From: Michael Powell 

CASTRONEVES FASTEST ON FIRST DAY OF INDYCAR SERIES TEST

AVONDALE, Ariz., Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2004 # Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon
posted the top two laps in the morning session and those laps remained the
quickest of the day as the IRL IndyCar Series began a two-day Open Test at
Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 11.

Castroneves# Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone lapped the 1-mile
oval in 20.3095 seconds, 177.257 mph. He was closely followed by Dixon, the
2003 IndyCar Series champion, who posted a fast lap of 20.3126 seconds, 177.230
mph in his Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone.

Andretti Green Racing#s Dario Franchitti was fastest in the afternoon session
and third-quickest overall with a lap of 20.3518 seconds, 176.889 in the
Archipelago Dallara/Honda/ Firestone.

Several drivers struggled with the reconfigured oval as the caution flag fell
four times in the morning session for four separate incidents.

Tora Takagi, Scott Sharp and Darren Manning all spun in the newly widened Turn
2, but none of the drivers were injured and continued to practice in the
afternoon session. Team Purex/Aventis/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing left the test
early after driver Robbie Buhl severely damaged his car following contact with
the SAFER Barrier in Turn 4. 

TOP SPEEDS FROM MORNING PRACTICE

1.	Helio Castroneves, Marlboro Team Penske, D/T/F, 177.257 mph

2.	Scott Dixon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing, G/T/F, 177.230

3.	Sam Hornish Jr., Marlboro Team Penske, D/T/F, 175.597

4.	Tony Kanaan, Team 7-Eleven, D/H/F, 174.365

5.	Dan Wheldon, Klein Tools/Jim Beam D/H/F, 172.731

TOP SPEEDS FROM AFTERNOON PRACTICE

1.	Dario Franchitti, Archipelago, D/H/F, 176.889 mph

2.	Scott Dixon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing, G/T/F, 176.665

3.	Tony Kanaan, Team 7-Eleven, D/H/F, 175.768

4.	Helio Castroneves, Marlboro Team Penske, 175.647

5.	Dan Wheldon, Klein Tools/Jim Beam D/H/F, 172.954

WEDNESDAY#S TOP PRACTICE SPEEDS (COMBINED)

1.	Helio Castroneves, Marlboro Team Penske, D/T/F, 177.257 mph

2.	Scott Dixon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing, G/T/F, 177.230

3.	Dario Franchitti, Archipelago, D/H/F, 176.889 

4.	Tony Kanaan, Team 7-Eleven, D/H/F, 175.768

5.	Sam Hornish Jr., Marlboro Team Penske, D/T/F, 175.597

POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): #We
had a test here in December, so we started out pretty quick right off the bat.
Unfortunately, it was a little bit chilly, so we started a little bit slow.
Plus, the cars seem to have a little less downforce than we used to run with
the configuration from last year. We were just trying to make sure everything
was working and getting to know the track again. In the afternoon, we worked
more on our race setup and made sure that we understand the car in this
configuration and see how much can we do and how much we can take out, so when
we come back on race day, we don#t have to waste time on that.# (About the
reconfiguration of the track): #Going into the turns seems to be the same. On
the exit, you have a little bit more space, so you don#t have to keep turning
the car. That#s why a lot of people had some problems last year. They smoothed
it out, and they did a hell of a job compared to December. The b!
ump was very rough, but now it#s very smooth. I didn#t feel that much of a
difference.# 

SCOTT DIXON (No. 1 Target Chip Ganassi Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone): #We
were trying to go for speed for most of the day. We had balance issues
throughout the morning and this afternoon. We could never really get where we
wanted. We were working on that, trying different variations of setups, and I
think we started to head in the right direction. I think we ended up setting
our quick time on our fourth or fifth run on a set of tires.# (About the
reconfiguration of the track): (Turn) 4 was really good in December, but now I
think it#s a little worse. It#s definitely improved in the exit of (Turn) 2. I
think with the exit of (Turn) 2, it gives you a little more room and a little
more confidence. I think it made the track a little easier, because that wall
used to come up pretty quick.#

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 Archipelago Dallara/Honda/Firestone): #It#s been a
long time since I was on a 1-mile oval. Things come at you pretty quickly, and
it was nice this morning to take a couple of laps to get into it and get to
know the car and the track a little bit. We just worked with the setup and put
a new set of tires on. I#m pretty happy. The cars are a bit more difficult to
drive. They#ve got a bit less downforce, and you#ve really got to think about
it and work with the setup a bit more. I#m very happy with the direction the
crew has taken with that. It was a good day for us.# (About the reconfiguration
of the track): #There#s a couple of bumps on the exit of Turn 2, but as far as
driving the track, it feels very similar to what we had last season. It#s just
a lot nicer to get in under the track with that tunnel there.#

A.J. FOYT IV (No. 14 Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone):
#Today went good. We struggled with the handling a little this morning. Then we
changed just about everything for the afternoon session, and it helped the
Conseco car a lot. It was more stable and secure. I was more confident, and the
speed came to me.#

ROBBIE BUHL (No. 24 Team Purex/Aventis/Dreyer & Reinbold Dallara/Chevrolet/
Firestone): #Today was a big disappointment for us. The good news is that all
of the safety efforts did exactly what they were supposed to do. The bad news
is that despite our team putting in a lot of extra effort, we don#t get to
finish working on a bunch of different combinations. To miss a day and a half
of testing for us right now hurts, given the track time that most of the teams
have had. We#ll have to pick it up and move on to Homestead.#

 [...]

___ Internet Rex 2.29



--- GTMail 1.26