---

CART: Ford Drivers React to Cleveland Announcement

16 September 1999

The following is Ford driver reaction to today's announcement that the Cleveland Grand Prix will return as a stop on the 2000 FedEx Championship Series Schedule.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI -6- Kmart/Texaco Havoline Ford -- "CART made a good decision to do what they could to help put Cleveland back on the schedule for next year and I am really happy to see it. Cleveland is such a great race and such a well supported race all around, from the city, down to the fans. So, having said that, we need to have a balance between the tracks we race on. We need to bring our show to downtown areas but we cannot get rid of the Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca-type tracks. There needs to be a balance and I think we have a pretty good one."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ -40- Tecate/Quaker State Ford -- "I think it is great that Cleveland is back on the CART schedule. We have a great fan base there and we need to continue to build on that. Our CART fans in Cleveland are some of the best. The track is very challenging and I like running there."

BRYAN HERTA -8- Shell Ford - "Hearing that Cleveland had been re-added to the schedule for next year is certainly great news. The racing there is very exciting, not only for the fans but us as well. It's a very unique place to race. The fans there have supported us over the years and I hated to hear all the talk that it was not going to be a stop on the schedule for us next year. It would have been a loss for the series. But I am glad to hear the news that it's back for three more years."

Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.