Kanaan paces high-speed action at Texas

"That was fun," said the Brazilian. "I had a big tow, and for sure, we were much faster than we expected to be. I thought we would be in the 228s."

The high speeds did not surprise Penske Racing boss Tim Cindric. "When we tested here with Helio Castroneves, he was able to run 225 pretty easily," Cindric said. "I expect we'll see a 235 lap on Saturday morning."

Billy Boat set the official TMS track record of 225.979 mph in qualifying for the Indy Racing League event in September 1998. The IRL races at Texas have been among the best in the league's short history, with last year's June race (won by Scott Sharp) considered one of the finest open-wheel races of all time.

"The speed doesn't surprise me, but it's a bumpier track than I expected all the way around," commented defending CART champion Gil de Ferran, who was fifth fastest in the Marlboro Honda/Reynard at 231.613mph.

This marks CART's first appearance on a high-banked, 1.5-mile oval, and pre-race attention focused on a number of safety modifications requested by the Championship Drivers Association. But there were no accidents or incidents in the first session.

"In some respects, it's actually safer than the superspeedways at Michigan or Fontana," remarked Kanaan. "But it's bumpy enough to shake your teeth out."

Kenny Brack is the only driver in the field who has competed at TMS. The Swede made five Texas starts when he raced in the IRL from 1997-99, and he says that CART needs more races at tracks like Texas to create excitement for the fans. Brack was sixth fastest Friday morning in the Shell Ford/Lola.

"We need exciting races, and the high-banked tracks like Texas create close racing," he said. "We can't all be running around in a line like we did at Milwaukee last year."