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CART: MCI CART Team Finishes in the Top-Ten at Fontana

3 November 1998

FONTANA - MCI WorldCom Racing Team/Arciero-Wells driver Max Papis finished 16th today in the season-finale of the 1998 FedEx Championship Series in Fontana, Calif. Robby Gordon, racing the MCI WorldCom/Panasonic Duskin-sponsored entry, finished ninth.

Papis qualified 24th for the 250-lap race around the two-mile superspeedway. Gordon qualified 22nd. The California Speedway race was the second of two 500-mile races on the 1998 schedule.


Max Papis

In the exciting season finale, Papis and Gordon ran as high as ninth and sixth, respectively. The teammates stayed on the lead lap and ran at the front for much of the race. The MCI pit crew had good pit strategies and the pit stops were crisp and performed flawlessly in front of their hometown crowd. Gordon was penalized after he was forced to pit when the pits were closed with a flat rear tire caused by debris from an accident. The penalty forced him to the back of the field when the race re-started. In the closing laps, Papis was involved in an accident on the front straight and was not able to complete the remaining ten laps.

"Today was a special day for me and all of my MCI guys," said Papis. "I arrived here very early to spend the whole day with them. We almost went to the end today and finished in the points, but that's racing and one of those days. I have so many special memories of this team that treated me like family during the last 2 years. They all have very special hearts. I wish them all success and luck next year and the years to come."

Robby Gordon
"I am very proud of Toyota and the Arciero-Wells team, they did a good job" said Gordon. "Toyota is continuing to make big gains in the engine and are becoming more competitive every weekend."

The MCI WorldCom Racing Team/Arciero-Wells will resume action February 2 - 4 for FedEx Championship Series Spring Training at the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex. It will be the team's debut of Cristiano da Matta in the number 25 MCI WorldCom-sponsored, Toyota-powered Championship Car, and Scott Pruett in the number 24 Pioneer Electronics-sponsored, Toyota-powered Championship Car.

In other racing news, the Precision Preparation, Inc. Off-Road team, with driver Ivan "Ironman" Stewart, is preparing their Toyota Trophy Truck for the Baja 1000. The team is looking to duplicate its winning efforts from the Baja 500 in June.

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