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IRL: Team Cheever Notes & Quotes, Phoenix

10 March 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

MCI WorldCom Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway

On The Announcement Scheduled for Thursday at 1pm MT.

"I am looking forward to getting started as we plan to reinvent the way race fans participate in racing. We will unveil the first elements of our program on Thursday, but we'll continue announcing all sorts of exciting promotional events over the next few months."

On the Phoenix Track

"Phoenix has a lot of heritage since it always was a precursor to Indy. It is one hot, fast, hard, short oval. All three corners demand a unique compromise in your set-up. At Phoenix, you have to decide just how loose you want to run the car in three and four in order to make it through one and two. The long radius corners at Phoenix make you really lean on your right rear and making the tires last through each stint is extremely difficult. It will be another tight, tight race for both the teams and the equipment.

On the decision to run the new 2000 Dallara versus the Riley & Scott.

"We have the equipment now that gives us options track by track. Team Cheever has a very good relationship with both Dallara and Riley and Scott and part of that comes from our emphasis on continual development both from within and without our organization. With the late delivery of the Riley & Scott, we are still closing that development gap. Having Ross as a test driver has allowed us to develop both cars on parallel tracks. Our goal is to be able to now have the luxury of choosing the chassis that most capitalizes any given track.

On the Infiniti Engine

"Ross (Cheever) and I have done a lot of testing since Orlando with the Infiniti engine. We have many more test dates planned before Indy, with Ross in charge of the majority of the driving duties. At Phoenix, we'll be running the same engine spec as Orlando with a few modifications. When we get the 35A, we expect to see an even greater degree in handling and probably a small horsepower advantage. As I've said before, this really is the engine to have at Indy...it will have a smaller, better heart displacement, better fuel mileage and a bit more horsepower."

Firestone Tires

"The Firestones are great tires and we just need to unlock their potential at this point. We are still trying to figure out how the Firestones work best with our package. It still remains the biggest problem that we have yet to solve. It may be one of the reasons that went into our decision to buy the Dallara. It was familiar ground and we had too many pieces to figure out in too short of a time. Tires are going to play a big role here as the track evolves so quickly during the race."

On Being Born in Phoenix

"I was born in Phoenix. My family moved to Italy when I was 4 years old. I still have a lot of family there. It was 25 years ago when I had just started racing that my dad sat me down at the kitchen table to discuss what my helmet design should be. He then opened a book of flags. We took the Arizona flag and then enhanced it with the red, white and blue of the American flag, to send the message I was an American first, a European racer second. "

Memories of Racing In Phoenix

"This state has been very good to me and I carry its flag proudly on my helmet. When I came here for the first Grand Prix race, they named a day "Eddie Cheever Day". It was really quite something! Phoenix was also the first oval I raced on when I moved to Indy style racing and placed 2nd here in 1992 with Ganassi."

Text provided by Krista Riley

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.