Sirius at The Glen - Christian Fittipaldi Notes

Christian Fittipaldi Notes, Quotes: Watkins Glen

New York Yankees Pinstripes on the #44

For the first time in NASCAR Winston Cup history, the storied New York Yankees will grace the side of a NASCAR Winston Cup stock car. The Yankees will team up with Petty Enterprises to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the legendary baseball club. This weekend, Petty Enterprises, with driver Christian Fittipaldi, will unveil and race the #44 New York Yankees Dodge on the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course during Sunday’s NASCAR at the Glen. The New York Yankees and Petty Enterprises are two of the most honored and legendary organizations in all of professional sports.

In the summer of 2002 Fittipaldi signed on to drive for the legendary Petty Enterprises. An open-wheel star, Fittipaldi, 33, is a former two-time CART winner (California Speedway and Road America) and Formula One World Championship driver. Fittipaldi is the first-ever Brazilian native to run full time in NASCAR’s top series and is the only NASCAR driver to have raced full-time in Formula One and CART.

The thoughts of New York Yankees Dodge driver Christian Fittipaldi heading into Watkins Glen:

“Driving the New York Yankees Dodge, especially in New York, is definitely going to be a privilege. First of all, it’s an honor to be able to just drive for Petty Enterprises, but now to be able to drive this New York Yankees Dodge around Watkins Glen, that’s pretty special. The Yankee organization, knowing my baseball some, is probably the most traditional baseball team in the country. There is a lot of history behind the Yankees, just like Petty Enterprises, and it seems like a natural fit. I am happy and honored to be able to carry the pinstripes this weekend.

“I played some softball in the past, but racing has always been my pastime. I played a few positions, just whatever they needed me to do. It’s a fun game and just like racing, it’s challenging. I have a lot of respect for all the New York Yankees - past and present. My race uniform has its own pinstripes this weekend, and it will humbling to be able to put on my own pinstripes at the track. I am looking forward to making the entire New York Yankees organization proud and help them celebrate 100 years of great baseball.

“It’s pretty cool to have two professional sports teams come together like this and help celebrate an accomplishment such as this one. This is where NASCAR really stands out. In other forms of racing you don’t see the tie-ins like you see here in NASCAR, and especially here at Petty Enterprises. Every supporter of Petty Enterprises is just like family, and it’s because of that we can do things like this with the New York Yankees. There are die-cast cars with Richard Petty’s famous #43 on one side and Yogi Berra’s famous #8 on the other. These are things that you don’t see in other sports. The t-shirts, the hats, everything that fans can get to cheer for their favorite driver. Everyone gets on board and supports each other. I was really surprised to see just how big everything is here in NASCAR. I think it’s because we can do things like what we are doing this weekend that makes NASCAR and Petty Enterprises stand above the crowd. It’s great for Petty Enterprises, the New York Yankees, NASCAR, and especially all the fans.

“It’s going to be another new challenge for this team, but we’re prepared. Although I’ve never raced at Watkins Glen, we did some extensive testing with all of our teams to prepare for this weekend. Kyle (Petty) and I did a two-day test at Watkins Glen and Scott (Maxwell, driver of the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge for this weekend only) did a test at the Virginia International Raceway road course. Testing is always going to be helpful. Kyle has had some great runs at Watkins Glen and Scott has a tremendous amount of road racing experience. I learned a lot from Sears Point and testing. I think we’ve got a good three-car team for this weekend.

“I think Watkins Glen will be good. We are starting back at zero again and starting fresh. We were average at Sears Point earlier this year because we missed the setup a little bit. We are now coming back to Watkins Glen, and I have a lot more experience with a stock car. This New York Yankees Dodge team can start with a fresh new outlook and we are excited.”

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