Bear Stearns and CART to Hold Motorsports Business Forum at the Shell Grand Prix of Denver

    NEW YORK--Aug. 15, 2002--In a concerted effort to help teams educate prospective sponsors, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. and Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. (CART) announced today that they will be holding a Business-to-Business Forum, Thursday August 29th, at the Shell Grand Prix of Denver.
    The B2B Forum is designed to provide investors and businesses with a thorough understanding of the financial opportunities that exist in CART. In addition to the forum, attendees will have a chance to visit the CART paddock garage area, examine the cars and get a behind-the-scenes look at the CART FedEx Championship Series. Featured speakers at the event include Christopher R. Pook, president and CEO of CART, Ed Sachs, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Pioneer Electronics USA and Bob Graham, manager of motorsports sponsorships at Shell Oil Products. The event will also include a forum discussion, entitled, "Generating Revenue through Motorsports".
    "The motorsports industry creates an impressive blend of entertainment, business-to-business and investment opportunities," said David L. Rosenberg, Bear Stearns managing director and a contributing organizer of the event. "We believe this Forum will offer a rare opportunity for those outside the industry to gain a greater understanding of the business."
    "CART is taking a leadership position as it pertains to providing a sports marketing environment that is conducive to the creation of new business opportunities," added Christopher Pook. "This B2B Forum, held in conjunction with the debut of the Shell Grand Prix of Denver, is an excellent opportunity for those companies not currently using our sports marketing platform to come and check us out."
    For additional information on the Forum, please contact Andy Castleman on 317-715-4134 or via e-mail at businessdevelopment@cart.com, Jason Berlinger on 310-201-2727 or at jberlinger@bear.com or David Rosenberg on 310-201-2727 or drosenberg@bear.com.
    Founded in 1923, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. is a leading worldwide investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm, and the major subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. . With approximately $31.0 billion in total capital, Bear Stearns serves governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company's business includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, institutional equities and fixed income sales, trading and research, private client services, derivatives, foreign exchange and futures sales and trading, asset management and custody services. Through Bear, Stearns Securities Corp., it offers prime broker and broker dealer services, including clearing and securities lending. Headquartered in New York City, the company has approximately 10,500 employees located in domestic offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Juan; and an international presence in Beijing, Dublin, Herzliya, Hong Kong, London, Lugano, Milan, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. For additional information about Bear Stearns, please visit the firm's Web site at http://www.bearstearns.com.
    Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. owns, operates and markets the CART FedEx Championship Series. Current points leader Cristiano da Matta, along with former series champions Michael Andretti and Jimmy Vasser, are among the stars who will battle for the 2002 FedEx Championship Series title with championship-winning teams such as Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team KOOL Green. 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 American Honda, Ford Motor Company, Toyota, Lola Cars, Reynard Motorsport and Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC. The 19-race 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series will be broadcast by new television partners, CBS, FOX and SPEED Channel. CART also owns and operates its top development series, the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship. Learn more about CART's open-wheel racing series at http://www.cart.com.