Klein Tools/Jim Beam Driver Dan Wheldon 18th in Motegi Practice

       MOTEGI, Japan (April 15, 2004) - Klein Tools/Jim Beam driver Dan
Wheldon posted the 18th fastest time in limited practice today for the Indy Racing
League® IndyCar® Series Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.
Wheldon posted a top speed of 198.494 miles per hour at the 1.5-mile oval.
       A technical problem in today's first practice session limited Wheldon to only
one lap. But, after a lot of hard work by the Klein Tools/Jim Beam crew Wheldon
returned to the track for the second session.
       Last year's IndyCar Series Rookie-of-the-Year worked on improving the grip
on the car during the session and started to find a good balance as the session
came to a close.
       Wheldon's teammates Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti were first and
second fastest today, turning laps of 203.907 miles per hour and 202.374 miles per
hour, respectively.  Scott Sharp was the third fastest at 201.905 miles per hour.
Bryan Herta also faced technical problems today and managed the 12th fastest
speed of the day.
       Qualifying will begin at 11:30 p.m. (EDT) tomorrow for the Bridgestone Indy
Japan 300. Round 3 of the 2004 IndyCar Series will start at 11:30 p.m. (EDT) on
Saturday.


Dan Wheldon, Driver, #26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone
       "It was one of those days, very disappointing.  The Klein Tools/Jim Beam
car is very strong, but we had a technical problem this morning and were only able
to complete one lap.  In the afternoon, there were a couple of incidents on the track
that hindered our running program.  We haven't found the balance I want on the
car yet, but I know we aren't that far away."

Tony Cotman, Team Manager, #26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone
       "We had a technical problem this morning which limited our running and
then in the afternoon session there were a lot of incidents, which cut our afternoon
session short.  We will look at our teammates' data and find a good starting point
for the Klein Tools/Jim Beam car tomorrow."