PLAYER'S : "We had a good race on the super oval at Michigan and Fontana is a lotlike that track, except the banking isn't as steep and you have moregrip on the track," Carpentier explained. "Team Player's has been closequite a few times this season, and maybe Fontana is the place wherewe'll be able to put it all together and finish off the season in greatstyle."Tagliani will be getting his first look at the California Speedway superoval, but he acquired some valuable experience on this type of trackwith the July race in Michigan. In fact, Tagliani led the race twice andwas ahead when contact forced him out with 90 laps to go."The fact I was able to hold my own and run at the front in Michigan isa confidence-builder for me heading to Fontana," remarked Tagliani. "Theperformance in Michigan showed that Team Player's has a car that isextremely competitive. So many things come into play on a super ovalbecause there are more pit stops and more laps to run. You need a reallysound, well-executed race plan and, as a driver, you need to be strong,physically and mentally. This is the final race of the year, so I'mhoping we've saved the best for last." PLAYER'S : The Fontana race will decide the drivers' championship. The contendersfor the title are current leader Gil de Ferran, who has a five-pointedge over Adrian Fernandez. Paul Tracy and Kenny Brack are longshotsbut still in the hunt they are tied for third, 19 points behind deFerran. Carpentier enters the race with 101 points, 11 behind the10th-place Cristiano da Matta.Following Friday's practice session at Fontana, Carpentier and TeamPlayer's will compete in the Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge. TeamPlayer's is one of five CART teams who qualified for the competitionby demonstrating pit-stop proficiency throughout the 2000 season. Theteam awarded the most points for making the fastest pit stops wins theChallenge.Racing fans can track the progress of Team Player's this weekend bylogging on to the web site at . They can also watchthe race live on The Sports Network, starting at 2:30 p.m. (ET) onSunday. PLAYER'S : ---motorsport.com -- your source for motorsport news on the InternetTeam Player's Drivers Carpentier And Tagliani Have Plenty Of MotivatingFactors At 2001 Cart Finale In FontanaFontana, California, November 1, 2001 Team Player's driver PatrickCarpentier has already won a 500-mile FedEx CART Championship race on asuper-speedway this season in Michigan in July and he would likenothing better than to duplicate that feat at The 500, the series'season-ending event in Fontana this Sunday. Carpentier's teammate Alex Tagliani, meanwhile, would like nothingbetter than to complete some unfinished business in Fontana, where lastyear he was headed for a podium finish, only to have the car spin offtrack and make contact with the retaining wall with less than two laps togo.These are just a couple of the motivating factors for the Team Player'sdrivers in the 2001 CART finale. A strong performance in Fontana wouldput the cap on a solid season by Team Player's, which overcame someearly-season adversity and became a consistent contender in 2001. ForCarpentier, a race win or podium finish this Sunday would enable him tosurpass his points' total of last year and possibly climb as high assixth in the standings, an improvement of five positions over last year.For Tagliani, whose 65 points are already 12 more than he compiled as aCART rookie last year, a win or podium finish could mathematically boosthim into the top 10 in the standings, from a 16th-place finish a yearago. PLAYER'S : "It would be great to cap the season with a win at Fontana because thatwould deliver another message that we're going to be a major force inthe 2002 series," said Carpentier. "Besides, the $1 million bonus forwinning this race would be a nice reward for all the guys on TeamPlayer's who have played such a big role in our success this year.We've made some good progress this year, with a race win and sixpodiums, and that's definitely something to build on."Another motivating factor for Carpentier in Fontana is that it is one ofonly two races on the CART schedule that he has never finished. Enteringthe 2001 season, Carpentier had no career finishes in Japan, Road Americaand Houston, but this year he crossed the finish line at the latter twoevents. He is hoping that trend continues on the Fontana super-speedway,which, he acknowledges, "hasn't been too kind to me in the three yearsthat I've raced there. But I expect to do well this year. Winning on the2-mile super oval in Michigan a few months ago for my first CART win addsto my confidence going into the Fontana race." PLAYER'S : While Tagliani's exit on lap 249 in Fontana last year cost him his firstcareer podium in the CART series, this time he is heading to Fontana onthe strength of a third-place finish in Australia last weekend. Taglianigarnered his first CART podium with a second-place effort in Toronto inmid-July."I remember what a disappointing finish it was in Fontana last year, andI'm determined not to let that happen again," said Tagliani. "Thistime I'm going to Fontana with more experience under my belt and I hopethat, like last year, Team Player's is in a position to win going intothe last few laps. If that happens, I'm convinced we can get the jobdone."I know I've been saying for the past few weeks that I believe I canget my first CART win by the end of the season. Well, it's down to onerace, and I'm going to go all out to come up with a win, not just formyself but for the entire Team Player's crew. These guys really deserveit because they've been so consistent in preparing a competitive car.The last two thirds of the season, Team Player's has been one of the topteams in the series and that's very encouraging for next year."
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