FEEL CONFIDENT GOING TO THE CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY BECAUSE OF YOUR PAST OVAL RACING EXPERIENCE?

Kenny Bräck: "I think we're going to be strong. I've never been there before, but I haven't been to many tracks before this season - there are maybe two tracks I've been to before. We've done well on nearly all the tracks we've been to and I feel we have a strong chance at Fontana, too. But who knows? We'll have to see what happens there."

QUESTION: WHAT CONCERNS YOU ABOUT THE RACE IN FONTANA?

Kenny Bräck: "It's a 500-mile race. It's a long race and you have to be there at the end to win it, of course. Historically, a lot of things happen in 500 miles of racing, so the only concern I have is to try and make everything last to the end of the race."

QUESTION: ARE YOU FEELING ANY PRESSURE OR ARE YOU APPROACHING THIS LIKE YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE?

Kenny Bräck: "I have approached every race like that this year. I can go back and say that I've driven as hard as I could and done everything to the best of my ability this year, and I will continue to do the same in Fontana."

QUESTION: WHAT WOULD WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP MEAN TO YOU AND TEAM RAHAL?

Kenny Bräck: "It would mean a lot to Team Rahal - they've never won a championship before. It would also mean a lot to me because I've never won the CART championship either. But this whole discussion is something I'd like to avoid right now because it's not something that we can determine on our own. We need some other drivers to fail if we're going to have a chance to win the championship. The only way to look at this from our standpoint right now is to go to Fontana and do the best possible job we can there, stay very focused and try and win the race. And then we'll see what the others are up to and then after that the championship will be decided."