Fittipaldi Debut at Phoenix: Christian Fittipaldi will make his NASCAR Winston Cup debut this week at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway. He will run the #44 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge in Sunday’ Checker Auto Parts 500. “Im excited with the opportunity and looking forward to running my first Winston Cup race,” said Fittipaldi, nephew of open wheel legend Emerson Fittipaldi. “I have tested several times and have run some Busch races. I am getting a feel for these cars, and Im looking forward to seeing what they are like with 42 others on the track with you at the same time,” he said. Fittipaldi will drive a combination Winston Cup, BGN and ARCA schedule next season for Petty Enterprises. Still looking for sponsorship for that effort, Fittipaldi and Petty Enterprises plan on using this unique schedule to fine-tune his stock car racing skills before running a full Winston Cup schedule in 2004. “Christian has been successful in Formula One and successful in CART, and we think he is going to be very successful in Winston Cup too,” said Kyle Petty, CEO of Petty Enterprises. “He has adjusted to these big stock cars pretty quickly, and has tested well everywhere we have gone with him. His Phoenix test last week was really good, and he is going to have a good weekend. We are continuing our search for a sponsor for him for next year, and there has been a lot of interest in this program from potential sponsors,” Petty continued. “We want to find someone who fits well with General Mills and Georgia-Pacific.” Petty will drive the #45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge next season for Petty Enterprises.(Williams Company)(11-5-2002)
