''To make contact with another car and finish third, we don't see that very often,'' - Patrick Carpentier following his third place finish in Nashville

Round 9 of the Indy Racing League at Nashville Superspeedway

''To make contact with another car and finish third, we don't see 
that very often,''
- Patrick Carpentier following his third place finish in Nashville


Montreal, Saturday, July 16, 2005 - Against all odds, Canadian driver 
Patrick Carpentier finished third again in Round 9 of the Indy Racing 
League Indy Car Series held Saturday night on the Nashville 
Superspeedway. Starting 17th, the Red Bull Cheever Racing driver led 
the 200-lap race with 12 to go but could not hold off Dario 
Franchitti of Scotland, who made a pass on the inside with three laps 
left to score his first win of the season. Sam Hornish Jr. also went 
by the Canadian driver to finish second, but overall, it was another 
unexpected great finish for Carpentier.

Carpentier also finished third on the short Richmond (Virginia) track 
on June 25, but never expected this one after making contact with 
Ryan Briscoe during the race.

''It was a good race and I'm very happy with this third place 
finish,'' said an excited Patrick Carpentier after the race. ''I did 
not know if the car would hold together after the impact but it did. 
To make contact with another car and finish third, we don't see that 
very often. They (Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr.) were a little 
quicker than I was, and I held them off as long as I could. I had a 
great restart but I knew I could not hold them off for the rest of 
the race. It was a good race and I had a lot of fun. Toyota has been 
coming along with improve performance with the engine, and Mecachrome 
made new suspension parts that really made a big difference. We are 
still lacking a bit of speed in the corners, but we have improved 
lot.''

American Scott Sharp finished fourth followed by Brazilian Helio 
Castroneves and Scott Dixon of New Zealand. Danica Patrick ended up 
seventh overall after starting second. Rookie Ryan Briscoe and 
Americans Buddy Lazier and Ed Carpenter rounded out the top 10.

In the provisional standings, Wheldon still leads the standings with 
347 points. Kanaan is next with 271, followed by race winner Dario 
Franchitti with 269 and Helio Castroneves with 260. Patrick 
Carpentier is back in the Top-10 with 185 points.

The 10th season of IRL IndyCar competition continues with the ABC 
Supply Co./AJ Foyt 225 at 2:45 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, July 24 at the 
Milwaukee Mile where Carpentier hold the overall track record. Round 
11 should be broadcast live on TSN. Dario Franchitti is the defending 
race champion.