SCHECKTER TOP CHEVY QUALIFIER AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY

    SPARTA, Ky., Aug. 14, 2004 - Tomas Scheckter was the
fastest Chevrolet-powered driver in qualifying for Sunday's Belterra Casino
Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Scheckter will start Pennzoil Panther
Racing's Chevrolet from the 13th spot on the grid with a 213.091 mph
qualifying lap on the 1.5-mile speedway. Buddy Rice won the pole in a Honda
G Force at 216.016 mph.

    "We're struggling a little," Scheckter said, "but we always know we
have a good race car. Panther's given me such good race cars this year and
that's what we have to rely on. We'll see what we can do tomorrow."

    Rookie Ed Carpenter will start alongside Scheckter after posting
the second fastest qualifying speed for Chevy at 212.976 mph, placing him
14th on the grid in Red Bull Cheever Racing's Chevrolet Dallara.

    "This was the first track where I tested an IndyCar Series car last
year," Carpenter noted. "Kentucky Speedway changes every year we come here.
We backed up what we did in practice, and I thought we could run 213 mph.
Now we have to work on our race setup."

    Carpenter's teammate Alex Barron qualified 17th in Red Bull
Cheever Racing's second entry at 212.051 mph.

    "The car was well balanced, but we have to see on the data what
happened because we ran slower than we did in practice," Barron reported.
"When we ran in traffic this morning we had a really good car, so I think
the race looks good for us. In the race everyone will put downforce in the
car and I think everything evens out."

    Felipe Giaffone, who won at Kentucky Speedway in 2002 with
Chevrolet power, was the 18th qualifier in the Team Purex/Dreyer & Reinbold
Racing Chevrolet Dallara.

    "The car is handling well, but we just can't find the speed," he said.
"I think we're going to have a good race car and hopefully we can keep up
with the guys. The track is not as bumpy and I think that will close up
the competition."

    Jaques Lazier will start from the 20th spot in Patrick Racing's
Chevrolet Dallara.

    "We definitely had a better car than what qualifying showed," Lazier
said. "We made a gear change before we went out. We were running fifth gear
and I was going to go to sixth gear. We decided to stay in fifth and I hit
the hard rpm limiter going into Turn 1. When you hit the limiter it slows
the car down so much that you can't ramp back up. We had a good car and
would have run faster."

    The Panther Racing crew changed an engine in Townsend Bell's
Menards/Johns Manville Dallara after practice; per IRL regulations, Bell
did not make a qualifying run and will start 22nd.

    The Belterra Casino Indy 300 will start at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday,
August 15. The 200-lap, 300-mile race will be televised live on ABC.

BELTERRA CASINO INDY 300 QUALIFYING SUMMARY:
Pos./Driver/Engine/Speed
1. Buddy Rice, Honda, 216.016 mph
2. Tony Kanaan, Honda, 215.731
3. Sam Hornish Jr., Toyota, 215.592
4. Adrian Fernandez, Honda, 215.326
5. Dario Franchitti, Honda, 215.181

13. Tomas Scheckter, Chevrolet, 213.091
14. Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 212.976
17. Alex Barron, Chevrolet, 212.051
18. Felipe Giaffone, Chevrolet, 212.032
20. Jaques Lazier, Chevrolet, 211.968
22. Townsend Bell, Chevrolet, no speed