WHELDON STARTING 12th AT RICHMOND

       RICHMOND, Va. (June 27, 2003) – Rookie Dan Wheldon posted his
fastest lap of the day in qualifying, putting the Klein Tools/Jim Beam
Dallara/Honda/Firestone 12th on the starting grid for the Suntrust Indy Challenge
at Richmond International Raceway.  Wheldon lapped the three-quarter mile
track at 164.200 miles per hour and will roll from the outside of the sixth row.
       Wheldon struggled during the two afternoon practice sessions while
battling a mishandling car.  The Klein Tools/Jim Beam crew continued to work on
the car throughout the session -- improving it with almost every change.
       Scott Dixon won the “MBNA Pole Award” with a speed of 168.138 miles
per hour.  Sarah Fisher will start second after posting lap of 167.004 miles per
hour.  Tora Takagi will line up third on the grid after a lap of 166.724 miles per
hour.  Wheldon’s teammate Tony Kanaan will start from the fifth position.
Kanaan circled the tri-oval at a speed of 166.137 miles per hour.  Bryan Herta will
start 9th after posting a qualifying speed of 165.408 miles per hour.
       The Suntrust Indy Challenge will go green at 8:06 p.m. EDT and will be
shown live on ESPN.


Dan Wheldon #26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone
       "I was a little conservative on my first qualifying lap.  We’ve been
struggling a little bit with the car this weekend.  Confidence is a big part of getting
around here fast and I’m gaining that.  We’ve improved the car throughout the
day and I think the Klein Tools/Jim Beam car will be good tomorrow night.”
f
                Practice                                 Qualifying
Position             19th                 Position             12th
Speed                160.795 mph          Speed                164.200 mph
Time                 16.7916 seconds      Time                 16.4434 seconds
Total Laps           112

Tony Cotman, Team Manager, Klein Tools/Jim Beam
       “Dan did a really good job in qualifying because we threw a lot of stuff at
the setup.  It’ll be tough starting in the middle of the field but we think we’ll be
alright.”