Fittipaldi Claims $1 Million By Winning Marlboro 500 Presented By Toyota; De Ferran Brings Marlboro Team Penske Its Record Eighth Fedex Championship Series Title

ROBERTO MORENO, Visteon Ford Reynard: "This season has just been fantastic. I can't say enough about the team and the job they did to achieve this. I had a couple of handicaps to overcome during this season. There were some places that I'd never seen like Houston and this place, and I hadn't been to Australia since 1996. A lot of times the car wasn't good in qualifying, but we never gave up and the team did a great job. I was setting myself up to pass Christian, but the yellow came out. I didn't have a car that was faster than his, but if I got into his slipstream I was ready for it, believe me. I must say, I was very lucky to stay out of trouble."

CASEY MEARS, WorldCom Ford Reynard: "First of all, I've really got to thank the people that got me here. Bobby Rahal really put his faith in me, and WorldCom stepped up to the plate to get me here, along with Ford. It was just an awesome day. I can't believe I'm sitting up here. At about the halfway point, I got comfortable and was really relaxed in the car. We were out there passing guys, except when we were saving fuel. I got a lot of good advice from my uncle Rick, and he got me up here where he used to finish. Just to be in this field, and to be up here with these guys is unbelievable. I just tried to save the car and get a good finish. It was a great day. The variety of different nationalities brings a lot of different people here. I saw a whole bunch of people here this weekend from Mexico that were here supporting Adrian Fernandez. I also got a lot of support from a lot of people this weekend. I think bringing us American drivers back will really bring interest back into the sport. It will give a lot of people someone to root for here at home. I think Lights does a great job preparing drivers for Champ Cars."

GIL de FERRAN, Marlboro Honda Reynard: "It's so tough to put this into words. I had a fantastic car all day. I felt that if I got up front, I could run ahead no problem. But I got back into the field running 222, 224 [miles per hour], and I had to be pretty conservative. For me to get ahead, I would have had to take quite a few chances, so I tried to stay out of trouble. There were a couple of incidents in front of me. One that comes to mind is the one that took [Oriol] Servia and Michael [Andretti] out. There was so much smoke, I couldn't tell where the cars were. I think the Lord was definitely on my side, because at one point I was looking right at Michael's face. We were nose-to-nose. I flat-spotted the tires on that, but I came in, the guys checked the car, I went back out and it was okay. Obviously, it's a very, very emotional day for me today. I was trying to keep myself calm, but when I crossed the line, I didn't think I was going to make it back. I've dreamed all my life about winning a title like this. I've been racing since 1982, and there are a lot of people that cross your life and help you, and you try to find a way to pay them back. When I crossed the line, all the emotions just flowed out. A lot of important people in my life are here. My mom and dad are here. My wife is here. A lot of my other friends are here. Jim Hall, who gave me my start over here [in Champ Cars] is here. I'm very, very thankful to him for giving me a shot. Derrick Walker was also here, and I'm very, very grateful to him as well. The only one who's not here is Mr. [Jackie] Stewart. He and his son Paul did so much for my career, and I just wanted to thank him publicly. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Mr. Penske, who was on the radio with me all day. When you meet Roger and you start to get closer to him, you start to understand why this team has been so successful. Roger is a very, very special person. I can't believe I'm sitting here as the 2000 champion. Roger will always have a special place in my heart. I'm also happy to win this championship with Honda. I've been with them since 1996, and it's wonderful to have been involved with them, and also Reynard. I've been driving Reynards since 1989, and I'm very, very happy to win the championship in a Reynard. I've always dreamed of this. I always felt it was within my abilities to win one of these championships. To be here talking to you as the champion is very, very satisfying. I'm going to try to enjoy this taste in my mouth for as long as I can. It hasn't sunk in completely yet. When I stepped inside this uniform for the first time, I was very aware of the people that wore it before. Some very special people wore this: Emerson [Fittipaldi], Rick [Mears], Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, they were a lot of great champions. It's a definite sense of mission accomplished.'