Q&A: Ganassi Indy 500 squad.

With the announcement that Chip Ganassi was passing over his CART rookies Nicolas Minassian and Bruno Junqueira in favour of a pair of old hands for the Indy 500, the new line-up - and their bosses - became media targets at the Brickyard today.

Mike King:
Good morning. I want to say good morning and welcome to the Trackside Media Center here at the WorldComplex at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. My name is Mike King. I'm the chief announcer for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

I want to say welcome to all of those that are joining us here this morning on the podium. To begin this morning's announcement, we want to say welcome to a man who has gone from being a driver here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to being one of the major players in all of motorsports, be it the CART series, the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Winston Cup series, Chip Ganassi.

Chip Ganassi:
Good morning, everybody. Thanks for being here. When we originally put our plans together to come back to the Indianapolis 500, obviously we had Bruno Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian are our two drivers, and those two guys are here this morning as you can see.

Our thinking is that the experience that they would have gained in the beginning of the season would have been sufficient when we arrived here at Indianapolis. With the cancellation of the race in Brazil and the cancellation in Texas, we felt it was necessary to reevaluate our plans if we were to be in the best position to come back here and win this race.

The reason we're here today is that we've decided to bring two veteran drivers back into the race, and certainly these two guys to my left and right know their way around this place.

Tony Stewart is joining us from the #20 Home Depot Pontiac in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Certainly want to thank Joe Gibbs Racing and The Home Depot. They've given Tony the clearance to join our programme and a chance to attain one of his dreams, to win the Indianapolis 500.

On my right is someone you know I'm familiar - Jimmy Vasser. He's back in his red Target firesuit. Certainly want to thank Patrick Racing and Pat Patrick for giving Jimmy the clearance to race here at the Indianapolis 500 also. We felt Jimmy had a good shot last year and it just didn't work out that way.

Let me start with Jimmy. With what has been going on throughout the spring, and we were trying to decide whether to re-evaluate our programme or not, Jimmy was the first guy that came to mind. He can climb in these cars today and get the most out of it by this afternoon. He's familiar with our programme, our structure, our personnel, and he understands our goal, and that is to win this race.

Certainly speaking of winning races, Tony Stewart is, I guess, pretty fresh at winning races, albeit he was in Richmond Saturday night. I saw him, I was there. I saw him outduel Rusty Wallace in the late stages; and certainly he knows how to win the race, and he certainly knows his way around this track as well. He was on pole here in 1996, and rookie of the year and the IRL champion in 1997. As you know, on Memorial Day, he'll be doing double duty with the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.

Before Tony and Jimmy speak, I want to just go back to one important point. This decision was not made because Bruno or Nicolas did or did not do something right, and it's not because they're unable to win this race. In fact, if you were here at the rookie orientation, you know that Bruno set fastest time during rookie orientation and Nicolas was very quick to adapt to this place as well. Bruno was also on pole this past weekend in Nazareth and finished seventh in the race.

Again, it's not because they did or did not do anything. Our team has proven that we can train rookie drivers in the past; and it's also our goal to set up our drivers to succeed. Right now, we need Bruno and Nicolas focused on their training and development within the CART series. Because, obviously, our most important goal there is to win the championship.

Again, I just want to say how happy I am to be back here. I remember the last time I was sitting in this room and I look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks in this room as well.

So, at this time, I'll ask Tony and Jimmy to offer their perspectives. Then, at the end of this session, I have Juan Montoya's phone number that I want to give to each of these guys so they can call and see if he's got any hot tips for them. Thanks.

Tony, why don't you start?

Tony Stewart:
Well, obviously it's a great thrill for me to be back at Indy. The first thing that happened before we even came to the press conference, I know I'm officially back at Indy because Chuckie pawned me a paper this morning for my dollar. So I know I'm back at Indy officially now because I've got my paper. [laughter]

It's a great combination. I feel like what we have sitting up here today, I had pretty much decided - I guess I didn't really decide that I wasn't coming to Indy this year, but I really hadn't had anybody call and nothing really was approached to me to try to come back to Indy for this year. On our first off weekend, I got a phone call from Andy Graves who works with Chip on the Winston Cup team and he goes, 'You want to go back to Indy this month?' So it started literally about two or three weeks ago.

It's been very impressive to watch how quick and organised this has become, both with Home Depot's help and with Chip's help, also. To do what he's done in two short weeks now, and to get two cars for two different drivers that didn't test here, to get all that preparation and get everything ready for us and make us both comfortable in the cars before we even start today has been a very impressive feat, and it's been fun to watch and be a part of the new team.

I feel like I've got a great team-mate with Jimmy. We both have a common interest in the World of Outlaws series. We've been around each other in the past in different areas. So I think our relationship this month is going to be just as good as what I have with Bobby Labonte in the Winston Cup series and what I had with Robbie Buhl when I was back here racing in the IRL full-time.

But the neat thing about our programme this year, we didn't want to just come back to Indy and race. We want to come, first of all, to win, but, at the same time, we wanted to be able to use the media exposure that we're going to get this month and do something a little bit extra with it this year and try to do something for charity.

We've decided that this year, as Kyle Petty is starting his Victory Junction Gang Camp for terminally ill children, that we're going to donate a hundred dollars a lap for every lap that we complete at both the 500 and the 600. If we can complete all the laps, that will be a total of $180,000 that we'll be able to donate to that charity. So it's given us an extra purpose to be here. Not only are we here to run the race now, but it's also letting us do something good and positive for the community at the same time. So I'm very, very proud and honored that Kyle has let me be a part of this programme - him and Patti - and we're going to do something positive in Adam's memory and at the same time try to win two great races.

So I'm looking forward to the month again. To be a part of a team like Chip Ganassi Racing, it's just a great opportunity. We've got two great sponsors with Home Depot and Target. To see two sponsors that are logistically in the same sponsorship category and retail category to join together like this, I think it shows how unselfish this world really is when it comes to helping people try to realise their dreams. Both Target and Home Depot realise how important this race is to me; and it's been great to have their support. So I'm really looking forward to a good month.

CG:
With that, we'll go to Jimmy Vasser.

Jimmy Vasser:
Thanks, Chip. Tony, I'm looking forward to working with you, too. You've had a great career so far, and to be team-mates - I mean, think of the team-mates that I've had over the years and it's really a list of the, you know, some of the greatest race car drivers that still walk the planet.

You know, it seems a little funny to come back and don the red Target uniform after what's gone on. In its simplicity, I'm stepping into I think one of the cars that has the best chance to win this race, and I very badly would like to win the Indianapolis 500. It's as simple as that. And to get an opportunity to work with all the guys in the Target Chip Ganassi Team and seeing some old faces and friendships rekindled a bit, it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to that. I have to thank Chip for having the confidence in me to come and do a job; and I appreciate that, Chip.

I'd like to echo as well things that Chip was saying about Bruno and Nicolas. They're doing a fantastic job on the CART circuit and I think some unfortunate things happened in our schedule that didn't allow them to get as many miles as they would like. Personally, I think you guys would have done one hell of a job, but maybe you can hang around a little bit and talk with Tony and I a bit, and we might take you to another level for the future oval races.

With that, I'd just like to say thanks for having me back. I'm looking forward to a good month and a victory. Let's get to work, Mike.

Mike Hull:
Thanks, Jimmy. What I'm supposed to talk to you about is what we're up to here this week logistically. As you know, Team Target is exactly what it is - we're a team and teamwork is what this is all about. What we have is a group of people assembled here this week that have been part of our family for a long time. We're proud to have Tony with us because what he represents is exactly that from where he comes. The guy [Joe Gibbs] that he works for exemplifies what Chip stands for. So we're really happy about that.

We have, engineering-wise for us this week, Bill Pappas and Julian Robertson, who were with us last year; and those guys worked as a team last year. Our goal last year was to finish first and second. We were going to let Juan [Montoya] and Jimmy figure that out on the last lap on the racetrack. It didn't happen. We would like that to happen this year.

Julian is going to be with Jimmy again, reunited with Jimmy; and they have a great relationship. He has Barry Wonzer working for him who has been on our CART team for seven years. Barry was part of Juan's deal, part of Jimmy's deal, part of Alex's deal. He's been with us for a long time.

On Bill Pappas' side, which is the #33 car - which is the car Tony's going to drive - we have Simon Hodgeson, who was Juan's chief mechanic last year for the CART championship.

So we have a lot of depth, a lot of experience. We're looking forward to this. Thanks for letting us be here.

MK:
OK, some numbers for you real quickly before we start taking questions.

Of course, Target Chip Ganassi Racing returns as the defending team champion here at the Indianapolis 500 after Juan Montoya won the race in 2000.

For Jimmy Vasser, this will be his sixth appearance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after starting races in '92, '93, '94, '95, and, last season in 2000, where he started seventh and he finished seventh. Jimmy was the '96 CART series champion, has career earnings here at the Speedway of $1,023,527.

For Tony Stewart, this will be his fifth appearance at the Indianapolis 500. In '96, as Chip mentioned, it was his first year as a starter here. He started on pole after the unfortunate death of his team-mate, Scott Brayton. When he moved to the pole position, he was rookie of the year. Tony also started in '97, '98, '99. Tony is really the only driver to successfully do the double here at the Speedway. He finished ninth here in 1999 and left here, went to Charlotte and finished fourth. So it's an impressive feat. Tony was the 1997 Indy Racing League series champion.

So questions, Chip, unless you have something else to add. Are you ready for questions? We'll start on this side.

Q:
Tony, you did the double two years ago. How tough was that and what are your thoughts on attempting it again this month?

TS:
It was pretty tough. I mean the media coverage we got, they made it look a little worse after the 600 than what it really was. They really just wanted to get me in an ambulance and get me to the care centre where I didn't have to have 400 media people two inches from my nose. So it was pretty bad, though. I mean, I was exhausted by the end of it.

But they also say hindsight is 20/20, and we learned a lot from our first experience doing this. So we've got a physical trainer with us that's going to make sure that I'm eating properly, stay off the pizzas and sodas all month. Which if they can keep me off the sodas, that will be a major accomplishment.

Basically, we're trying to do everything we can off of what we learned in '99 to try to do this. We felt like we did it the right way, but we felt like we made a lot of mistakes at the same time, and we're making sure that we don't make those same mistakes this year. I think we've learned a lot in that first year, and I think we'll make the right adjustments.

Q:
Jimmy, could you talk a little bit about how this has all kind of come back for you? When you left Chip last year and went to Pat Patrick, it looked like your chances of being able to come back to Indy weren't going to happen this year. Just kind of talk about how it all came back for you.

JV:
Well first, I feel a little remiss that I didn't thank Pat Patrick for releasing me to do this. I really didn't want to do it unless my team wanted me to do it. I didn't want them to even just say, 'Oh, yeah, it's OK, you can do it'. I wanted them to encourage me to do it and they did, from top to bottom. Pat and Chip were able to, you know, come to an agreement, and for that I appreciate Mr Patrick.

I had a couple of opportunities. I had talked to some people about the Speedway, but it certainly had to be the right situation. There were a couple possibilities that Patrick Racing might do the Indianapolis 500 in conjunction with some other teams, with the thought that some particular sponsors would like to run the Indy 500 and then be on my white, stark white car in the CART series for the rest of the season.

That didn't come about, and then Chip not too long ago mentioned to me that, you know, he was starting to think that maybe since the races were getting cancelled, that maybe the boys didn't have the miles under their belt that he felt was necessary to go into the month with them. One thing led to another.

Like I said, it's the greatest race in the world, and I think probably the greatest team here. I've got a lot of friends and a lot of history with Target Chip Ganassi Racing. There hasn't been any bad feelings since what happened last year at all. Chip and I, we did things together and we're still friends. We still communicate, you know, on a weekly basis basically throughout the off-season. And it was a no-brainer, as long as everybody was happy on both sides.

Q:
Tony, could you explain, being from Indiana, why this race is worth putting yourself through the grind again?

TS:
Well, let's put it this way. I mean I remember when I was in grade school and high school, every day when the school bell would ring at 20 after three, the first thing I did was rush home, turn the TV month of May coverage on; and I got in a lot of trouble with my parents because homework didn't get done, because I wouldn't pull myself off the TV until six.

When you grow up 45 minutes south of here, the whole month of May is it. There's nothing else that matters, especially when you're a young race car driver.

So, to say that my racing resume will never be complete, I've had a great career to this point, but there's a space that's at the top of that that only one thing can be added to and that's the Indianapolis 500 victory. So I can't express in words, to be honest, how much this race means to me. It's just when you grow up in Indiana and you're a race car driver, this is all there is and this is all you think about.

To not have an opportunity to come back here would be devastating. But the only way to come back here is to make sure you're with the right team. That's why, until Chip called, I didn't feel like there were any opportunities that were worth pursuing; and when Chip called, I said this is the right opportunity to come do this the right way and do it the way that I feel like we need to do it to have an opportunity to win.

Q:
Chip, at Nazareth the other day we were talking about what it might cost you just to get Jimmy, and I said between a hundred thousand and a million and you said 'yeah, between there.' I know you're not going to tell us the truth, but just give us a ballpark about what an amazing thing this had to be to put together with Joe [Gibbs] and Tony and agents and Home Depot.

CG:
Without getting into the numbers of it, I'm blessed with having good people around me. Whether it was my friendship with Jimmy and just - you know, it was a very easy thing with him. I mean it was almost as if we just sort of talked about it in passing. It was like, hey, you know.

Of course, Andy Graves made the initial contact, I would say, with Tony. He brought it up to me and said, 'Hey, you know, if you're thinking about doing that,' he said, 'Stewart said something to me.' I said, 'Oh, OK, yeah.' He said something to Tony.

TS:
Don't worry, we all know how it worked. We'll tell you about it later. End result, you're stuck with me for the next three weeks. (laughter]

CG:
I could be stuck with a lot worse guys, I could tell you. It was just a matter of I was lucky. I was in Talladega, Tony and I had a chance to sit down and talk. Then being at, you know, as much time as I'm spending in Charlotte now, it's nice that I can get some things done while I'm there. This is all I do every day on a day-to-day basis. I don't have any other businesses I operate. I'm in the racing business.

I was fortunate, Joe Gibbs, obviously very thankful for him for letting this happen. You know, because you can talk about whether it's in someone's contract or not, but it's really - like Jimmy said, it has to be done with somebody's blessing, not because it's written down on a piece of paper. It's really got to be, like I say, with someone's blessing. So we want to thank his team for that.

Again, with Jimmy, Pat and I are old friends and, you know, we have a long, long history together. It was just a matter of Pat and I sitting down and making sure that, you know, in today's - really for Pat and Joe both, in today's world of racing it's not that they don't - from a team owner's point of view, you have to cover a lot of what-ifs, and I won't go into those what-ifs today. But I mean, obviously these guys have programmes and athletes today, in all the major sports there's a lot of dollars resting on these guys' shoulders in their normal day-to-day jobs of racing, let alone an interloper coming in and saying, 'Hey, we have this one race where we think we can do really well at.'

So, we had to make Pat and Joe comfortable with a lot more of the what-ifs. Certainly they were okay with having Tony and Jimmy drive, but we had to cover our bases on the other aspects, like I said, of the what-ifs.

I want to again thank those two gentlemen for making this possible, because obviously without them giving their full blessing, this would not have happened.

Q:
This may be the biggest financial undertaking you've had to put together just for one race just trying to keep everybody happy.

CG:
Not really. Financially, we're not talking about numbers that would break the bank or anything, you know.

Q:
Not your bank.

TS:
By the way, Chip assured us that you were helping out with both of our salaries anyway. So we appreciate you helping out there.

CG:
I will say this: these two gentlemen up here, both of them said to me - and I'm glad you brought the point of money up - because both of these boys up here said to me that money was not their first issue. Their first issue was the team they were with and they wanted to make sure everything was going into the team. Their salary or their prize money was not first and foremost on their mind. Both of these guys said that.

MK:
Thanks. Because we have so many of you who would like to get one-on-ones, we're going to take one more question from the floor and then we're going to split everyone up for one-on-ones.

Q:
Chip, in an era where racing has become so specialised with the schedules conflicting and all that, talk about just how unique Tony's versatility is. He's been able to win in practically everything he's climbed into.

CG:
Again, Bruce, it's an opportunity I look at, from our team's point of view, we try to do something. Each year we try to raise the bar. Each year we try to raise the level of what we're doing. Our team continues to grow. It continues to explore new opportunities; and where there's an opportunity, we like to exploit those opportunities. You know, it's an honour for me just to be in the situation.

Tony talks about his dreams of growing up in Indiana; and, you know, it's the same for all of us. I know that I had my heroes and, you know, I remember some of the deals that these guys did when I was growing up and listening to and hearing about happening at Indianapolis or happening in racing, it's an honor for me just to be able to have the caliber of driver to want to drive for a team that I'm a part of.

You can talk about putting deals together, but, like I say, it's an honour for me just to have my name mentioned in the same sentence as Joe Gibbs or Pat Patrick or one of those guys.

MK:
Chip, thanks very much for being here. Tony to you, Jimmy to you and Mike to you as well.