INDY LIGHTS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR HONORS AND SERIES

                        DAMIEN FAULKNER LOOKS TO FONTANA TO WIN 
                    
RUNNER-UP
                        Jon Fogarty is headed for a strong finish !

        FONTANA, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2001) - - The championship has been
decided and Townsend Bell is the 2001 Dayton Indy Lights champion. However,
the overall final results for the season are yet to be determined and much
still remains on the proverbial line for Dorricott Racing and drivers
Damien Faulkner and Jon Fogarty. 
 
        This year's Indy Lights season closer marks the fifth and final
appearance of the Dayton Indy Lights Championship on the 2.029-mile oval in
Fontana, Calif. The green flag is scheduled to drop Sunday, Nov. 4, at
10:15 a.m. (PT) for the final 50 laps (101.45 miles) in Indy Lights
history. The series will end its 16-year reign as CART's primary support
series at the California Speedway.

        Faulkner, of Moville, Ireland, has been a frequent visitor to the
podium  throughout 2001 and that has included two victories. The preface
for his success surfaced in his Indy Lights debut at Monterrey, Mexico,
where he finished a deceivingly impressive seventh place. Faulkner excelled
at Toronto and Mid-Ohio where he started fourth and third, respectively,
and finished third place in each race. He also started third and finished
third in round 10 at Road Atlanta. His six podium finishes include wins at
Texas and Portland. His latest result from Laguna Seca was fourth place
after starting sixth. 

        Faulkner's first career oval track win in April at Texas Motor
Speedway was eye opening because he had never raced on an oval let alone a
superspeedway. His Portland triumph started from third on the grid. After
leading 22 of 38 laps, Faulkner crossed the finish line an unchallenged
16.134-seconds ahead of runner-up Rudy Junco, of Mexico. 

        Faulkner's situation is simple. He is in second place for the
championship with a two-point advantage over Englishman Dan Wheldon,
135-133. Wheldon is also a rookie so a finish ahead of Wheldon would
virtually insure second place and Rookie of the Year for Faulkner absent
Wheldon earning bonus points for winning the pole and/or leading the most
laps of the race. With reported interest from a couple of Formula One teams
for Faulkner's services as a possible test driver, and preliminary queries
surfacing from a couple of CART FedEx Champ Car teams, a series runner-up
position would be invaluable for Faulkner.

        Bell, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., secured the series crown
following his flag-to-flag victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in round 11
on Oct. 14. Bell became the 16th different Dayton Indy Lights Championship
titleist since the series inception in 1986 and the first American to win
the championship since Bryan Herta in 1993.

        Bell has been the dominant Indy Lights driver this year. He has
been the benchmark of excellence in four races by winning the pole, leading
the most laps, and winning the race among his series leading five
victories. Besides flag-to-flag triumphs at Milwaukee, Toronto, Mid-Ohio,
and Laguna Seca, Bell also won at Long Beach in April. Bell has posted
"fastest race lap" on five occasions this season. He finished second place
at Road Atlanta.

        Aside from his Indy Lights duties, Bell has competed in two FedEx
Champ car events for Patrick Racing in Germany and England. Driving the
Visteon Toyota Reynard, Bell finished both races and scored his first CART
championship point with a 12th place finish in his second start at England.
 
        The return of Portola Valley, Calif.'s, Jon Fogarty at Road Atlanta
raised the unanswerable question of, "What if Jon had raced the entire
season?" 

        The 26-year-old driver of the No. 32 Thomas Fogarty Winery &
Vineyards Lola announced at Mid-Ohio during round eight that he did not
foresee completing the 2001 race season due to a herniated disk in his
cervical vertebrae. In fact, he had missed the three preceding consecutive
races at Portland, Kansas, and Toronto, and subsequently did not race at
Mid-Ohio and St. Louis. 

        Fogarty quickly showed he was "back" at Road Atlanta where he
qualified on the outside pole and finished in fifth place. He then
proceeded to win a second consecutive outside pole at Laguna Seca and
finish that race in second place. Fogarty is currently 11th in the season
standings with 48 points. His best case scenario at California Speedway
would include a win that could propel him to ninth place in the final
driver standings

        Fogarty was impressive in his Indy Lights debut at Monterrey,
Mexico, when he finished in third place finish. However, his next three
races were frustrating. Fogarty suffered a race-ending accident on the
opening lap at Long Beach when Faulkner was rear ended by Kristian Kolby,
of Denmark, and pushed into Fogarty. Fogarty's disappointment continued at
Texas Motor Speedway when he was pushed against the outside wall late in
the race by Wheldon while running in second place. 

        Milwaukee's race started optimistically. Fogarty started on the
outside pole and was completing the third pace lap when Derek Higgins, of
Ireland, inadvertently accelerated into the rear of Fogarty's Lola. Both
cars were seeking to warm their tires with Fogarty swerving left and right.
Fogarty was able to continue to pit lane for repairs but he missed the
first 20 laps of the race. 

        ESPN2 will provide a delayed telecast of the California Speedway
Indy Lights race Sunday, Nov. 5, from 1:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. ET (Sunday,
Nov. 4, from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. PT). All times are subject to change.

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