DETROIT (September 13, 2000) - As the closest points race in FedEx Championship Series history heads toward a spectacular climax, the chief competitors are preparing to square off in the "bullring" during the final short-oval event of the season.

Competition in the Motorola 300 at Gateway International Raceway (2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, live, ESPN2) figures to be as close in the chase for The Vanderbilt Cup - symbol of the FedEx Championship Series championship - as it is on the 1.27-mile oval located just outside St. Louis in Madison, Ill. Heading into the 17th of 20 rounds, the top-six drivers can be blanketed by a mere 17 points, by far the closest separation in the 22-year history of the series.

Prior to this season, the closest separation between the top six championship contenders through 16 events came in 1996 when 50 points divided eventual champion Jimmy Vasser from sixth-place Gil de Ferran. In no year other than that has the margin been closer than 67 points (1995) in a season that included at least 16 events.

De Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) of Marlboro Team Penske sits atop the championship standings for the first time in his six-year career following his runner-up performance to teammate Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Honda Reynard) in Round 16 at Laguna Seca Raceway last weekend. De Ferran, with four top-five finishes in his past five starts, overtook Michael Andretti (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) of Newman/Haas Racing - who went scoreless at Laguna - and now holds a 132-126 lead heading to Gateway.

Clustered closely behind the two principals is a quartet including Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOL Green, third with 122 points; Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing, fourth with 118; rookie Kenny Brack (Shell Ford Reynard) of Team Rahal, fifth with 116; and Roberto Moreno (Visteon Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing, sixth with 115.

Adding further spice to the drama is the fact that the top three contenders for the championship have all posted short-oval victories within the past two seasons. Andretti is the defending Motorola 300 champion and also owns a runner-up finish in 1998.

De Ferran's Gateway resume includes a podium finish of third in 1997. He also won the first short-oval event of this season, bringing Marlboro Team Penske its historic 100th victory at Nazareth Speedway.

Tracy won a short-oval event at Milwaukee last season and is also a former winner at Gateway, having driven to victory in 1997.

Among the remaining three championship hopefuls, Moreno's fourth-place finish last year while substituting for the injured Mark Blundell stands as the best. Fernandez' best performance was eighth in 1997 while Brack, a rookie, has not yet competed at Gateway while a member of the FedEx Championship Series.

This year, for the first time in FedEx Championship Series history, all cars ride on Firestone Firehawks, the Official Tire of CART.

The spirited points battle will add considerable drama to the final four events of the FedEx Championship Series season, which concludes with the Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota on October 29 at California Speedway. For the third straight year, the season finale will pay its winner $1 million, thanks to a partnership between Marlboro, Toyota, CART and California Speedway. An additional $1 million will be awarded to the driver who emerges from the season finale as series champion.

Following the Motorola 300, its third event in as many weeks, the FedEx Championship Series takes a weekend off before resuming with the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston, Sunday, Oct. 1, on the streets of downtown Houston, Tex.

WHO'S HOT

• Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) of Marlboro Team Penske has recorded top-five finishes in four of his past five starts to take over the FedEx Championship Series points lead for the first time in his six-year career. Included in the run are podium results of second at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca, and third at Chicago. He also finished fifth at Vancouver and owns victories this season at Nazareth and Portland. His 132 championship points place him six ahead of Michael Andretti (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) of Newman/Haas Racing in the championship hunt. De Ferran also owns 13 top-five qualifying efforts in 16 starts this season, including pole positions at Homestead, Long Beach and Mid-Ohio. He is the first Marlboro Team Penske driver to lead the championship since Paul Tracy following Round 11 at Toronto in 1997, and he leads it later in the season than any Penske driver since Al Unser Jr. won the 1994 championship.
• Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing has scored championship points in 13 of his past 14 starts, beginning with a victory at Brazil. The run also includes podium finishes of second at Toronto and Road America, and third at Vancouver. Currently fourth in the championship with 118 points, he is just four behind third-place Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOL Green (122 points) and eight behind second-place Michael Andretti (126 points).
• Rookie Kenny Brack (Shell Ford Reynard) of Team Rahal has scored championship points in 12 of his past 14 FedEx Championship Series starts and has recorded eight top-five finishes in that span, including podium results of second at Cleveland and third at Nazareth and Road America. He stands fifth in the championship with 116 points and holds a commanding 116-46 lead over Oriol Servia (Telefonica Toyota Reynard) of PPI Motorsports in his quest for the Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year Award.
• Dario Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOL Green has finished on the podium in the last two FedEx Championship Series events and also has won two of the last three pole positions. He was runner-up to teammate Paul Tracy at Vancouver and finished third last week at Laguna Seca. His poles came in back-to-back races at Road America and Vancouver. He has moved into eighth place in the championship with 92 points, his first appearance in the top-10 since standing 10th following Round 8 at Portland.
• Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Honda Reynard) of Marlboro Team Penske has won two of the past four FedEx Championship Series events - Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca - to tie Paul Tracy for the series lead with three victories this season. Castroneves, who also won at Detroit, has become the first Brazilian driver to win as many as three FedEx Championship Series events in a single season since Emerson Fittipaldi won three in 1993. He and Fittipaldi, who did it three times, are the only Brazilian drivers to have won as many as three events in a single season. Castroneves, who also owns pole positions at Portland, Toronto and Laguna Seca this season, has moved into seventh place in the championship with 103 points, the first time in his three-year career that he has topped 100 championship points.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

• Defending Motorola 300 champion Michael Andretti owns podium finishes in two of his three career starts at Gateway International Raceway. Included is a runner-up effort in 1998 in addition to his victory last year. He has led more laps at the venue (290) than any other driver, including 66 in 1997 and race-high totals of 133 in '98 and 91 in '99.
• Jimmy Vasser (Target Toyota Lola) of Target Chip Ganassi Racing owns a pair of top-five finishes in three career starts - fourth in 1998 and fifth in '97. He has led a combined 78 laps in his career at Gateway (36 in '97 and 42 in '98). He started on the outside pole in 1998 when the starting grid was based on practice times due to a rainout of qualifying.
• Gil de Ferran owns top-six finishes in two of three career appearances at Gateway, topped by a podium result of third in 1997. He also finished sixth in 1998.
• Helio Castroneves matched a then career-best effort with a runner-up performance to Michael Andretti last year. He also finished seventh during his rookie season of 1998 to give him points-paying results in both of his career appearances at Gateway.
• Juan Montoya (Target Toyota Lola) of Target Chip Ganassi Racing is the defending Motorola 300 polesitter and has been the dominant driver on ovals during the entire FedEx Championship Series season. He owns two oval victories - Milwaukee and Michigan - as well as poles at Japan, Nazareth Milwaukee and Chicago. He has qualified on the front row for six of seven oval starts this season and has led a series-high 632 laps on ovals, more than five times the total of Gil de Ferran, who stands second with 109 laps led on ovals. Montoya has led at least 21 laps at six of seven oval starts this season, and has led more than 100 at four of those, including Japan (172), Nazareth (110), Milwaukee (179) and Chicago (111).

MANUFACTURING SUCCESS

• Honda has won the past four FedEx Championship Series events, getting two victories each from Paul Tracy (Road America and Vancouver) and Helio Castroneves (Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca). Honda owns a series-high eight victories this season and has moved to a one-point lead over Ford, 269-268, in the battle for the CART Manufacturer's Championship. Honda, which has won three of the past four CART Manufacturer's titles (1996, '98, '99), has received its other victories this year from Tracy at Long Beach, Gil de Ferran at Nazareth and Portland, and Castroneves at Detroit.
• Toyota-powered drivers have won the past three FedEx Championship Series events contested on ovals, getting victories from Juan Montoya at Milwaukee and Michigan, and Cristiano da Matta (Pioneer/MCI WorldCom Toyota Reynard) of PPI Motorsports at Chicago. Those three victories represent the first for Toyota in the engine manufacturer's five years of FedEx Championship Series competition.
• A Toyota-powered victory this weekend would give each CART engine manufacturer a win in the four years of FedEx Championship Series competition at Gateway International Raceway. Paul Tracy won the inaugural Motorola 300 in a Mercedes in 1997, followed by Alex Zanardi in a Honda in '98 and Michael Andretti in a Ford last year.
• Gateway International Raceway has special meaning to the Firestone tire oval-racing program even though the significant event was a race the tire manufacturer did not win. The inaugural race at Gateway, in 1997 was won by Paul Tracy, who was on Goodyear tires. Since that result, Firestone has won 22 of 23 FedEx Championship Series oval races, including the last 19 in a row. The first dozen wins in the current streak of 19 came against direct competition with Goodyear before Firestone assumed sole-supplier status this year.

NOTEWORTHY

• Helio Castroneves' victory at Laguna Seca allowed Reynard to clinch its sixth consecutive CART Constructor's Championship, giving it an insurmountable 323-235 lead over Lola with a maximum of 88 points available in the season's four remaining races. Reynard has captured every CART Constructor's Championship since 1995. "We are delighted to wrap up this title with four races to go," said Mark Smithson, Managing Director of Reynard Motorsport. The teams running Reynard chassis and all the staff at Reynard in North America and the UK have been essential to our success, and we thank them for this. We aim to continue winning this title for many years ahead."

ON THE AIR

• Qualifying for the Motorola 300 will air 1:30 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2. "CART 2Day" airs 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2, while ESPN2's live race broadcast begins 2:30 p.m. ET. Sunday. The race will also air live on the CART Radio Network and on CART's official website, at www.cart.com .

MOTOROLA 300 "QUOTEBOARD"

MICHAEL ANDRETTI (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola), on his enjoyment of Gateway International Raceway: "I really like the race track. It seems to fit my style and I am just hoping to do the same this year as I have done past couple of years [Andretti is the defending Motorola 300 champion and finished second in 1998]. The pressure this year isn't going to be from me being the defending champion, but more from the pressure of the points championship. Every point will be important, even more so now that we have given up the lead. Every lap counts now, whether it is in practice, qualifying or the race. We need to learn from every lap."

GIL de FERRAN (Marlboro Honda Reynard), on arriving at Gateway International Raceway with the FedEx Championship Series points lead: "It's nice to go to St. Louis leading the championship [de Ferran leads with 132 points], but it doesn't change our approach to race weekend. As always, we are staying focused to ensure that we execute on the track and come away with a points-paying finish. I've had mixed results at Gateway [25th in '99, sixth in '98 and third in '97] but we had a good test there last month and Marlboro Team Penske has done everything possible to prepare for this race. This series is so competitive, though, that it's hard to predict what will happen."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (Marlboro Honda Reynard), on his unfinished business at Gateway International Raceway: "I'm really looking forward to returning to Gateway because I almost won my first race there last year [Castroneves finished second] and had a great time racing Michael [Andretti] at the end. I've finished in the points both times I've raced there and hope to make it three-for-three this year. Marlboro Team Penske brings a lot of momentum into the weekend after our one-two finish at Laguna Seca which we now need to turn into on-track results in St. Louis."

PAUL TRACY (KOOL Honda Reynard), looking forward to a return to racing on ovals: "Even though Team KOOL Green has had a good run on the recent stretch of road- and street-course events, it's going to be fun to get back on an oval again. Gateway is a good track to race on, but, like any oval, you've got to have the car set-up right. We learned a lot at the test there last month and we had a great car there last year, so I'm optimistic. I won the first CART race at Gateway and I hope to win the last. We're in a position in the standings where we still control our own destiny in relation to winning the championship. It's great to be in contention with four races to go, but we're really not thinking too much about it. Our focus is on improving the car each time we go out. If we can do that, and have some racing luck, we should stay in the hunt right till the end. When you consider that there's less than 30 points separating the top seven drivers, you realize just how competitive this year's series is and the least little mistake can wind up costing you the championship. You have to keep driving aggressively, but you really have to concentrate and be smart."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard), on his continuing pursuit of the FedEx Championship Series championship: "The Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing team has done a tremendous job this season. We had a difficult race last weekend at Laguna Seca, but still managed to score a point and stay in the hunt for the championship. There are four races left in the season and I am looking forward to fighting for the championship starting this weekend at Gateway. The Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing team has had some very good cars at Gateway International Raceway, but we have been a victim of mechanical problems the last two years. We don't always have great qualifying cars at St. Louis, but in the races we have been very quick. The last two years I was running in the top five before we experienced problems that knocked us out of the race."

ROBERTO MORENO (Visteon Ford Reynard), "The Visteon/Patrick Racing team has lost a couple of battles, but we are still fighting the war. We have not, and will not give up. There are still four races left in the 2000 FedEx Championship Series season and even though I have not raced on two of the tracks [Houston and Fontana] the experience of the Visteon/Patrick Racing team should be a big help. Last year, my second race of the season was at Gateway and I had a very good performance. We started 19th, but got through the field with good race strategy. Then I led the race for 42 laps before finishing fourth. It was one of my best performances ever on an oval and was particularly gratifying because it came in my second start of the year. I like the Gateway International Raceway oval. It is a bit different because you downshift twice. First when you enter Turn One and then again entering Turn Three. That is a bit unusual for an oval."

JUAN MONTOYA (Target Toyota Lola), on his improved prospects following a strong sixth-place finish at Laguna Seca: "It was good to get back in the points in Monterey and finish that bad streak, so things are looking better for Team Target. We had fun on [Gateway] last year, but we can do even better. I want to get my second pole position there, and then just race and see what happens. Chip [Ganassi, team owner] has done a good job of keeping our team focused and believing that we still have a shot to contend for the title, and we only know one way to race -- and that's fast. I'm going out to win these final four races. If we end up falling short of a fifth [consecutive] title, no one will be ashamed because we've never given up this season. We're having too much fun to give up now."

DARIO FRANCHITTI (KOOL Honda Reynard), "We've been quite competitive on the ovals this year, scoring a couple of podiums (Japan and Michigan), so I think we'll be in good shape at Gateway this weekend. Paul (Tracy) had a good test there last month and the Team KOOL Green engineers always seem to come up with good set-ups on this type of track. Being on the podium in the last two races has made me even more motivated to get my first win of the season. The Team KOOL Green car has run consistently strong recently and we just have to keep battling the way we have in the last few races and I'm convinced we can finish the season with a flourish. Even though there's only four races left, anything can happen. If you're able to win a race or two and be among the leaders in the others, you never know how far you can climb in the standings."

JIMMY VASSER (Target Toyota Lola), on his recent success in FedEx Championship Series competition: "Our team has a nice little streak going here with a few [three straight] top-ten finishes, so we've been happy with the car and the results and we'll continue to fight for every point we can get. I've seen some crazy things happen over the years in the series, and I keep reminding my teammates that this thing isn't over yet. I'm confident I can give these guys at least one more victory, so that's one of my goals. The race at Gateway is still fairly new, so no one has had a chance to create much history there, but I've had a few decent races in St. Louis, and I know we can do it again."

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI (Big Kmart/Route 66 Ford Lola), endorsing the HANS (Head and Neck Support) Device mandated by CART for use by all its drivers at all oval events next season: "I think the HANS device is the safest thing out there right now. It doesn't take an expert to know you should wear it. After you watch the little video presentation you can understand why I am sticking to it. As far as I am concerned, it is a good safety device. As for whether it helped in my Chicago crash is hard to say but I have confidence in it. Maybe if it weren't for the HANS, I wouldn't be here now. A lot of people have hit the wall at one time or another this year but they unbuckled themselves and got out. I didn't but that's not to say I wasn't the lucky one. It is important to continue to make racing as safe as possible. The drivers are not out here to hurt themselves. We are out here to practice racing as safe as possible. I am glad to have helped in a safety development that is now mandatory on ovals next year. I am not waiting until next year to wear it. I don't plan to drive on an oval again without it. Having said that, I plan to focus on winning a race before the season is over and put everything else out of my mind. I think a lot of the race is going to be fuel strategy. Fuel will be major in the race, and a lot of it will be when the yellows come out. Fuel strategy hasn't worked for us in a few races this year so we plan to turn that around."

PATRICK CARPENTIER (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard), on his past success at Gateway International Raceway: "I have fond memories of Madison and the Gateway oval because I got my first CART podium at that track when we first started racing there in 1997. I've always felt comfortable on that oval and I go into the race expecting to do well. Lots of things can happen during the course of the race, but the Team Player's car has the speed and package to run with anyone on this 1.2-mile oval. Last weekend [at Laguna Seca Raceway] started out quite rough with the car flipping over the wall in qualifying, but we were able to make a strong comeback on race day. The fact we were able to do that has put me in a good frame of mind going into the event at Gateway and I'm confident that we can have a race like we did in Milwaukee earlier this season, when we made it to the podium."

ALEX TAGLIANI (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard), looking forward to a return to ovals: "One of my goals before the end of the season is to improve my performance on ovals, so I'm glad that we're back to an oval event, after quite a long stretch of races on road and street courses. I was able to finish third at Madison last year, when I was in the Atlantic series, and I've had some solid performances on ovals as a CART rookie this year, so those are positive things to take into the upcoming race weekend. I know also that the Team Player's crew has done a tremendous job with set-ups on ovals, including the event in Rio, Brazil, earlier in the season, when we won the pole."

LUIZ GARCIA JR. (Hollywood/Embratel/Tang/Banco Sofisa Mercedes Reynard), hoping for a points-paying result at Gateway: "Gateway will present a challenge for us, but I think we'll do fine. It's the last short oval of the year, so I want to do well there. It would be nice to finish in the points at the last CART race in St. Louis."

FAST FACTS FOR THE MOTOROLA 300

WHAT: Motorola 300.
WHERE: Gateway International Raceway, Madison, Ill.
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, Sept. 15-17.
SUPPORT EVENTS: Dayton Indy Lights Championship, Toyota Atlantic Championship.
BROADCAST: TV-ESPN2 (Live, 2:30 p.m. ET). RADIO-CART Radio Network. INTERNET - www.cart.com .
PRE-RACE PROGRAMMING: Motorola 300 pole qualifying, 1:30 a.m. ET Sunday, ESPN2; CART 2Day, 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday, ESPN2.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Michael Andretti.
DEFENDING POLESITTER: Juan Montoya.
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.27-mile oval.
RACE LENGTH: 300 miles, 236 laps.
TRACK RECORDS: Qualifying (one lap) - 1997, Raul Boesel, 187.963 mph (24.324 seconds); Race - 1998, Alex Zanardi, 125.725 mph.
RACE ROUND: 17 of 20 in the FedEx Championship Series.