He joined PDM Racing for five of the final six IRL races last year and the first this season, collecting a top finish of seventh for the low-budget team in the '99 opener in Orlando. Although Ward had questioned the team's choice of chassis and charged that he hadn't been paid all he was owed, Knapp insisted he didn't worry about either complaint. With the contract I have with them this year, they've done everything they said they would. It was a great opportunity to jump on here, so it's hard to turn down the team that gave you a third at Indy last year. Although ISM has looked good at times, it has not established itself as one of the elite teams of the series.
Money is still tight.
Ward's departure has created turmoil. And Knapp may get distracted, his cousin said, by having to concentrate on both driving and engineering. But Knapp knows the potential exists. He has that third-place finish from last year to prove it. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on May 22, 1999.