Just one hour of practice on 'Carb Day' on Friday separates Fernando Alonso from his rookie Indianapolis 500. Where once seemingly endless opportunities to lap The Brickyard and adapt his prodigious skillset to oval racing stretched in front of him, crunch time is fast approaching.
On Tuesday, he's in New York as part of the Indy 500's attempt to spread the word, but no matter how many interviews he does between now and the race, he can only answer the big question on Sunday: can he win what he keeps describing, correctly, as the biggest race in the world?
"Absolutely," says 1992 and '94 Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr, without even a hint of hesitation.