Menards Infiniti Pro Series owner-driver Gary Peterson announced ꦿthat his team would make its 2004 season debut in Phoenix next week, and may expand to run two cars later in the season.

Q:
We've heard that you have an interest in fielding a two-car team in 2004 but, at this point, only one car, with you behin𝕴d the wheel, will be entered in the Phoenix race next weekend. Are there plans to have a second car in 2004 at some point?

Gary Peterson:
Yeah. We ran two cars last year, for GJ Mennen and myself. And, we are a💮ctually close to having somebody in that second car for Phoenix - that's why I was a little bit late getting to the 'phone [for this interview]. We probably will have an announcement tomorrow for the seco𝔍nd driver for the Phoenix race.

Q:
Are you saying that ꩵyou will definitely havඣe a second car at Phoenix?

GP:
Yeah, looks like it's going to happen.

Q:
Any chanceᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ w🍒e could get a second name out of you, or not?

GP:
No, I can💎't do it. I was trying to, but they have to wait until tomorrow morning.

Q:
I understand. You've obviously been a successful businessman with AFS. How has that helped you become a te🉐am owner in the Menards Inf𒊎initi Pro Series?

GP:
It's helped a lot. We have 350 employees here, with the different departments. Trying to keep everything together, keep everybody happy in thꦏe organisation, it's a tough situation in running this business, and also trying to run the race team. I'd like to step out of it a little bit more and have somebody else be involved a bit more, so I've been working towards that. But all in all, they're both a business, and you have to treat them as a business. That's about all I can say about it.

Q:
What are some of the challenges of being an owner-driver in s🅷uch a competitive sport?

GP:
Well, just like this. I was two minutes late for your press conference. I had another call coming through. I was trying to get off. It's just last minute trying to catch an airplane to get back to Indianapolis to get everything organised. Just things change constantly in a business. Meetings come up that are important. Yo🤪u have to rearrange your sch✃edule. As far as the racing part of it, driving the race car is the easy part. I think everybody that owns a team or runs a team would say that. It's hard to keep both things going at the same time.

Q:
Gary, have you ever talked to Eddie Cheever and compared notes on what it 🌳was like to be both a businessman and ❀also a driver?

GP:
I haven't talked to Eddie directly on that. I've talked to him - I've talked to numerous other drivers in the 🥂past in my former Atlantic career that I had for ten years. I haven't talked to Eddie, but I know exactly what he went through. This is supposed to be my last year of driving. I am going to step out of the car after t▨his season. Hopefully, that will ease up everything that goes with it, a little more pressure, and we can do better with the two-car team next year.

Q:
As an older driver, do you kind of🅠 get pleasure out of running with the young guys like Arie Luyendyk Jr?

GP:
I really do. I've got such support from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the safety team. I would step out if I wasn't competitive. Other than the accidents I've b🐬een involved with, which are out of my control, we run right up at the top with them. I do enjoy it. But I think I will enjoy stepping out, getting a young driver, working with him, bringing him up through the ranks.

Q:
Would you like to get one through the🎃 ranks to the Indy 500? Is that ki♉nd of your goal?

Q:
Yes, it is. My goal, my dream, like everybody else, was to run the Indianapolis 500. But, just with what it takes to do it, finances, the time, it isn't going to happen with me. So I think that's the only way I'd be able to live my dream, is to do that. A great friend of mine passed away last week, Louie Unser. Louie and I were tight. He started me in this racing career I have. You🧸 know, we talked about it. Louie wasn't able to drive it, but he lived his dream in bringing up his brother and the other people he's been involved with.

Q:
Going back to kind of the balance between being an owner and driver, do you feel on r✤ace weekend it's almost a sense of relief to get to the racetrꦐack and finally get in the race car? Is that really your get-away?

GP:
Yes. That's exactly right. When I get to the raceཧtrack, you go in that zone every driver talks abꦏout, and I forget about the business. Basically, I focus on racing. For me, I mean, my blood pressure drops, everything gets in slow motion. It's great euphoria. It is a release for me from this business.

Q:
Did you become a race ⛎car driver and then an owner? What was first🔥?

GP:
Well, they kind of started at the same time. I started racing in the desert; off-road racing, motorcycle racing, like most of us did in California. Rick Mears, Roger Mears♋, a whole bunch of us started here. I had a sponsorship, but it wasn't enough. So I actually started my own business to go racing. That is kind of how I did it. The business got larger and larger, what always happens✨ in the business, you run out of time, have the money, but you don't have time to do what you love. Time just slipped by since I started.

Q:
Thank you very much, Gary. We appreciate you joining u꧂s on today's call. See you nextও week down in Phoenix.

GP:
Thank you.