Faulkner 2nd/Bell 5th at Kansas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       

Contact:        James Hyneman   
        jhyneman@compuserve.com


                DAMIEN FAULKNER IN CLOSEST RACE IN OPEN-WHEEL HISTORY;
                IRELAND'S RISING STAR FINISHES SECOND AT KANSAS IN PHOTO
FINISH 

        KANSAS CITY, Kan. (July 9, 2001) - Indy Lights rookie Damien
Faulkner, of Moville, Ireland, didn't win the race but he did join the
winner on the podium in what turned out to be the closest finish in
open-wheel racing history at Kansas Speedway, on Sunday, July 8. By virtue
of Faulkner's second place finish and teammate Townsend Bell recording
fifth place, Dorricott Racing gained exclusive control of driver
championship after round six of the 12-race Dayton Indy Lights
Championship. 

        Denmark's Kristian Kolby survived furious charges from Faulkner and
Bell, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., with two laps remaining in the 67-lap
race to win in a literal photo finish. As Kolby, Faulkner, and Bell exited
the final turn of the 1.52-mile oval together, Faulkner split high, Kolby
stayed in the middle, and Bell swung  low. All three drivers crossed the
finish line in virtual dead heat. Moments later, CART timing and scoring
announced that Kolby had beaten Faulkner across the finish line by an
imperceptible 0.001-seconds.

        Dorricott Racing held the previous record margin of victory at
Michigan Speedway in 1999 when Philipp Peter beat then teammate Casey Mears
by 0.002-seconds. NASCAR officials also recorded a similar margin of
victory in 1999 when Terry Labonte beat Joe Nemecheck in a Busch Grand
National race at Talladega Speedway. 

        Four different drivers led the race in an Indy Lights-typical
nose-to-tail, three-car wide display of incredible driving skill.
Polesitter Mario Dominguez, of Mexico, led the first 18 laps before Bell,
who started on the outside pole, took the lead. 

        Matt Halliday, of New Zealand made a strong bid early and led lap
19 ahead of Bell before Bell recaptured the lead. Bell then led 26 of the
next 28 laps with Halliday slipping into the lead on two different
occasions. Kolby eventually caught and passed Bell on lap 49 to secure the
remaining 19 laps.   

        The race's only full course caution rose on lap 59 when Rudy Junco,
of Mexico, hit the wall after tire-to-tire contact with Cory Witherill, of
Santa Monica, Calif. Junco was uninjured, but the six-lap caution set the
stage for a two-lap sprint to the finish. 

        "Getting past Kristian was only going to happen on the last lap if
it was going to happen at all," said Faulkner. "I think he hit the rev
limiter because I started gaining on him for no apparent reason. I had
enough momentum at that point to try the outside. I made my move quite
early but it seemed like the best time to move. Townsend was close behind
me. He dipped to the inside so Kristian looked a little squashed. I ended
up touching Kristian as we were headed to the start-finish. His right rear
tire and my left front tire touched. It wasn't a big deal but it may have
cost me the two or three-thousandths of a second that mattered most."

        Bell was only 0.213-seconds behind Kolby in third place at the
checkered flag. However, he was later dropped two positions in the final
results for exercising what Indy Lights officials termed an "unjustifiable
risk" during the race. Bell, who was serving a one-race probation following
Portland, also had his probation period extended for two more races and was
fined $1,000. Dan Wheldon, of England, was moved to third place in the
final standings and Halliday jumped to fourth.

        Despite the penalty, Bell increased his series lead to 11 points
over Faulkner, 82-71 points. Derek Higgins, who retired with a minor
electrical fire early in the race, is in third place with 68 points. Kolby
moved to fourth place with 65 points. 

        Dorricott Racing's third driver, Jon Fogarty, of Portola Valley,
Calif., was forced to miss his second Indy Lights race of the year due to a
herniated disk located between his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae. Fogarty is in
12th place with 22 points. 

        Faulkner claimed "fastest lap" honors of the race at 0:29.669 =
184.435 mph and earned a $1,000 bonus as recipient of the WorldCom Fast
Pace Award. He also received two Dayton Daytona racing tires as the Dayton
Rookie Award recipient for being the highest finishing first-year driver.  

        Faulkner continues to lead all newcomers for Rookie-of-the-Year
honors by virtue of a six-point margin over his closest challenger Kolby,
71-65. 

        Faulkner's 16 points for finishing second place extended his lead
in the Bosch Platinum +4 Speedway Challenge Award. The Award pays $10,000
to the driver accumulating the most points in 2001's six oval track events.

        Ireland continues to lead in the Nations Cup with 101 points due
greatly in part to Faulkner. The United States is in second place with 81
points. Mexico is third with 76 points. 

        An encore ESPN telecast of the Kansas Indy Lights race will be
shown on Thursday, July 12, at 5:00 a.m. ET (2:00 a.m. PT).
 
        Race results, team, and sponsor information are available on
Dorricott Racing's official web site, http://www.dorricottracing.com. Round
Seven of the Dayton Indy Lights Championship will be at the Molson Indy
Toronto (Ontario, Canada) on Sunday, July 15.

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