Castroneves tops day 2 at Daytona

And the answer, for now anyway, is still "maybe."

"You'd be a fool to stand here and say, 'No, we don't want to race here,'" said Brian Barnhart, the IRL's president and chief operating officer.

"Of course we do. It's Daytona. Just like NASCAR wanted to race at Indianapolis, there's a reason we would love to race here. We're definitely a long way from getting there and accomplishing everything we need to accomplish to put on a race here, but we've certainly taken the right steps."

Questions about whether IndyCars could handle Daytona's 31-degree banking appear to have been answered by the fall and winter test sessions on the Daytona road course, the first time open-wheel, Indy-style cars have been at speed at Daytona since a disastrous debut at the track in 1959.

Barnhart said the final decision about a possible IRL race at Daytona lies with International Speedway Corp. and NASCAR, but the league is hopeful that it will be invited.

"It's hard for me to speak on their behalf, but we've clearly proven we can run here safely and put on a good show," Barnhart said. "Our guys like the place, and we have a desire to be here. The ball is in their court, for sure."

Helio Castroneves had the fastest lap Thursday before rain began to fall with about two hours remaining in the session, but, in spite of stacks of rain tires in the pits, no cars used the time to test wet setups.

The reaction among drivers was positive for Honda's new 3.5-liter engine and 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. Drivers reported increased torque in low power bands, less gear ringing during heavy acceleration, and a more responsive feel.

"The engine is much stronger on the lower end," Castroneves said. "The fuel is something that's new for us, but so far it's been a big plus. We're headed in the right direction. We're going to be fun to watch this year."

Before the rain, Castroneves recorded a lap of 1:12.3538 in the No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Honda/Dallara, making him fastest in both the morning and afternoon sessions. Tony Kanaan was second-fastest, followed by Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti.

Castroneves' best lap Thursday was little more than a tenth behind Kanaan's best lap of Wednesday's session - 1:12.2393.

The IRL will test again February 20-22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway's road course and oval before its season opener March 24 on the Homestead oval.