IRL: Gregoire fastest in practice

All three chassis manufacturers were represented among the top three this afternoon, with Frenchman Stephan Gregoire setting the fastest time for the Delphi Indy 200 aboard Dick Simon's Mexmil G Force-Aurora.

Gregoire, aged 30, was among the quickest contenders all day long. He was second fastest to defending series champion Greg Ray in the morning, then leapt to the top of the timing charts with a best lap at 21.266s, 169.284mph, during the afternoon session.

"From the very beginning of the Open Test [earlier in the month],we have been fast," noted Gregoire.

"We did some little changes to make it go faster. To be fastest of the day, I believe it is my first experience since I came to the US.

"I did it in Europe, but this is my first time [to be fastest] in an Indy car. It feels good. It gives us a great deal of confidence."

Veteran engineer/team owner Simon added: "Stephan could not believe how fast we were running. After his first run, Stephan came in and said, 'My dash isn't working. How fast did I run?' And we said, 'You were first.' And he said, 'First in what?'"

Ray's speed from the morning session, 168.761mph, remained good for second quickest overall.

The Texan concentrated on full-tank running during the second session with John Menard's Conseco/Menards Dallara.

Buddy Lazier was absolutely delighted after posting the second fastest time this afternoon with Ron Hemelgarn's brand-new DeltaFaucet/Coors Light Riley & Scott Mk.VII chassis.

"I think, collectively, the other [chassis manufacturers] have maybe 50 or 60 days of testing under their belts, and we have five or six days, so I think it shows the car's going to be good," said the '96 Indy500 winner after posting a lap at 21.500, 167.442mph.

"We're learning each time we go out on the track, so we're excited."

Scott Sharp was third fastest in the afternoon - and overall - aboard Kelley Racing's Delphi Automotive Systems/MCI WorldCom Dallara.

"The car was rather loose this session," related Sharp, who posted a speed of 167.942mph in the morning and 167.418mph in the warmer conditions of the afternoon.

"We are doing a lot of adjusting to get rid of all the looseness. For tomorrow, all we really need to do is a little fine-tuning and we should be good to go."

In all, 26 cars took to the track today. Among other notables, Al Unser Jr, making his IRL debut, was eighth quickest in the afternoon - 13th overall - with Rick Galles' G Force.

"The overall balance of the car was better during this session," said the two-time CART champion.

"We are going to make some more changes tonight and hopefully gain some more speed tomorrow."

The only non-Aurora-powered car in the field, Eddie Cheever's Riley & Scott-Infiniti, posted the 12th fastest speed in the afternoon.

Overall times: