CHAMPCAR/CART: Herdez Competition announces all-mexican lineup for Mexico City

INDIANAPOLIS (September 16, 2003) - Herdez Competition today announced that they will become the first team in Champ Car history to field two Mexican drivers when rookie Roberto Gonzalez will be entered in the 17th round of the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford in Mexico City, Mexico. For this event only, to be held October 10-12, 2003 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Gonzalez will take the reins of the number 4 entry usually driven by veteran Roberto Moreno.

Maintaining Grupo Herdez's tradition of supporting the careers of young Mexican drivers, Gonzalez, a 27-year-old native of Monterrey, Mexico, will be given the opportunity to race alongside second-year sensation Mario Dominguez in the hugely successful Gran Premio de Mexico, one of the largest sporting events in Mexico and currently the attendance record holder in Champ Car with 351,972 over three days in 2002. Gonzalez has one previous Champ Car start; this season's first event on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida with the Dale Coyne Racing team.

Gonzalez's car will also highlight the first involvement of Nextel Communications, a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communication services, with Herdez Competition's Champ Car team following a very successful season for the Herdez-Nextel team in the Mexican Copa Corona Series.

Following his 2002 season in the Telefonica World Series by Nissan, Gonzalez is eagerly anticipating his Herdez Competition debut. "The Gran Premio de Mexico is a huge event in my country," he said. "For a Mexican driver to be given the opportunity to compete in this race with the support of Herdez and Nextel is enormous. I am really looking forward to working with Mario Dominguez and the entire Herdez Competition team to make this a big success."

Keith Wiggins, Herdez Competition Managing Director, shares Gonzalez's enthusiasm. "Herdez Competition regards the Mexico City race as the crown jewel of the Champ Car series and the most important race from the standpoint of our primary partner Grupo Herdez. For the team to field two Mexican drivers in this event provides enormous potential for maximizing the commercial benefits for the team, Grupo Herdez, Nextel, Del Valle, Astra Zeneca, Quaker State and all of our other partners."

Gonzalez visited the Herdez Competition race shop in Indianapolis last week for a seat fitting and will be attending the next round of the Champ Car World Series, the Grand Prix Americas in Miami, Florida, with the team.

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