Fittipaldi aiming for Houston comeback

The Brazilian, who suffered head injuries in a testing crash at St.Louis a month ago, will therefore miss the next two rounds of the series, although he has continued to come to the events to support the team and fulfil media and sponsorship commitments.

'I feel good, a lot better than I did a week ago,' he said. 'Every day I feel more like myself.'

The Houston race is an important one for Newman-Haas. It is the home race for their primary sponsor Texaco, and the track was created by team boss Carl Haas.

'By being at the races I can continue to follow the development of the car and be more prepared for when I come back, hopefully at Houston,' he explained.

CART series doctor Steve Olvey will conduct a series of tests on Fittipaldi this week, after which he should have a better idea of whether the Brazilian will be fit in time for the Houston event.

'I'm kind of on a forced vacation,' Fittipaldi said. 'I've been working on my tan, but it's frustrating to not be in the car. It's all up to the doctors right now.'