Catchfence

Stanton Barrett, Paul Tracy and Scott Sharp were guests on today’s Indy Racing League teleconference

About the speakers: Stanton Barrett, Paul Tracy and Scott Sharp discussed the upcoming Indianapolis 500. Barrett will be a rookie in the race, while Tracy returns for the first time since 2002 and Sharp returns after a one-year absence.

Stanton Barrett

· 36-year-old rookie in the IndyCar Series will be attempting to make his first start in the Indianapolis 500

· Drives the No. 98 CURB/Agajanian/Team 3G entry co-owned by long-time Indianapolis 500 entrant Greg Beck

· Has a season-best finish of 12th in the season opener at St. Petersburg

· Qualified 18th in his IndyCar Series oval debut at Kansas

· Competed in nearly 200 NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup races since 1992

· Has worked in more than 200 motion pictures and television series as a professional stuntman

Paul Tracy

· 39-year-old veteran of parts of 18 seasons in major open-wheel racing

· Drives the No. 15 GEICO/KV Racing Technology entry co-owned by Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven

· Has made two starts in the IndyCar Series, finishing second in the 2002 Indianapolis 500 and fourth in the 2008 Rexall Edmonton Indy

· Has made five starts in the Indianapolis 500, recording a best qualifying effort of seventh in 1993 driving for Team Penske

· Won 31 races in CART/Champ Car and won the 2003 series title

· Native Canadian who now resides in Las Vegas

Scott Sharp

· 40-year-old veteran of 11 seasons in the IndyCar Series from 1996-2007

· Drives the No. 16 Tequila Patron Panther Racing entry

· Has made 13 starts in the Indianapolis 500, recording five top-10 finishes, including three consecutive top-10s in his last three starts from 2005-07

· Won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in 2001

· IndyCar Series all-time leader with 146 career starts

· Has nine career victories, 32 top-five finishes and 82 top-10s

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Select Quotes: Listed below are select quotes from today’s teleconference. The complete transcript and audio MP3 file are posted at www.indycar.com/media.

Q:Stanton, let’s talk about the transition to the IndyCar Series so far. Tell us about how things have been going and what are some of the biggest adjustments you’ve had to make?

STANTON BARRETT: The supporters we have have been very supportive, but it’s been difficult to get to the track. We haven’t got to test this year, except for Homestead. All things considered, I’m pretty happy with what we’re doing. It would be nice to have a second car to help us with data and just get more information a little bit more quickly so we can get closer to the curve.

I’m pleased with everybody’s performance. We’re a new team with regards to running full-time, some of these tracks, this new style of cars is new to both Owen (Snyder III) and Greg (Beck), people on the race team as far as a lot of information. We’re growing and building together. We have long-term goals and we’re keeping that in perspective. I’m a flat-out rookie when it comes to open-wheel racing. I’m learning a lot, also being cautious about how we approach it so we can maintain a positive learning experience and growth and achieving our goals to get through the year.

Q: You’ve had the chance to come to Indianapolis as a spectator several times. What does it mean to you now to get the opportunity to compete in the Indianapolis 500?

STANTON BARRETT: It would be unbelievable. It’s something I always wanted to do, to be able to be in the Indy 500. Right now we have a lot to do. Like I said, we’re a small team, limited funding. We’re working on some really good sponsors to help make that endeavor a little more possible and easy in the month of May. So looking forward to see if that comes to fruition.

For the meantime, we have to make the race first to be able to have the pleasure and opportunity to be able to race the race. That’s going to be kind of back in the days, I feel like the days of NASCAR for me, where each race was all or nothing. There’s a lot on the line. I have no experience there in an open-wheel car. There’s a lot of differences from what I’ve tried to learn and gather from people. I’ve got to go out and do my job, and the team has to do their job and we need to work as hard as possible, and hopefully we’ll be able to live that dream and be in the Indy 500.

Q: Paul, you’ve known your team owners Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven on and off the track for years. Tell us about the chance to work with those guys for the month.

PAUL TRACY: I think it’s great. I’ve known Kevin since he got into the car. Then Jimmy got involved with him. We’ve been competitors. But Kevin has always been very friendly with me, has said to me on a couple of different occasions that at some point he would like me to drive for him. So we’ve finally got that opportunity to do that. I couldn’t be happier. Obviously the team is doing a good job this year. I think Mario (Moraes) is just lacking a little bit of experience. That only comes with time.

But the team, I feel they’ve got competitive cars. A lot of the guys on the team, the mechanics and engineers, I’ve worked with in the past. Quite a few of them are from Forsythe. My championship year at Forsythe, the guys on the team were on my crew, you know, three, so it should make the transition to getting there and getting up to speed fairly easy ’cause it’s pretty comfortable surroundings really.

Q: Let’s talk about the month of May and the race. What type of goals and expectations have you set for yourself heading into the month?

PAUL TRACY: For me, the only reason I want to go there is to try to win. It’s not to go there to qualify and make the field and have a good day. I said at the press conference in Long Beach the reason I’m going there is to win. If we can do that and generate a lot of media for our sponsor with GEICO, hopefully we can grow this into something bigger and better. Right now the focus is just on Indianapolis. If that goes well enough, then maybe we can get into the races in Canada or maybe more.

Q: Scott, I’m sure you’ve been watching the series from afar. It’s obviously very competitive, maybe more competitive than it was your last couple years. How tough do you think it’s going to be to qualify in the top 11 on pole day?

SCOTT SHARP: I think it’s going to be pretty tough, for sure. No doubt the series is really competitive. It looks like a lot of the teams have closed up on the top couple teams. Maybe some of the advantages they’ve had in the past are a little more widely available now. And I think certainly I imagine that five through 15 type spots are going to be really, really tough. It’s going to be a tenth of a mile an hour over four laps that’s going to be the difference. I’m expecting it to be competitive. There’s nothing like qualifying at the Indy 500. Something I’ve always gotten really pumped up for. I think it’s going to be great to be part of it.

Q: You come as a one-off. You join a team in Panther Racing that has Dan Wheldon, the 2005 Indy 500 champion. In a situation like that, how closely do you work with Dan when it’s a teammate really for just one race like this? Have you talked already or what’s the plan there?

SCOTT SHARP: Well, I think the way Panther plans to do it, certainly everything is open, everybody is working together, one big team. Dan and I have always gotten along really well, so no issues there. I have a lot of respect for him. He knows his way around that place really well. It’s just a matter of I think, you know, adjusting our cars every little bit we can to get the most out of them. I imagine we’re going to work pretty well together. With us both having a lot of experience, I’m pretty hopeful it’s not going to take me long to get up to speed and I can be contributing pretty quickly. I think it’s going to work really well.

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The 2009 IndyCar Series season continues May 24 with the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 1 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 211. The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com. The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights season continues May 22 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast May 22 by VERSUS as part of its Carb Day coverage from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. (EDT).

- Indy racing League, Press Release