TONY STEWART
Age: 28
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Home Depot Pontiac

"In my career I've always had opportunities once I'd proven myself in one series to move up into another series. I wanted to be in the top series in the country and this is definitely it. It doesn't get much better than Winston Cup racing. I could've stayed in the IRL, but I wanted to be in the top series and I really like this form of racing. I like the close competition, and the competition is very stiff here. You go out together 34 weekends a year and it makes for a pretty fun season."

JUAN MONTOYA
Age: 24
Series: CART
Race Team:
Target Chip Ganassi

"For open-wheel racing there is a progression you follow as your rise in the ranks: F3000 ... Lights ... to CART. I feel that my career naturally evolved and that brought me to the best open-wheel racing series in America. I think with the technology and competition in CART you are seeing great racing and that's where I wanted to be as a driver."

EDDIE CHEEVER
Age: 42
Series: IRL
Race Team:
Team Cheever

"When I was just starting in racing, my dad said to me that if I wanted to win one race in my career, it should be the Indy 500. That was a very special win for me on many levels. But, I have chosen to be in each series I've ever driven. Really, I guess in the end, though, I have structured my career so that I have always gotten to participate in the greatest events in the world. When I started karting, it was for the sole purpose of becoming a Formula One driver. It is like the little kid pitching softballs in the backyard dreaming of the major leagues. As a result, I've been lucky enough to race in Formula One, at Daytona, at Le Mans and at Indy."

BRYAN HERTA
Age: 29
Series: CART
Race Team:
Forsythe Championship Racing
"I wanted to be a Champ Car driver ever since I went to the Long Beach Grand Prix as a kid. I went through the karting ranks and open-wheel series with that vision in mind. I'm here because I think these are the most sexy, stylish cars in the world -- cars I love to race."

KENNY BERNSTEIN
Age: 55
Series: NHRA
Race Team:
Budweiser

"I grew up in west Texas and drag racing was the only form of racing exposed to us as kids. I was exposed to drag racing at an early age and chose to stay with it. Had I grown up in Charlotte, I probably would have chosen NASCAR racing."

MIKE SKINNER
Age: 42
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Lowe's/RCR

"It's like the NFL or the NBA. If you're playing in high school, you want to play in college. And if you're playing in college, you want to get to the pros. NASCAR Winston Cup racing is the top level of racing in America right now. It's the road that I took and I was very fortunate to have the opportunities to get where I am. People like Richard Childress and Gene Petty, and all the way back to Richard Youngblood, who let me drive his Open Comp car, and Eddie Brown. I've had a lot of guys give me opportunities in race cars that got me to this level and I owe a lot to them."

JIMMY VASSER
Age: 34
Series: CART
Race Team:
Target Chip Ganassi

"I've always been intrigued with the open-wheel series. I have respect for the drivers of all the series, but my sights were set on CART cars."

MARK MARTIN
Age: 41
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Valvoline/Roush Racing

"I almost didn't have a choice. I had a tough time breaking into Winston Cup racing. I knew I wanted to race against the best drivers and I had already reached my potential in the ASA series. The next step was to move up into the top stock car division -- Winston Cup."

JOHN FORCE
Age: 50
Series: NHRA
Race Team:
Castrol GTX

"Next to the Beach Boys and the Beatles, growing up in Southern California, drag racing was the thing to do. Drag racing began growing from Florida to Australia, Japan and England. Drag racing was a little different than NASCAR, Indy car or Formula racing where it took big bucks to race. Back in the day, all you needed was mom's old Ford Fairling out of garage, a helmet, and seat belts and you were set to go racing at the local drag strips. Drag strips were local and available. Growing up, we'd race at Lions, Irwindale, Orange County Raceway and Carlsbad. Now, corporate America has taken a hold of the sport and marketed it to a whole different level. It's gotten to the point where drag racing requires sponsor support from the corporate level if you want to maintain your competitive edge on the professional circuit. To this day however, there are still several grass roots families that race out of pocket on the pro circuit simply for the love of the sport."

KENNY WALLACE
Age: 36
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Andy Petree Racing/Square D

"First of all, what got me into Winston Cup was being born in the right family. Because I was a Wallace, and I was born in St. Louis, I learned the value of hard work. I have gotten here because of hard work, determination and lots of help along the way. I had to build all my own race cars, that included running a $600 phone bill calling sponsors for parts. I proudly boast that my family did not give me any money. What they did give me, money can't buy. They showed me the way to win in auto racing. They gave me the knowledge of the sport. ... Knowing that I had to build my own race car, put it in the truck when I was done, and search for sponsorship, got me where I am today. I was also lucky to be introduced to the right people who were kind enough to support my racing career. In this business, you have to know how to race and you have to know how to get money for the car. It was hard work, dedication and a lot of help from friends and family. We all got help along the way. Not one Winston Cup driver can say he did it alone."

AL UNSER JR.
Age: 36
Series: IRL
Race Team:
Galles ECR Racing

"I chose racing -- and the IRL in particular -- because of my love for the Indianapolis 500. Running at Indy is a life-long dream and I could have driven in any series. It was my choice to run in the IRL."

PAUL TRACY
Age: 31
Series: CART
Race Team:
Team Kool Green

"I started in karts as a kid and moved up the line from Formula 2000 to Indy Lights. In 1990 I won the Lights championship and then graduated to Indy Cars with Penske Racing from 1991 to '94, spent 1995 with Newman/Haas and went back to Penske in '96 and '97. Finally, in 1998 I signed and have driven with Team KOOL Green. It's been a great couple of seasons with those guys and we have our sights set on winning the championship this year."

JERRY NADEAU
Age: 29
Series: Winston Cup
Race Team:
Michael Holigan/Hendrick Motorsports
"I didn't have any money when I started -- I was totally broke. Since we didn't have any money, I couldn't go where I wanted to go, so I had to find rides. If people asked me to drive a dirt car, I'd do it. I put together my own dirt car with a friend of mine. My dad had a Modified and we ran that a few times. I asked for help and I asked for sponsorship to get started."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
Age: 34
Series: CART
Race Team:
Patrick Racing

"I landed in CART because I liked single-seater cars. I do not like NASCAR or dragster cars, and CART was the top series in the U.S. and single seaters. I got there through Indy Lights and it was what I have been doing all my life, so it was the obvious situation to go to."

RICHIE HEARN
Age: 29
Series: CART
Race Team:
Della Penna Motorsports

"I grew up in Southern California and went to the Long Beach GP to watch the CART races there as a kid. Open-wheel racing was the predominant form of racing there. I think my surroundings growing up really impacted my decision to pursue a career in CART."

ROBBIE MCGEHEE
Age: 26
Series: IRL
Race Team:
Treadway Racing

"The Indy Racing League showed me an opportunity, so I took it. Racing at the Indy 500 has been my childhood dream, and although I learned in a road racing environment, I understand that oval racing is the future of American racing, and definitely puts on the best show!"

WARREN JOHNSON
Age: 56
Series: NHRA
Race Team:
GM Goodwrench

"You might say I ended up in drag racing because of a geographic accident. I was born and raised on a farm in northern Minnesota, and drag racing was virtually the only form of motorsports that I could participate in. There was only one road racing track and very few circle tracks in my area when I became interested in automobile racing. I got involved in the sport by building engines for other racers, so drag racing really was the only game in town for me. I suppose that if I had grown up in Georgia or North Carolina, I would have become a circle-track racer. It's really just a matter of being in the right place at the right time."

ROB SLAVINSKI
Age: 39
Series: NHRA
Race Team:
Kessinger Motorsports/Castrol

"I wound up in NHRA by choice. Other family members were doing it on a local level so I followed suit. I used to hang out with asphalt modified drivers in Stafford Springs, Ct., but I chose to drive straight instead of in circles."

TONY PEDREGON
Age: 35
Series: NHRA
Race Team:
Castrol Syntec

"As a little boy, I grew up around drag racing. My dad was a drag racer and I think kids in general want to grow up doing what their dad's did. For a family of three boys, we all did just that and wound up competing against one another in the same category of professional drag racing. I've always enjoyed the speed, excitement and energy with the sport. Like a magnet, it drew me in and I've been fortunate to have made a career out of it. Funny Cars are to me, the most awesome machines on the planet."