Barron to lead Schmidt challenge in St Louis.

Sam Schmidt announced today that Alex Barron would assume the duties of the #99 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Racing Special. Barron, who has demonstrated the ability to perform well with limited resources in CART, has been on Schmidt's shortlist for a long time.

"I spoke with Alex back in May at Indy. We have raced against each other in Formula 2000 and I have kept up with him ever since, " stated Schmidt. "He has had some great runs in CART with several teams despite not always having the best equipment underneath him. I believe that Alex is strong on oval tracks and having run at St. Louis already, I am frankly just looking forward to having a great weekend at the race track."

Barron spent the 2000 season running with Dale Coyne Racing. He has led a total of 22 laps with a best finish of 8 th at Fontana. Other prior CART experience includes; Penske and Dan Gurney's All-American Racers. He was the Series Champion in Toyota Atlantics in 1997 as well as Rookie of the Year.

A native of San Diego, California, Barron seems pleased with the opportunity at hand.

"It's always exciting when you know you have an opportunity in a competitive car," stated Barron. "Sam Schmidt Motorsports has certainly demonstrated their ability this season. I know that Sam is anxious to continue making progress through the year-end and I believe we have the tools to do just that. The car will have a great baseline set up on it and all though there are lots of variables at St. Louis and it's a new field of competitors for me, I think that my experience in running at Gateway will be an asset."

The will be Barron's first appearance in the Indy Racing League and the Indy Racing League's first appearance at Gateway International Raceway.