INDY RACING LEAGUE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 14, 2003

Scott Dixon

Thiago Medeiros

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Thank you very much for the opportunity with the teleconference.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Yes. I had a very good car that I could run high, low, everywhere, but I was trying to find a partner to take off a little bit of drag of my car off and try to go to the front of the pack and waiting for the right moment to do that the last couple of laps.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Throughout the year, I thought that I had so many chances during the season, but we had little problems. And sometimes I missed the opportunity to get my victories. My first being this season, and I always carry my Brazilian Flag with me and was just waiting for the opportunity to get my first win of the Series and show them where I came from, my country, and it is a big pleasure to represent my country here.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: It is very hard to say that because everybody was doing a good job. Everybody was very close and it was almost nothing between the first ten cars were inside one second only and I thought that I had a chance, but it was not very close, but just trying to keep working hard and waiting for the right moment to do a big shot.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Well, it was my first year here in ovals. I am very proud to be here in this Series and I hope to be here next year and try to get some sponsors to be here. Completely different where I come from. I come from road courses and the Series is wonderful, a lot of kind of race, but I like it. Everybody runs very close, have a lot of competition with the other drivers. And my year was wonderful here. My first year with Genoa Racing, my first engineer here, he teach me a lot of things about ovals. I learned so many things and it is very important for my future.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Thank you.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Yes. I was trying -- everybody was trying to pull the inside line and nobody give us the inside line because it's the better line to be. After I got the first place with the package and just keep low and it's a long way around, trying to do something. Jeff Simmons was trying to do something -- trying to pass me on the last lap, but he couldn't. I had a very good car that I could have run high, low, whatever way that I would be. Aaron Fike, who was leading the race, and after I got it, I just keep low and trying to be in the end of the race.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Oh, Gil is a hero for me and I think also for all the other Brazilian drivers who want to come to the U.S. and join the American race. He did a very good job in the three years that he did in CART and in IRL, and he won the Champ Cars two times and now he almost won the Championship. He finishing second and he won the Indy 500. I am very proud for him because he did everything he -- it's a dream for everyone to win the 500, like he did this year and win the --have the two titles like he have.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Well, I have dream like when I was a little child and I start to racing go-karts when I was eight years old and I had a very good school when I was racing go-karts in Brazil, and open wheels. We have a very difficult life to be a driver because the sponsors just looking for soccer, the most popular sport in our country. We have a very difficult lifestyle, the language is -- everything is hard and? I am living here in Indianapolis, my first year, with all my family and my friends and everything, but I am very proud to be here, learn here -- I am so about my English - I am still learning. It's my first year here and realize my dreams and maybe join there next year or the year after next year.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Thank you.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: The year was wonderful for me. But beginning of this year was a little bit hard because we didn't have (inaudible) -- we start testing in the preseason and the preseason doing the testing in the last two years and I just made one test at Homestead before for our first race. I was very happy after I made my first four and finishing second my first Menards Infiniti Pro Series event. After that we didn't have so many tests because our budget was very restricted, and we were trying to get some deals and found some groups in Brazil who want to make some -- export some products here to sell in the U.S., but in the motor racing, racing cars, it's hard to develop the car without testing. A lot of drivers maybe so many testing and it's hard to develop the car, my performance, without testing. So I am very happy with the result finishing fourth my first year here and I know that I had a wonderful year just my family know how difficult it was this year for me. And next year, probably going to be easier for me because I know where I have been before and hopefully it will be better for us to get some better results.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: When I was driving the road course I learned so many things about setup of the car. It was a very good school for me because here oval racing, first of all, you have to own the both sides. If you make a little mistake it becomes apparent very quickly. Unfortunately there's nothing you can do when you are going to hit the wall. I learned one thing in my life to drive on the limit of the car and not to overdrive on my limit. I am very proud to learn so many things about the cars and come here ready to be in a wonderful Series and make a wonderful job doing-- I didn't have any accidents this year. Well, I had a little accident but it was not my fault. But I am very -- I learned so many things to set up the car, it's completely different here in ovals, but those things that I learned before helped -- give me a lot of help and I had a very nice engineer Thomas Knapp. And I am very proud to work with him and with Genoa Racing this year because they teach me so many things which is very important for my future and my life.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Yeah, I do. I have plans to be in this Series again for next year. And I am 21 years old, I have -- I think that I have more things to learn in ovals in the Light Series and maybe next year start to make some test in the IRL and be in the IRL in 2005.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Yeah, I have a dream to be in the IRL, winning the 500, it's a dream for me. All those Brazilians drivers could do that like Emerson Fittipaldi opened the gates for us, and Gil this year, it's wonderful for us, and I think that I can do that. And just keep working hard and learning so many -- the most things that you can learn and working hard and I have a dream to be in the Championship in the IRL.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Going back to Brazil to contact some sponsors in trying to get some to start testing early in the preseason year; maybe going to be back in November, or very early in January, and start making some testing very early to develop the car and the performance also.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Well, I learned so many things this year. Sometimes you can't be aggressive. I think you have to learn without the situation that you have in your whole life. Sometimes he has his own way to do the things, but always -- I always give him my idea about what we should do on the car setup. I am sorry, sometimes it's hard for me to express. Thomas is a very nice engineer. He knows so many things about ovals. He really knows how to work and set up the car for the ovals. I never did some work with him in the road course, but he's a very nice engineer in ovals. I have nothing to say about him, he gave me a lot of help and teached me to many things this year and he's going to be very important for me next year and my future.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Probably.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: We speak Portuguese in Brazil.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: Thank you very much for the opportunity, KENT Johnson. Hopefully we'll be back here very soon and we'll keep in touch.

SCOTT DIXON: Thank you for having me.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, definitely, I think Team Target has been a huge asset this year just with, you know, the innovation and the development that they have and that is how we stayed on top of things throughout the year. And every circuit we went to we were extremely competitive, always being the fastest in each session or for the pole position, and I think for a driver that is something that is very hard to find, you know, to be with a great team is a lot easier on myself, I think. I have been able to learn a lot, I think, you know, this year, basically from them. It is just going to be great to be back.

SCOTT DIXON: You know, I think with the race everybody was looking at the same thing - everybody was making sure they stayed up front. The good thing about it, I think the five drivers competing for the Championship raced the whole race, together, fighting it out, which there was no sort of mix-up in there with other people and things like that. I thought that was pretty cool, just knowing that it was going to come down to the end. It was unfortunate think with Helio and Tony when they touched, I think it would have been a superb race to the finish with probably the four of us. I don't know, it's the way it goes. You have got to take it as it comes. And you know, we have had plenty of those disappointing moments, I think, throughout the year. It's just time for them to have another one. I don't know. All and all, you know, it was kind of strange the way the end of the race finished, with the crash and things like that, but you know definitely everything went our way on Sunday.

SCOTT DIXON: We seemed to have problems just trying to finish these races. You know, we gave up a lot of, you know, I think three that you can look at quite easily that, you know, I think we would have won, but we weren't there at the end and we struggled on that for some reason, you know, whether it be some niggly little problem, or manufacturer's defect or something like that. I think, you know, some of the teams might have had problems in bouncing back, but that was the thing with Team Target, we always bounced back. And we -- the thing that kept us going was the speed. We knew that we can compete for the win every weekend.

SCOTT DIXON: I think there were a lot of emotions, more so than any other race. I think it was probably the same for each of the five drivers, just because there's the added stress, you knew that unfortunately it was coming down to this last race. Everybody worked so hard throughout the year for it to come down to, you know, a couple of hours was really hard, I thought. I actually, you know, tried to make it just like another race, not thinking too much about it. I think if we prepared enough, and, you know, did our best, that that's all you can do. And just got see how the cards play out. It was more difficult, I think, than any other race I have had just before, you know, the anticipation. I think no matter what, even if we didn't win, would have been a lot of weight off your shoulders just because the season was over and the lead-up for the three weeks, where we did nothing, you know, made it even worse. Just happy that it's over.

SCOTT DIXON: I don't know. Like, you know, this year when we've had these small problems with the cars mechanically, on the yellow I am just -- those laps are so long, I am trying to think, well, I hope this thing doesn't break and then you start hearing little noises, you know, things like that. But I don't know, once we had done it, I just, you know, as I said before, I just felt so much lighter; all the pressure was gone. We'd accomplished what we'd wanted to. It was a very cool moment. It's a good feeling, that's for sure.

SCOTT DIXON: It's huge down there, for sure. The phones aren't stopping. I don't know, it's front page of like three newspapers, lead story on every news program. We definitely got a lot of coverage.

SCOTT DIXON: It definitely stops and I think it makes everybody think, you know. The thing is you look at a crash like Kenny's, that was horrendous, and I am amazed he walked away from that. That just shows, I think how safe the cars are, you know, that that kind of thing was a bit of a freak accident. If it happened anywhere else on the circuit, you know, he probably would have probably jumped right out. But, I don't know, there's going to be plenty of people that knock us and things like that, but we all understand what we're doing. We love to race, and sometimes, you know, I think, as everybody does in life, there's consequences for what you do.

SCOTT DIXON: Thanks.

SCOTT DIXON: To be honest, I don't know, we haven't really looked into it too much. I am still contracted with Team Target; very happy to be back with them next year. It doesn't really stop, to be honest. We have all this media stuff. And I think Tuesday take next week I am testing at the Indianapolis Speedway for Firestone and then at night I think I am flying to Orlando. Then I have another test. So it just carries on. I will get back to New Zealand. I think I am leaving around the 20th of December, and go back for Christmas and New Years. I think November I might go away and do something as well.

SCOTT DIXON: I probably wouldn't have picked it, definitely not. I wouldn't have picked it last year. You know, I think it was a hard move to come over to the IRL, with the all oval experience. But I don't know, it's one of those things and with motor sport, it is hard to determine what you are going to do from one day to the next. So definitely surprised, but totally enjoyed this year, you know, thoroughly. It was definitely an experience, and you know, life, I think, takes different steps for most people, but for myself and I think for a lot of the other drivers, they all come from great racing backgrounds, probably never thought they would be doing the same. I am sure you'd ask Tony and Helio and they'd say the same thing. I don't know. A lot of fun, I think, so far.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, you know, I think the team made it easier for me. I think every sort of class of racing, starting go-karts on a 7 and it all adds up, its experience. Everyday you are learning in this kind of racing, and I think the biggest turnaround point for me was joining Team Target and you know, midway through last year. And being with, you know, a first-grade team, you learn so much more, just from the R&D, the plans that they have for the future. And it's great to be with someone that is always looking forward. They are not looking back and they don't dwell on the down moments. They just keep moving forward. I think every year that you race you learn something and that's definitely the key to helping you get through. I think the biggest turning point, looking at Indy Lights, or something like that, the first time I was ever on an oval, I learned a lot those first couple of years.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, I didn't get back to the hotel 'til pretty late. Then ended up having dinner and stuff and -- because Gil had his retirement party at the same hotel. It got a little hectic. I ended up getting thrown in the Paul by Tony and Helio and all those guys. It was a lot of fun, especially for Gil, and it was a really good night.

SCOTT DIXON: As I said just before, it's what we love to do. We know that, you know, that there's consequences like that. I have experienced it at the start of the year - not as horrific as Kenny's crash - but I crashed in Motegi pretty hard. It makes you think. Everybody's is human. You know, you go, is this the right thing, you know, but I think the cars are safe. People still walk away from these things. I don't know, it does make you think, but I think most of us just carry on.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, the first week you sort of relax, and you are like, oh, you know, it was good, you just got off a weekend of racing. The problem is the next couple of weeks, then you are talking to everybody and they keep asking you, you know, is the pressure getting to you, things like that. The drag-on was definitely big. I don't know, you just keep thinking about different scenarios and it was a difficult couple of weeks, I think, toward the end, just the anticipation, I would have loved to been straight off to California knowing to just get the thing over with. I think that's what everyone was interested in in having closure on the season.

SCOTT DIXON: You know, I think Championships are definitely, you know, something great to have on your bio. It's hard to say how that's going to affect the future, you know, be it Formula 1. I think, obviously, we are communicating with those teams. At the moment, probably not until the next week or something, we'll see if anything plays out on that sort of front end. But we'll keep working towards it, but it's all hearsay until we actually know what we're talking about.

THIAGO MEDEIROS: I don't know, we have been doing a pretty good job all year. We have had great meetings with them, and Monza and the U.S. grand Prix, and things like that. We have always had communication with them and a lot of the guys are great people to talk to and things like that. They always return the call or they always call us, but yeah, I am sure, it definitely helps.

SCOTT DIXON: It does, for sure. I think, you know, Penske you know, is a great team. They have won the last three Indianapolis 500s, but I don't know, they just don't seem to be able to put it together with all the circuits, things like that. I think they have had a fairly consistent year. They just haven't been very fast. It does show that it is very tough and I am sure they are going to be trying very hard next year to make it up. I just think that the thing that's helped us this year is that we have been fast everywhere we have gone. That's a pretty hard thing to do.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, joining Team Target was definitely, I think just from the knowledge and the experience that they have is -- it's kind of -- it definitely a good feeling to be involved in an organization like that, I think. It's just so much easier for the driver, I think, and it's just, I don't know, makes it a lot easier on you.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, that's later this afternoon. Just checking out New York at the moment.

SCOTT DIXON: I don't know, I think we're meant to do a call with them shortly. I can't imagine, some of it will be, you know, a little bit of talk will be about Kenny's accident because of Dave being involved with that. It will be good.

SCOTT DIXON: Thank you very much.