Sebring 3: Vasser tops test

Vasser set the second-best time of the entire week, according to Cosworth, with a time of 50.77sec, and led a final day that saw five cars break into the 50-second range. The 1996 Champ Car season champion joined new team-mate Roberto Gonzalez for the last of three days of testing on the Sebring track as part of a five-team test session.

"We're fortunate to have a veteran driver like Jimmy that has a lot of miles under his belt as well as a young guy that is so willing to learn," said PKV Racing crew chief Tim Broyles. "Those two can play off of each other and share insights that will make both of them faster."

A.J. Allmendinger was sidelined for the second consecutive day with bursitis in his elbow, but the RuSPORT squad was able to continue its testing program, as Michel Jourdain Jr assumed driving duties for the first-year Champ Car team. A two-time race winner from a year ago, Jourdain stepped into the cockpit and ran a full day of testing in relief of the ailing 2003 Toyota Atlantic champion.

"Having Michel here was great. It's a great opportunity to put someone in the car and keep the program running on a day when we could have lost time," said RuSPORT Director of Operations Steve Wulff. "We needed a chance to get out on track with some other competitors and see where we stand and these three days were a good chance to do that."

Both Herdez pilots Mario Dominguez and Ryan Hunter-Reay posted their best times of the three-day session on a breezy Friday, each of them dipping into the 50-second bracket for the first time. Bruno Junqueira was the lone Newman/Haas Racing tester on Friday and was also in the 50sec bracket.

"It went very well for us this week," said Junqueira. "We worked a lot on our race setup today and I think that we are in good shape for the season opener at Long Beach."

The Rocketsports Racing duo of Alex Tagliani and Nelson Philippe had their best days of the week as well, with the rookie Philippe running a best time of 51.1sec. Tagliani was the last driver on track on Friday, running his final laps as the sun dipped into the Florida orange groves.