Homestead: Bryan Herta Qualifies Fifth

       HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Feb. 28, 2004) -.XM Satellite Radio driver Bryan
Herta earned the fifth starting position for tomorrow's Indy Racing LeagueŽ
IndyCarŽ Series season opener with a lap at 216.545 miles per hour around
Homestead-Miami Speedway.
       Herta showed speed in this morning's practice session and was able to
carry that over into the afternoon qualifying.  The temperature increased before
the qualifying session which changed the handling on the car, but Herta was still
able to keep a lot of the speed the team gained during practice.
       Herta's Andretti Green Racing teammate Dario Franchitti will start fourth
after posting a lap of 216.599 miles per hour.  Defending pole-sitter Tony Kanaan
will start eighth with a lap at 215.976 miles per hour.  Dan Wheldon will start 14th
after a lap at 215.017 miles per hour.
       Herta and the rest of the field will take the green flag for tomorrow's 300-
mile race just after 2 p.m. (EST).  The Homestead event, which will air live on
ESPN, is the first of the 16 scheduled for the 2004 IndyCar Series schedule.


Bryan Herta, Driver, #7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone
       "We were hoping to go a little bit faster in the XM Satellite Radio car, but
I'm pretty happy.  The guys did a great job, we just lost a little bit of balance from
this morning and that cost us a little bit of speed.  We thought we would get a bit
more out of the changes we made after the practice, but that is the thing about
qualifying. You only get one shot at it."

George Klotz, Team Manager, #7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone
       "I'm really happy with how we qualified.  Obviously, we want to be starting
from the pole but we just couldn't do it today.  I think we'll have a good car
tomorrow and I think you'll see some passing during the race so we'll just play it
by ear with our strategy."