XM Satellite Radio Driver Bryan Herta Qualifies 11th at Motegi

       MOTEGI, Japan (April 16, 2004) -.XM Satellite Radio driver Bryan Herta
earned the 11th starting position for tomorrow's Indy Racing LeagueŽ IndyCarŽ
Series Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 with a lap of 204.015 miles per hour around
the Twin Ring Motegi circuit.
       Herta was the third car to qualify and he posted his fastest lap of the
weekend.  Herta then spent the final practice before the event working on the car
in race setup making sure his car will be good during the 300-mile race.
       Herta's Andretti Green Racing teammate, Klein Tools/Jim Beam driver
Dan Wheldon, earned his second consecutive and second career pole position
with a lap at 205.762 miles per hour.  Team 7-Eleven driver Tony Kanaan
qualified third with a lap at 205.690 miles per hour, missing the front row by just
.03 miles per hour.  Honda-powered Greg Ray will start second.  Dario Franchitti
will roll off the grid from the ninth position in the Alpine entry.
       The Bridgestone Indy Japan 300, Round 3 of the IndyCar Series
schedule, will start Friday at 11:30 p.m. (EDT).  The 200-lap event will air live on
ESPN2.


Bryan Herta, Driver, #7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone
       "We picked up some speed on the XM Satellite Radio car for the qualifying
today, but it just wasn't enough.  We struggled a lot this morning in the practice,
but we've started to improve the car.  My teammates came up to me after this
morning's practice and offered any help they could.  We're not where we want to
be right now, but we are improving."

George Klotz, Team Manager, #7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone
       "We struggled a lot this morning, but the XM Satellite Radio crew worked
hard and we were able to improve the car a lot for qualifying.  We still need to
improve the car a little more, but I think we will be in good shape tomorrow."