#10 Kanaan CART Motegi Saturday Race

Contact:  Laz Denes, 256-657-6190
ldenes@monunnracing.com
www.monunnracing.com

Tony Kanaan

#10 Pioneer-WorldCom/Mo Nunn Racing Honda-Reynard
Bridgestone Potenza 500 - Race Notes/Quotes - Saturday, April 27, 2002
Twin Ring Motegi - Motegi-machi, Haga-gun, Japan - 1.5-Mile Oval
Round 3 of 20 on the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series

Tony Kanaan and his #10 Pioneer-WorldCom/Mo Nunn Racing Honda-Reynard saw a
promising run end 121 laps into today's 201-lap Bridgestone Potenza 500 with
a mechanical failure.  Kanaan was leading the race when he reported heavy
smoke in the cockpit on Lap 118.  He pitted on Lap 121 and retired with a
mechanical failure.  Kanaan started second and took the lead at the start,
staying in front until the first round of pit stops on Lap 38.  He resumed
just behind Paul Tracy and stayed in the second position until shortly after
the second round of pit stops began on Lap 75.  Kanaan retook the lead on
Lap 84, and stayed there for all but one lap until his Lap 121 retirement.
Kanaan, who finished third here from the fifth starting position last year
for Mo Nunn Racing's first-ever podium, led 72 laps in all today and earned
his first championship point of the season.  Kanaan also recorded the
fastest lap of the race, a 26.425-second (210.891-mph) tour of the 1.5-mile
Twin Ring Motegi oval on Lap 31.  His front-row starting spot this weekend
was the fourth of his career.

Polesitter Bruno Junqueira scored the victory today with Alex Tagliani
second and Dario Franchitti third.

Speed Channel's showing of its first tape-delayed broadcast of today's race
is at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Round Four of the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series schedule is the Miller
Lite 250 on June 2 at the Milwaukee Mile.  Next up for Mo Nunn Racing is the
86th Indianapolis 500 on May 26, where Kanaan will team with Indy Racing
League regular Felipe Giaffone in identical Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing
Chevrolet G-Force entries.  Practice opens next Sunday (May 5) with Pole Day
qualifying set for Saturday, May 11.

TONY KANAAN

"What can you possibly say after that ... another day in paradise?  Three
DNFs in a row is definitely a bad trend that we have to get over before we
get into the meat of our schedule in June.  I did my part.  The team did its
part.  Once again, we have to leave here trying to believe that there is
still a long, long way to go in the season and we can get over this bad
streak and back into the points race.  That's life ... things happen.  But
it's really tough to take, especially when you have a weekend as good as we
had until the problem in the race.  We definitely had the car to win today.
It just wasn't meant to happen, for some reason.  What that reason is, we'll
find out someday.  But for right now, we can only go home and be thankful
that we are in one piece, and remember that it could have been a lot worse."

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