CHAMPCAR/CART: Andretti, Fittipaldi to guest on "The Jersey"

IRWINDALE, Calif. (October 26, 2000) --- Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline driver Michael Andretti and Big Kmart/Route 66 driver Christian Fittipaldi will appear as guest stars in an episode of the Disney Channel's original series, "The Jersey," the No. 1 rated show on The Disney Channel, which is seen in approximately 62 million homes (airdate tbd).

The Newman/Haas Racing drivers shot the segment on Wednesday, October 25 at Irwindale Speedway in California prior to participating in this weekend's CART FedEx Championship Series season finale, The Marlboro 500 at California Speedway, on Sunday, October 29.

Andretti is the winningest active driver in the CART Champ car series with 40 victories while Fittipaldi scored his first CART victory at the Texaco/Havoline 200 at Road America in 1999 as well as scored his first pole position in his homeland of Brazil the same season.

"The Jersey," follows the fantastic athletic adventures of 15-year-old Nick Lighter, his cousin Morgan and his Monday Night Football Club friends. Nick inherits an old football jersey from his deceased grandfather, but it's more than an ordinary jersey - it's a magical portal into the world of professional sports. Its bearer is transported off the couch, onto the playing field and into the shoes, or in this case race car, of major sports celebrities.

Andretti and Fittipaldi will join a roster of previous guests that include many of the world's top athletes. Some of the football greats that have appeared on the show include Steve Young, Kurt Warner, Payton Manning, Marshall Faulk, Terrell Davis and Doug Floutie. Basketball icons Lisa Leslie and David Robinson as well as National Hockey League heavy hitters Jeremy Roenick and Sergei Federov have also appeared on the show. Major League Baseball All-Stars Nomar Garciaparra and Gary Sheffield as well as other top athletes including Michelle Kwan, Brandi Chastain, Tony Hawk, Michael Johnson and Dominique Dawes, as well as many others have made a guest appearance as well.

In the episode entitled "Three Boys and a Nephew," Nick Lighter (Michael Galeota) desperately wants to be bumped-up to first string on the football team. He tries to win points with Coach Clifford by babysitting his eight-year-old nephew, but the Jersey transports the boy into the race car of Andretti while he, Fittipaldi, and the other series drivers race at speeds over 200 mph.