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IRL: Eddie Cheever Set For Dover's 'Monster' Battle

29 July 1999

Dover, Delaware - Last year, Eddie Cheever's Indy 500 winning Indy car, along with that of his teammate Robby Unser, came home on the back of a flat bed. Steeling himself for one of the toughest race tracks in America, Cheever plans to drive his #51 Children's Beverage Group Dallara/Goodyear/Infiniti this time into victory circle.

"I had just come from the big prize money win at Indy and then, in less than an hour, proceeded to leave Dover with eight hundred thousand dollars less on my balance sheet," reminisced the Pep Boys Indy Racing League driver/owner, Eddie Cheever, Jr. of the 1998 event at Dover Downs. "It was the fastest dissipation of assets I've witnessed in my life."

"Dover is the most physically demanding race track we run on, equaled only, in my opinion, by the F1 circuit in Monte Carlo," described the former Formula One driver. "It is furiously fast and extremely unforgiving. You get no rest on this track. If you are in traffic and trying to pass another car, and that person is not paying attention or panics, it can be catastrophic."

Dover is the only high-banked one-mile oval the Indy Racing League runs on. Affectionately called the "Monster Mile" by race fans and race teams alike, the combination of the 24-degree banking and the concrete make it one of the fastest, but also one of the most relentless on both car and driver. Lapping the 1-mile circuit in under 20 seconds and at speeds over 185mph, the 200 lap event feels more like a 500-mile race as cars and drivers bump along the concrete circuit in the dead heat of summer.

"The rest of the season is going to be one highly intense contest after another, with any number of cars positioned for the lead," spoke Cheever of Sunday's race. "We have a very high chance at victory this weekend, but with the Championship drive as close as it is, we need a clean race with no tactical errors."

Currently ranked fourth in the drive for the Championship with 149 points, Cheever is only 31 points from leader Scott Goodyear (180), ten from Scott Sharp (159) and an extremely slim four point margin from third place Jeff Ward (153). Team Cheever is ranked third in the overall Team Standings.

The MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200, round 7 of the 10-race Pep Boys Indy Racing League series, will be televised, tape delayed, on the Fox Television Network at 3pm EDT on Sunday, August 1st. SpeedVision will televise PPG Pole qualifying live at 12 noon (EDT) on Saturday, July 31st.

Primary sponsorship of Team Cheever comes from The Children's Beverage Group. 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 http://www.tcbginc.com. Associate sponsors of Team Cheever include Netoy.com, GO-RACHELS.COM, Menards, Ceramiche Ragno, Goodyear, Infiniti, STP, TruGreen*Chemlawn, Bosch, Pennzoil and Invincible Sportswear.

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos and racing art, please visit The Racing Image Galleries and The Visions of Speed Art Gallery

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