Mario Andretti and U.E. 'Pat' Patrick Step Down from Cart Champ Car Board; Businessman Robert D. Biggs Seeks Election in July

INDIANAPOLIS, June 4 -- Racing legends Mario Andretti and CART Champ Car co-founder U.E. "Pat" Patrick will relinquish their positions as members of the Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. Board of Directors next month, although both plan to stay involved in the sport they have helped define for five decades.

Andretti is stepping down to enter into a more defined business relationship with CART Champ Car and the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. He is currently a spokesperson for the open wheel racing sanctioning body in which he won his fourth and final Champ Car title in 1984.

Most recently Andretti served as liaison for CART Champ Car and Road America, helping reinstate the longtime Champ Car race in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, which resulted in the renaming of the August 3rd event as the "Mario Andretti Grand Prix at Road America Presented by Briggs & Stratton."

"I've very much enjoyed serving on CART's Board of Directors and I'll continue to be a very active and vocal supporter of CART and Champ Car racing," said Andretti. "CART's unique mix of road, street courses and ovals continues to be the best challenge in racing and a true test of a race car driver, and I will always support that challenge."

Patrick, one of the most respected names in Champ Car racing and CART's first president, will also not stand for re-election. Patrick will continue to pursue his many business interests in addition to his role as owner of Patrick Racing, one of the most successful teams in Champ Car racing history with past drivers, including Andretti, Gordon Johncock, Emerson Fittipaldi, Scott Pruett, Adrian Fernandez, Roberto Moreno, Jimmy Vasser, and in 2003, Oriol Servia.

Patrick and Andretti will formally step down from the board at next month's annual meeting of stockholders at the company's Indianapolis headquarters, where respected businessman Robert D. Biggs will be up for election to the board.

Biggs retired from the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers in October 1999, where he served as the managing partner of the PricewaterhouseCoopers office in Peoria, Illinois from 1984 through 1990 and the managing partner of the Indianapolis office from 1992 to 1999. Biggs has been the responsible partner for accounting services for a variety of New York Stock Exchange listed companies throughout his career.

Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. owns, operates and markets the 2003 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. Veteran racing teams such as Newman/Haas Racing, Player's/Forsythe Racing, Team Rahal, Patrick Racing and Walker Racing will compete with many new teams this year in pursuit of the Vanderbilt Cup. CART Champ Cars are thoroughbred racing machines that reach speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour, showcasing the technical expertise of manufacturers such as Ford Motor Company, Lola Cars, Reynard Motorsport and Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC. The 19-race 2003 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford will be broadcast by television partners CBS and SPEED Channel. CART also owns and operates its top development series, the Toyota Atlantic Championship. Learn more about CART's open-wheel racing series at www.champcarworldseries.com .