CART MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 16, 2000

Michael Andretti

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Thank you good to be here.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I think it's going be much better. For one, it should be a lot warmer, which will make it a lot safer for tire temperatures and things like that. And hopefully, the weather will be a lot more predictable. I don't think we are going to have any snow this time, and I think you're going to see a much bigger crowd because of it. And I'm very happy because -- I think it was a blessing in disguise for the race that hopefully we'll be able to show that there are a lot of racing fans that are willing to come and watch a race, but under more acceptable -- acceptable circumstances weather-wise.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Very disappointed, yeah. It's going to be tough. We're going to test, actually, at Milwaukee this weekend, and hopefully come up with something a little bit better for the race. You know, I struggled there and we're hoping that we can get the car a little better and have a good race car, but it will be tough starting that far in advance.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't know, I don't really look at that. I guess the only thing that I look at are the wins category, because that -- that was always my goal when I came in to racing was I just wanted to win as many races as I could. And it's nice to see that I've been able to achieve that side of it. So that's a good feeling. But, you know, I'd love to have a go at that, getting up there to second place, but it will be tough.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Yeah, there's a warm-up on the mornings -- I think it's 9:00 to 10:00.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: An hour practice and then we race.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: No. Just be watching NBC, how our friends do over there.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I think in some ways you'll be wanting those guys to do well, but I'd also like to see Al do well, too. I think I was very happy for Al to win the last race, and he's running very well there, too. Just to see him close to the leader chart in terms of time, I think is a scary thing for the rest of the field, because whenever Al is up in the Top-10, you know, he's going to be tough.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't think so. Really, if we would not have had that problem in Brazil, I believe we would have won that race. We've been in position to win a lot of races here, but we've had a lot of bad luck. To answer your question about that, yeah, I feel that we were double-penalized. We did get a penalty in the race and took us out of contention for the win, and then to find out two weeks later, which was the worst part of it, that we had the points taken away, it was just very disappointing. But unfortunately, had to deal with it.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: From what I understand, it's non-appealable. I'm not sure there's a whole lot we can do about it.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I think also you're going to have to play your strategies for pit stops a little bit differently. When you're in the back of the pack, you can gamble a little bit more. When everybody pits, you may stay out and hope they catch a yellow later or something like that. I think you'll see we'll be playing things a little bit differently there. You know, we're going to need some luck to get it done. But if we're lucky enough to get up there and get track position, you know, then I think we have a shot at winning.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Oh, absolutely. First when I saw Jimmy smoke out in front of me, I thought, "Well, this was a lucky one." And then all of the sudden I see Juan pulling into the pits and I thought, "Whoa, we can win this thing now." It's just one of those things. I've been on both sides of it, and I figure -- I've always said what goes around comes around, and I guess it was my turn to take advantage of that; whereas, a lot of other people have taken advantage of my misfortunes.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't know. You always -- you just you do. You just try to -- it's nice to have that momentum and have that -- maybe just gives each and every one of us a little bit more confidence that we can get it done. Unfortunately, though, we're going into a race weekend where we've already qualified and qualified not so good. But hopefully, like I said, we can go to Milwaukee and get a good test under us, and maybe get the car really good that I can make my way to the front.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I think it's important. I think, you know, that -- I just feel confident that we're going to fill the stands there, and I think when we do, then CART will look at that race a little bit differently and maybe give it a better date, because I think that's the only thing that Nazareth has been lacking is a good date. You know, there are millions of fans around here, but to put them up in those stands in April here is just crazy. I mean, nobody in their right mind would do it. And to see the people that were willing to do it really says something, you know, that we do have a lot of great fans here. And I believe -- I'm believing, I'm hoping that we are going to get a lot more walk-ups for this one and we'll show that this is a race that should stay on the calendar.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Oh, absolutely. There's cities standing in line for races all around the world, and here we are, we have one in our backyard. And they are not standing in line for just the heck of it; they are doing it because they know it's very -- it has a big impact on their economy in the local areas. So you know, we're very fortunate to have this race in our backyard, and I'm just hoping that everybody comes out and supports it now that we have a good date.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: To be honest with you, I haven't really noticed anything a whole lot different. At Motegi, I think the racing was very similar to the way it was the year before. I don't think its affected it. I think it's just made it a little safer, because we're going lower on the straightaways and like through Turns 1 and 2 that was flat, we were going like almost ten miles per hour slower than we were last year.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Well, I think one thing we've got to start looking at it horsepower. We have so much horsepower in these cars now that I think we've got to start cutting it down a little bit.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Every win feels great, but there always are some that are going to stick out from others. The ones that I can really remember like when I won the championship in '91, that was a huge win; coming back from Formula 1 and then winning in Australia the first race, you know, those wins are special. And this one is special, too, because I was able to tie now Al Senior, who is a living legend in the sport. So that feels special.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't know. After this year, I have another two years left on my contract, and that will put me at 40 years old, and then I just have to sit back and see how I feel.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't know. I really don't understand the total deal on that rule. The worst part about it is, I mean, it was very evident that there was an injury. He was sent there on a stretcher. So I don't know what the deal is with that rule. The worst part about it is -- what I feel what we need to do is change the procedures of pit stops to get the vent man and the fueler out of the way before we're allowed to send the cars. And I think if that were to happen, you won't have to have those injuries. I think it's going to happen again, you know, before they change these rules. They have got to do it soon.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Yeah, maybe. I don't know. That's a good point. I didn't really think about it, but maybe.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Second. Second-oldest guy out there. Luckily, Moreno got a ride.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Yeah, it's pretty amazing, really. To think that I am one of the older guys out here is pretty crazy, but then again, you've got to look at the way the sport has evolved. It's a much younger sport than it was it ten years ago. Ten years ago, you had a lot of guys in their 40s still racing, but you haven't have that any more because of the competition, it's just so tough, and these young kids are pretty darned good.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Well, I'm much more relaxed, but I think that has to do with experience. I think as for my physical side, I've been working very hard on that because I know that I am a little older, and everybody out there now works out and is in peak physical shape. And I know I need to do that to stay with everybody, and so that's the reason why I do it. And it's helped me tremendously in the race car. So that's been really good. But as for me, also with my personal life, everything has been going fantastic, married to my wife and everything -- I'm just very happy right now and very focused on what I'm doing as well.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I think that you know there's a balance there. I think when you're young, you have just so much energy and you're willing to take more chances than normal, things like that. And if you get away with them, you know, you're a hero. When you get older, you take less chances, but you rely on your experience to make up the difference, you know that a lot of times works for you. So, they balance themselves out.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Yeah, we'll be there.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Well, we don't get to test much now with the testing rules that they have in effect. So it will be very important and it will be the first time that we have the Lola and the new Ford engine on a permanent road surface. I think it will be a steep learning curve for us there, and most people, you know, because most people have not run on a permanent road course yet.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Well, first the Lola, I mean, the Lola is a good car. I'm not sure it has a huge advantage, but I think it is a good car and it's been good on the ovals, but I think both teams, as well, in the past had good setups on the ovals. So it's hard to say exactly if it was the car or the setups. As for the Toyota, yeah, it had horsepower. They were strong on the straightaways, but also they were running less wing; so that would be part of it too, why they were a little quicker on the straightaways.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Right now I have no plans. You know, I'm having a hard enough time taking care of myself right now.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't know, I mean, that's not my background, but I think it's something that we need to look at. Unfortunately, I hate to bring it up, but I think one thing we need to do is get this thing settled between CART and IRL because I think we are definitely split right down the middle right now, especially for the oval audience.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Well, I don't know, I think we right now are just at the limit of what we can do with races. You know, I think if we have many more races, we are just going to burn teams out, because these guys right now are burning the candle at both ends just to keep up with the schedule. So I'm hoping they don't plan on adding too much more to it, because you know, our teams will be worn out. I don't know, if we do go to Europe, which is probably something we need to do for the series because we have so many fans in Europe, you know we're just not going to be able to have any more over here, though and we may have to lose one.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Correct. You know, because, you know, we say how great we are now, I hope that now they are going to be compared to the best teams -- one of the best teams that we have in CART and hoping they go over and do the job that we all know that they can do.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Well, yeah, I think it's going to say a lot considering that they are going over there with, what, four days of practice, or whatever, four or five days of practice before the race, when all of these other teams have been racing these cars for years. And if they go over and do a good job, you though, I think it's going to say something, you know, the type of preparation that we have in our series compared to their's.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't know. I don't know if I really am. Marco is showing some signs of it. But if he wants to do it, fine, I'll be behind him. But if he doesn't, I'm totally fine with that. I'm just sort of in the middle on it. You know, I just want him to do whatever they really want to do. Whatever they do, I just want them to give 110% of what they are going. It doesn't matter.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: Oh, obviously, in anything they would do.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I don't know, yeah, I believe that there could be. I believe that if the engine situation was resolved with, you know, the leasing of the engines, if it would be allowed in the IRL, I believe you would have all the manufacturers involved, and I believe then you would have something that would be able to build on to settle this whole dispute.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: I never actually met Adam. We were actually in Motegi and it was -- I think it was the morning -- the morning of the rainout, we were at breakfast and I was told about it, and totally shocked. I just couldn't believe, you know, after Lee Petty dying so close, it was just terrible for the whole Petty family. It was just one of those things, you know. Unfortunately, this is a game that we all know is dangerous and we all know that life has got to go on, but, you know, we always in the back of our minds are praying for them that they are going to be okay. It just was a bad deal.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI: It's so competitive. It's never been this competitive, ever. And I think it's safe to say this is the most competitive racing in the world, and maybe of all-time that we are experiencing right now. And to win a race right now, it definitely does feel gratifying.