CHAMPCAR/CART: Memo Gidley has career best finish at Road America

Fast Facts: Gidley wins Bud Hard Charger award 2nd consecutive race (Q18 F6)

Gidley's 6th place today is his best career finish in 16 CART starts

Only Gidley and Adrian Fernandez have finished the last 4 races in the points

Gidley has run 3 races with Players and 4 with Della Penna this season, and has finished in the points in 5 races, with mechanical DNF's in the remaining two.

Memo's record with Della Penna: Michigan: Q20, F10 Chicago Q20, F10 Mid Ohio Q23, F12 Road America Q18 F6 (Della Penna's best finish since Hearn was P6 in Vancouver '99)

Memo Gidley: "I always go into a weekend thinking I could win. That's the mindset. As you start practicing, maybe you're fifteenth, and you think, well, I still think I can win. Every session can beat you down just a bit more, but I never give up and I know that my pit crew the Red Menace never gives up either.

"I knew we had a good car yesterday morning, but we weren't able to show how good it was until the start of the race. I was going outside, inside, down this side, that side, it was hectic. When I came around at the end of the second lap in twelfth place, I was thinking, wow, this race could turn out pretty good. We kept working on the setup throughout the run, and by the end the car was very fast and a joy to drive. The last three laps were so long because I had seen so many cars retire. I'm very proud of my team: in four races and two test days, the DirectTV Toyota-Reynard-Firestone hasn't missed a lap."

John Della Penna: "I really don't want to take anything away from Norberto, but we needed some more experience in the team in order to try to salvage the second half of the season. Memo came in with a lot of good energy and direction for the team; really, the guy is inspiring. He did a great job today and I'm very happy."

Jim Aust, Toyota VP of Motorsports: "I'd especially like to congratulate Memo for his career-best finish. The kid can drive. He's been in the points in every race for us. It really says a lot about the type of drivers that are produced in the Toyota Atlantic Championship."