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IRL: Team Cheever Prepares for the 1999 Season Opener

8 January 1999

Indianapolis, Indiana - The deep snows and frigid winds of the Mid-West have not been able to damper the spirits at Team Cheever as the 1998 Indianapolis 500 winning race team prepares for its first race of the 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season, the Transworld Diversified Services Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway on Sunday, January 24th.

"Our goal this year is to win another Indy 500 and be so bold as to take the Championship," described the ambitious driver/owner, Eddie Cheever. "Our perspective has changed dramatically from this time last year. As the current Indy 500 Champions, we are planning a very aggressive defense of our title. Simply put, the guys tasted "the milk of victory" last year. There's no going back once that's happened."

Team Cheever will begin the season as a one car effort with Eddie Cheever at the helm of the #51 Rachel's Gourmet Potato Chips/Children's Beverage Group Dallara. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winning Crew Chief, Owen Snyder III, will again be the steady voice at the other end of Cheever's radio and, this year, will be backed by Dane Harte, who helped Robby Unser clinch his 1998 Rookie of the Year Honors.

"In 1998, our eight guys handled the massive undertaking of two drivers and still came home with a win at Indy and Rookie of the Year honors," said Cheever. "As I enter my third season as an owner, I've learned that not only do the resources have to exist, but, they also need to be focused fully on the win. That's is what we are attempting to do this season."

1998 Rookie of the Year, Robby Unser, will again join the ranks of Team Cheever, playing a major role in the team's heavy testing program until further resources become available to run the team's second car more aggressively.

"Robby did a hell of a job last year. We were delighted when he agreed to become an integral part of our test program," said Team Business Partner, Clyde Perlee. "We want to see Robby in race attire as early as possible, but, it is essential that we give him the tools and the backing to ensure him victory."

"Having the chance to work with Eddie, Owen and the guys is very important to me," added Unser. "When they approached me in the Fall on a way I could stay involved, I jumped at it."

Sporting a new paint scheme designed to promote the packaging of its primary sponsors, Cheever's #51 Dallara will be powered once again by Oldsmobile and shod by Goodyear.

"Our sponsors have two very unique products," spoke Cheever of Rachel's Gourmet Potato Chips and The Children's Beverage Group. "We tried to pull the bright blue and red from their packaging in an effort to immediately relate to their target consumers, straight out of the box. You won't miss our #51 car on the track...night or day!"

Primary sponsorship of Team Cheever comes from Rachel's Gourmet Potato Chips and The Children's Beverage Group. Rachel's, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is both the manufacturer and distributor of the 9 unique flavors of Rachel's Gourmet Potato Chips. The company is publicly traded under the symbol "RLDS" and can be contacted toll free at 800-730-3700 or at their website www.GO-RACHELS.com. The Children's Beverage Group (TCBG) is the designer of the RIP-IT SIP-IT(tm) straw-in-the-pouch drinking system that began distribution nationwide in 1997.

For more information, call TCBG's corporate headquarters at 847-562-4040 or visit their website at www.stockprofiles.com/tcbg. Team Cheever is Marketing Partners with Menards, a leader in the Home Improvement industry with 138-stores throughout the Mid-West. Associate sponsors of Team Cheever include Goodyear, Bosch, STP and Invincible Sportswear.