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IRL: Cheever Charges To 4th Place Finish at Season Finale

18 October 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Starting in the rear, due to electrical problems on the starting grid, Cheever moves up 22 positions


Fort Worth, Texas - Eddie Cheever, Jr., finished 4th at today's rain stricken, wind rapt Mall.com 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Cheever started the 208-lap race from the 26th position after he experienced electrical problems on the starting grid.

Over the 312 miles, as he moved up the 22 positions, Cheever experienced everything from being bumped during a pit stop by a car who overshot its pit, to nearly being collected by a wreck to his rear. Despite being on what seemed an endless firing line, the team managed to win the Coors Pit Stop Award for the fastest pit stop time during the race. Indeed this fourth place finish was well earned by driver and team alike.

"Hard day at the office," summarized the fatigued Cheever, winner of the season opener in his home town of Orlando, Florida. "In addition to the near mishaps, it is always been my strategy to get the guys at the restart. With the green-yellow restarts, I just didn't have that final advantage today."

As a result of yet another strong effort working his way through the pack, Cheever has won his third MCI WorldCom Long Distance Award for the 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season. With the three race award wins, Cheever also clinched the season long bonus of $50,000.

"We may not have had a shot at the million today, but we did bring home the bacon," said the team owner/driver. "For me, this award summarizes our season. At each race this year, we have had to concentrate on race day rather than on qualifying. Perhaps, it has meant that we haven't gotten the short glory of a pole win; but we have gotten the chance to show, race in and race out, what this team is made of."

With his final Top 5 finish, Cheever will have finished seventh (7) in the Driver Standings for the year. Out of ten races, Team Cheever had three (3) Top Three finishes, three (3) Top Five finishes and four (4) Top Ten finishes.

"I am really looking forward to gearing up our off-season test program," said Cheever of the upcoming 2000 effort. "Infiniti has promised me a very powerful 3.5-litre engine and I can't wait to get my hands on it!"

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