Friday Qualifying Report on the IndyCar Series at Phoenix

CARPENTIER MISSES QUALIFYING AT PHOENIX

Avondale, Arizona, Friday, March 18, 2005 - Patrick Carpentier missed
the only qualifying session for Round 2 of the 2005 Indy Racing
League IndyCar® Series schedule following an accident during the
second practice session held Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.
The Red Bull Cheever Racing driver suffered rib injuries when the
rear of his Dallara-Toyota took off before hitting the
energy-absorbing SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction system)
barrier covering the cement wall. Carpentier traveled to a local
hospital for x-rays before being cleared by medical staff to return
to the track where he met his engineers.

The Canadian driver was disappointed with the outcome, as he will for
the second time in two races, start from the back of the grid. Two
other drivers, Tony Kanaan and Paul Dana, did not make qualifying
attempts, and Carpentier will start 20th alongside Ed Carpenter, whom
he replaced at Cheever Racing.

''The left side of my rib cage was hit by a piece of the brake system
that came lose when I hit the wall,'' said Carpentier who was cleared
by the IRL medical to start the race. ''The team put a neutral set-up
on the car and it did not work. The rear end came loose. This
situation changes everything because I was hoping to start mid-grid.
Now, I'm back of the pack again. I will have to be patient, but I
cannot afford to lose a lap to the leaders early in the race. It's a
tall order for such a short track. But, we never know what can happen
in a race. I must bring the car back in one piece and score as many
points as I can. At least, this is what I'm hoping for.''

Bryan Herta won his first-ever IRL pole, lapping the one-mile oval
track in 20.3837 seconds (284.229 km/h) to edge the Dallara-Honda of
his Andretti-Green teammate Dan Wheldon (20.3985 s) by only 0.0158
second. Helio Castroneves placed his Team Penske Dallara Toyota in
third place with a lap time of 20.4451 seconds. He will share the
second row with the Dallara-Chevrolet of South African Tomas
Scheckter, who rounded the oval track in 20.4466 seconds. Each of the
three engine manufacturers placed a car in the first two rows. Dario
Franchitti of Scotland and Sam Hornish Jr. of the United States will
fill row three.

Drivers return to track on Saturday morning for a 30-minute warm-up
session. The green flag for Round 2 of the 2005 season, a 200-lap
race, is schedule to be dropped at 3 p.m. EDT.

The 10th season of IndyCar Series competition continues with the XM
Satellite Radio Indy 200 Presented by Argent Mortgage on Saturday,
March 19 at Phoenix International Raceway. The race will be broadcast
live by TSN at 3 p.m.

PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY FACTS:
The track is located in the foothills of the Estrella Mountains. It
features a unique bend in the backstretch and varies in banking from
3 degrees on the front stretch to 11 degrees in Turns 1 and 2. It is
banked at 9 degrees on the backstretch and in Turns 3 & 4. Since 1964
the Indycars have made 60 visits to PIR.

Track Length:	1 Mile (1.609 km)
Turn Banking:	11 degrees in turns 1 & 2;
	  9 degrees in turn 3 & 4
Straightaway Banking:	  3 degrees in front & 9 degrees in back
Front Straightaway Length:	2,179 feet (664.159 meters)
Back Straightaway Length:	1,551 feet (472.745 meters)
First USAC race:	March 22, 1964, won by A.J. Foyt (USA)
First IRL Race:	March 24, 1996, won by Arie Luyendyk (HOL)