CART MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 4, 1998

Greg Moore

GREG MOORE: No problem.

GREG MOORE: Obviously you look at it and it looks fairly bleak right now because Alex has got a big lead, but like I have always said with me when you have one bad race it seems like for some reason another one falls. You kind of lose track of things and you have a couple of bad ones in a row, and I am not exactly sure why that happens. But, I mean, a couple of bad races for Alex and everything is real tight again. We tested really, really well at Mid-Ohio; then at Elkhart on Wednesday last week, so I am actually looking forward to it. I think the Player's car, you know, it has been extremely reliable so far this year. I am just going to make sure I qualify the car up in the front and just put my best foot forward. The way we are approaching it is just taking it race by race. We are going to Mid-Ohio now we just decide: Okay, how are we going to get the most points out of Mid-Ohio, well, A. We have got to try and qualify with the pole and B. Win the race.

GREG MOORE: Yeah, I did the 39.8.

GREG MOORE: Thank you.

GREG MOORE: (laughs) Well, I mean, beginning of this year we were the prime contender for the Championship and I think we still are one of the contenders. Like I said to Gordon, the bad luck thing, if you have he has a couple of bad races, things are right back together again. Who knows what could happen after that. I think that, as far as Alex goes, I can understand if he wants to go, he is from Europe and Formula I kind of lives on its horizon, but on the other side of things, I think that what he has done here in the this CART FedEx Championship is something very remarkable. And, I think that his name and his style of driving and that type of thing that he is, the type of person he, he has just made a bit more credibility to this series and he has brought the level of competition up. I mean, if he hadn't come in and been as aggressive as he is, who knows what -- this Championship wouldn't be as tight as far as drivers-wise because he just kind of helped gain that next -- that level.

GREG MOORE: I guess if that did happen, I mean, you'd have to kind of look at it and say: Well, I am one of the guys that is fighting for the Championship, but I mean, there are still guys like I think that we have heard of Michael Andretti and Al Unser, Jr., I am sure they will still be around for a while. As far as the names in this series, I think because there are so many new guys in the Championship right now that -- I mean, it is only my third year, so as Tony Kanaan and Helio and Patrick and all these guys start to do better then more and more names will be known and there will be a ton of other guys that fans can cheer for also.

GREG MOORE: I can't say that it is anymore important now just because of money. Obviously any time -- I mean, at Michigan it is kind of different because it is such a big racetrack and the race is so long so the pole position isn't that important there. Whereas, you look at Mid-Ohio where there is a couple of decent passing areas, but if you get up front and get a bit of a lead, it makes your job a little easier because you don't have to take as many chances in traffic and be on the edge quite as much. So you are always trying to qualify up at the front. But, on the other hand, I don't know if I want to qualify at the pole because you look -- no one who has qualified in the pole won the race for a long time, so maybe I just want to be second and then just win the race.

GREG MOORE: I have been saying it all along it has been dead in the water for the last two years.

GREG MOORE: No. I am going to NASCAR racing next year (laughs).

GREG MOORE: Well, the first road course in Long Beach we were running 4th and catching up to second and third -- actually all four of us were kind of in a train and I had to stop and go penalty for knocking down one of my crew members on my last pit spot. And, so we finished 6th there which really wasn't too bad. Then Detroit was a great one for us, qualified in the pole. And finished we didn't -- we got fifth -- fifth there which wasn't exactly what we wanted. But, still not a bad result. Then we -- Portland I made my mistake. We didn't quite hit the setup there and I just decided that I had to try and pass a few guys early on and I saw a hole and took it. And made that mistake. Cleveland, just a bad weekend in general. Had some kind of very bad stomach virus, you know, as you know I was very, very sick there. And then the car bottomed, went off the racetrack and you know, that was that. Toronto, we were running 7th and catching up to 5th and 6th. We broke a pop-off valve with 15 miles to go. So, we just had some bad luck on the road courses and we had bad luck on the ovals too at Milwaukee where we were leading, but it is just -- I think you look at the numbers, so far we have done more ovals than we have road courses, so as we start to go on here, I think you will see that we get those -- all those points back up and I am really confident that we can do well in these next few races.

GREG MOORE: Let us hope so. (laughs) I mean, there is no better way to shake a monkey off your back and you know, just get kind of back on in the fling of things, back on a roll, than, you know, winning a race. It puts a sparkle back in everyone's eye - in mine and also on my mechanics'; everyone is just really, really excited about what we have got going on now and we have had a great test at Mid-Ohio before the Michigan race and we had a great test at Elkhart on last Wednesday. So, I am extremely excited about what we have got coming up.

GREG MOORE: No. Really, we are not even really looking too much at the Championship now. At the end of the race weekend we look at where we are and say: Oh, we have gained some points on Jimmy and Alex, but we are 4th; who is right behind us. So, we have just got to make sure we keep our heads down and just go at it race by race by race. I think for a while there, we were looking at the Championship just saying: Okay, well, we need these many points; we need this many points. We are just going to get as many points as we can. Then at the end of the race weekend, then you look at what you have done on the weekend and what you got to do next weekend coming up.

GREG MOORE: Well, thanks appreciate that.

GREG MOORE: I will let them know.

GREG MOORE: (laughs) No, not at all. I have still got another year on my contract with Player's Forsythe, so as far as I know, that is where I am going to be unless something dramatic changes, but it has been a good relationship with Player's Forsythe. I mean, they gave me the opportunity to do it or to get to this level. We had a great year in '95 with Indy Lights and then to make the jump to the CART FedEx Championship, it is, you know, they gave me something that not many other people would have taken the chance on a 20-year-old kid to do, and I think it has been a mutually beneficial thing for both of us.

GREG MOORE: (laughs) Thanks.

GREG MOORE: As far as the emotion goes, you have mixed emotions because we had such bad luck in the two or three races prior to Michigan and then to get a victory, it was extremely extremely good. We knew that we had a good shot at winning that race and so we figured once we did win it, I mean you just are extremely, extremely, extremely excited; you are very happy. Because kind of shaking off the monkey off your back then, and you have won a race. On the other side of things (phone interruption).

GREG MOORE: I lost the phone line too. Don't worry.

GREG MOORE: Yeah, I didn't learn about it. At that time you feel extreme sorrow for the people that perished in the accident and you offer your condolences to the family - not much more you can say to make that pain go away. But, as far as the race goes, for me, it was probably one of the most exciting races, if not the most exciting race that I have ever driven in.

GREG MOORE: I think that probation doesn't really help your focus. I mean, if anything, it might change the way you drive. You might just be a tiny bit more cautious instead of throwing the nose in there I have once in a while, you might just kind of sit back and relax for a little bit longer. So can't say it made me a better driver, no.

GREG MOORE: I mean, I honestly don't know too much about it. I know there is going to be a lot of 90 degree turns, stuff like that. That is really where the passing is if you have got a decent straight-a-way going into a good breaking area with some 90 degree turns at the end of it.

GREG MOORE: Honestly, when you come in for your first time you just kind of -- you will see a lot of drivers and engineers walking around the racetrack looking at the bumps here and there, just kind of trying to get the feel for the racetrack. You look and kind of decide: Well, is it similar; what kind of racetrack is it similar to. Similar to Long Beach or similar to Detroit, something like that. Then you are going to start off with a setup that way.

GREG MOORE: Gretzky or Howe. Oh, boy. Probably more like probably a combination of both. I mean, Gretzky has done it now in the modern era which is the way I look at it, kind of like Center is known the same as Stewart, right? Center and Stewart they come from completely different time zones as far as the racing history goes and I'd like to be known kind of in between the two. Gretzky is the modern day hero and Howe is kind of the classy -- the classic hockey player. Kind of like to be known as both. I have done it this way, but also kind of some of the old schools too.

GREG MOORE: I mean, the thing about Alex and I think he'd probably say the same thing about me is we are unpredictable, never know where they are going to go. Like my pass on him, he thought for sure I'd take the inside in Brazil and I took the outside to pass him for the win. And that is the thing. That is, I think, how the best racers are. Michael - you don't know what he is going to do, he is either going on the inside or outside, or what he is going to try. And that is really how you are successful, I think. Everyone knows okay, well, he is going to the inside, for sure; you block the inside and he is never going to try the outside. You won't be as successful. If you can surprise somebody by doing something different, then you are going to be ultra successful.

GREG MOORE: I think every driver is probably different. Some drivers probably try and rally the troops around them or some drivers might just sit back and say: Okay, I have got to do this; I have got to do that; then just kind of get in the race car and do it - where, I try to do both. When you have three or four bad races in a row, the morale on the team, it doesn't go down, but they just kind of lose the sparkle and the fire in their eye. And, you just keep pumping them up, telling them that you are out there doing the best that you can, so they should be out there doing the best they can which they always do anyways, but just a little reassurance every once in a while. If something is extremely good, then going into a 500 mile race like we did at Michigan, I knew that we had a good race car there because we had been working all weekend on working in traffic and making sure that the car was good for a long run. And, I said -- I told these guys, I said: Hey, if the car is running at the end of race, we are going to have a great shot at winning this thing and they all said: Okay, we are going to give you the best that we can. The things about a 500-mile race, because it is so long, even if you have one or two bad pit spots like we did because I stalled it twice, doesn't really matter.

GREG MOORE: Probably a bit of both. I mean, you feel that you have let -- like I did at Portland - I mean, I let myself down because that is something that I very rarely have ever done. Everyone kept saying it was very unGreg-Moore-like kind of move. It was. It was something -- it was kind of out of desperation because I was in 14th and I needed to make a move up near front if I could. And I took a chance and just didn't work. And then on the other hand, these guys, my mechanics and my sponsors all these people, they put so much time and effort into my race car, that to see it go out in the first turn, you know, you have let them down because they want to see the car running around all 200 miles and they want to see it win the race.

GREG MOORE: I don't know honestly know. I think that -- I think I probably would have. In 1996 at Michigan at the first U.S. 500 to spin and continue on and go on and lead the race later on and then be running second, and then having the engine break, I think that that was probably a fairly, you know, good move on the maturity behalf because I respect these big ovals because they are so fast, you have to respect them but on the other hand, because the car did stall twice in a row, and, you know, then we had a small electrical problem on the racetrack once, you do kind of -- it is testing, for sure, there is no doubt about it. And you just start -- you start to think to yourself: Is it going to happen every time now? And that is what I was saying to my mechanics and engineers over the radio: Is this thing going to do it every time because if it is, get ready with the starter because it is going to be a long race.

GREG MOORE: I mean, I guess if you could do that you'd be superdriver, I mean, really. You look at the people I race against, I mean Michael, Al, Alex, Jimmy, Paul, Dario and Max, just the list of drivers that are out there is ultra impressive and if you could take one thing from every one of those drivers, you'd be an outstanding outstanding driver. And, I think because you do race with these people every race, you learn things from them and you might not mold things might, not put something that Alex has done into your bag of tricks, but you just learn something about him: Well, okay, Alex might do this. I am sure going into Rio next year if Alex and I are racing side-by-side going into Turn 1 with five laps to go, he probably won't give me the outside; he will probably make it a lot tougher for me to go. That is more of what it is, learning what every other driver does.

GREG MOORE: As far as a driver because I am competing against them, it kind of gives you something to shoot at. You know every weekend that those guys are going to be there. And, that is really what you have got to look at. Got to look and say, oh, here we are, we are at Mid-Ohio coming up and Alex won there last year and Alex and Jimmy both tested extremely well there, so who are the guys to beat. Well, you make a list and at the top of the list are both the Target cars. But, on the other side of things, if you do beat them, it makes it extremely satisfying to you, like, my -- both of my wins this year have been racing wheel-to-wheel with Alex and Jimmy both. And, so it makes it more gratifying when you win that way. But, just because this series is so competitive, doesn't matter, Patrick Racing, Ganassi Racing, Penske Racing, or Forsythe Racing, all of us are extremely, extremely, extremely competitive people and we all want to win and that is really what this series is all about. It is not just one person winning every race. There is maybe a team that is going to be running at the front most of the time, but they are not going to win every thing.

GREG MOORE: They have made huge improvement. I still think that every racetrack can improve their safety. But Elkhart this year has really, really, really made a huge step in the right direction. They have got gravel traps that are done the right way. They have got a lot higher catch-fencing on spots that are over 120 miles an hour or something like that. They have got catch-fencing pretty much all around the racetrack. So it is very, very good that way. And, there is still areas where you kind of look at it, you think: Well, they can still do something there, but definitely, definitely a huge step in the right direction.

GREG MOORE: Oh, definitely. Not so much the kink and stuff down there. But, Turn 1 was the biggest one for me. It just -- because they have got a new gravel trap there and the wall has been moved a little bit closer, the tire wall has been moved a little bit closer to the racetrack. It just looks like it is an extremely tight turn now compared to what it was before. So I was talking to Max Papis and to Dario about it at lunch when we were having lunch on Wednesday at the track. I said: Holy cow, just seems so narrow. They had said the same thing: Wow, you go through it, you are coming up in there, looks like an extremely tight turn now.

GREG MOORE: Well, I mean, Turn 1 is -- it's a fairly quick turn, 4th or 5th gear depending on what kind of gearing strategy you are running third, fourth or fifth gear. And it is 130, 140, 150 mile an hour turn going up into the key hole you break down into second gear. It is kind of a different turn because it is off camber a little bit. You are kind of falling away a little bit in the middle of the turn, the track is falling away from you; then on the exit, you get going down the big long straight-a-way, a good passing area down the straight-a-way get a bit of a draft off of somebody and pass them going into the turn at the end there. That is an extremely quick turn. Doesn't look that quick, but it is like the top of 3rd or 4th gear. Then up over the hill, which is -- it is a fun turn, because the front gets light as you go over there and then you go down the hill and that is -- feels funny because the back -- the front gets light and the back gets light, down the hill, turn sharp right-hander; then back up over another hill and the car will almost pretty much, every lap get some wheel spin and so it is kind of fun there. Another off camber right-hander coming up and then into the second quickest turn on the track which is a lefthander. I think they call it turn 9. And, it is quite bumpy there and then leading into the carousel. Then you do the carousel second gear -- second or third gear, then a little kink before the pit straight, then you have done a lap.

GREG MOORE: Well, Vancouver is still like three or four weeks away for me. So you tend to think about it a little bit because it is your home race coming up. But on the other side of things, is that you are -- right now, all I am worrying about is Mid-Ohio and then after Mid-Ohio, I will worry about Elkhart. Then I have got two weekends off. We are testing at Laguna before the Vancouver race. I have got one weekend where I am going camping with some friends. So I mean, it is just kind of -- you know, I am not looking at Vancouver right now as a race. I am kind of looking at it as a place to go spend some time right now. But as the race gets closer after Elkhart, then you will start to worry about the race and think how you are going to get the car around the track and, you know, being -- staying out in Maple Ridge with my parents, I am sure I will be able to go down to the race track and walk around it a couple more times than most people.

GREG MOORE: Oh, 110 percent. The new track this year will be extremely better. I mean, there is a couple of great passing areas, you see the cars at higher speeds, and it is just going to be more enjoyable for the drivers, but also for the fans.

GREG MOORE: You don't really change your attitude at all. I am looking at Mid-Ohio as a track where we know we can win; finished second there last year and our test this year, we went like second and a half faster than we went last year. So I mean, I am extremely excited about it. I think our chances are good and what we have to do is just make sure we keep our heads down and not let -- okay, Michigan is over. We won the race. But don't worry about it. We have to worry about Mid-Ohio now.

GREG MOORE: No.

GREG MOORE: No.

GREG MOORE: Well, I think that what we have kind have done, I think, the last couple of road course events, we have had a couple of things up our sleeve and thought that we were looking very good going into the race and, for some reason, just didn't pan out; where, now, we are kind of going back to the basics. It seems to be working. I mean, our times are ultra competitive at Mid-Ohio and at Elkhart lake. And, we are just kind of going back to what we know works and we will tinker with that a little bit but nothing too dramatic at all.

GREG MOORE: Well, I mean, it is going to be difficult. Jimmy and Alex have gotten, like you said, an extremely good team there. You can't just -- you can't say: Well, my team is going to beat their team. I wish it was that easy. But, my team, I think is one of the -- it is one of the best teams out there as far as mechanics and engineering-wise go and so you just have to make sure that all the resources are kind of put in the right direction; no one gets off in a tangent, if you have a bad pit spot, make the next one the best one that you have ever had. I think that is something that my guys are very good at this year. Sure, we have had a couple of bad stops, but you look at Michigan where I stalled the car twice and because of the electronics problem, but the guys were right there with the starter, I mean extremely quick pit stops considering what we had going on.

GREG MOORE: I am not exactly too sure on -- I know what it is doing to the events. But we are all still kind of wondering what is going on with the race teams. They have said that, you know, things are going to change in the next -- after two years, at the event signage is going to change at events, but they haven't really said about what is going on with the race cars and the race teams and transporters and things like that. So, I just hope that we are still able to do something. I am a little bit concerned about the future of Canadian racing, without Player's involvement because, you know, like you said, with the Driver Development Program, they have got some up-and-coming drivers that, you know, are extremely talented and without the Players' help, they probably wouldn't have been able to showcase what they have got with me. There is no way I would have been able to make the jump to the CART ranks without Player's Forsythe. For that, I am extremely thankful. But, on the other hand, it is going to make it difficult if Player's does fall away.