Castroneves tops Friday practice

It's a position with which he's familiar. Castroneves has been fastest on the first day of practice for three of the first five road and street course races in IRL history.

"The cars seem to be very good," Castroneves said. "We had a little issue this morning, actually a lot of issues. We had to stay in the pits a long time, but Marlboro Team Penske did a hell of a job. They fixed the car in time and with 20 minutes to go I was able to get out there and come back with a time.

"Every time you're in the pits here, you lose time, because the track gets better and better, so it was good to be able to come out there and set a fast time."

Castroneves posted a lap three-tenths quicker than that of Andretti-Green Racing's Tony Kanaan.

Marco Andretti, runner-up to Sam Hornish Jr. on Sunday in the Indianapolis 500, had the third-fastest lap during Friday's practice sessions, but denied that his improved form was the consequence of a post-Indy confidence boost.

"Hopefully (Indianapolis) is more about the momentum we've needed," Andretti said. "It's not about my confidence because I always thought I could win races. Maybe it's just opened more people's eyes."

Scott Dixon, who won last year's inaugural IRL race at Watkins Glen, had the fourth-best lap on Friday, followed by Dan Wheldon and Hornish.

"We didn't pick up as much speed as we hoped for during the second session," Hornish said. "We still have a little bit of work to do before qualifying tomorrow."

Kanaan and Castroneves traded the top spot on the speed chart several times and Kanaan is positive about his chances despite being beaten by his long-time rival at the end of practice.

"I think we're competitive," Kanaan said. "We're just fine-tuning the car right now. This track is still a lot of fun as usual."

Ryan Briscoe, who ran his IRL rookie season last year with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, returned as a replacement for Buddy Lazier in the No. 5 Dreyer & Reinbold Honda/Dallara.

"It was my first time with a Honda and a Dallara," said Briscoe, who had the ninth-fastest lap of the day. "It all felt very good. I'm pleased."

The two sessions were completed without any serious incidents. Vitor Meira spun and Hornish left the course during the second session, while Kanaan, Danica Patrick and Tomas Scheckter spun without contact during the first session.

As the practice pacesetter, Castroneves has the right to choose the qualifying order for the 'Fast six shoot-out' tomorrow afternoon, but was  coy about his plans.

"You have up until an hour before the session to choose," Castroneves said. "I'll take all the time to that point to look at a lot of things."

Combined Friday practice times:

Pos  Driver             Team               Make          Time
 1.  Helio Castroneves  Penske             Dallara  1:30.6783 
 2.  Tony Kanaan        Andretti-Green     Dallara  1:31.0462  + 0.3679 
 3.  Marco Andretti     Andretti-Green     Dallara  1:31.1722  + 0.4939 
 4.  Scott Dixon        Ganassi            Panoz    1:31.2363  + 0.5580 
 5.  Dan Wheldon        Ganassi            Panoz    1:31.5971  + 0.9188 
 6.  Sam Hornish Jr     Penske             Dallara  1:31.8463  + 1.1680
 7.  Dario Franchitti   Andretti-Green     Dallara  1:31.8669  + 1.1886
 8.  Vitor Meira        Panther            Dallara  1:32.0229  + 1.3446 
 9.  Bryan Herta        Andretti-Green     Dallara  1:32.1814  + 1.5031 
10.  Ryan Briscoe       Dreyer & Reinbold  Dallara  1:32.2624  + 1.5841 
11.  Buddy Rice         Rahal              Panoz    1:32.2720  + 1.5937 
12.  Kosuke Matsuura    Aguri Fernandez    Dallara  1:32.5527  + 1.8744 
13.  Jeff Simmons       Rahal              Panoz    1:33.4455  + 2.7672 
14.  Scott Sharp        Fernandez          Panoz    1:33.5120  + 2.8337 
15.  Tomas Scheckter    Vision             Dallara  1:33.8005  + 3.1222 
16.  Danica Patrick     Rahal              Panoz    1:33.8748  + 3.1965
17.  Eddie Cheever Jr   Cheever            Dallara  1:34.1726  + 3.4943 
18.  Felipe Giaffone    Foyt               Dallara  1:35.0044  + 4.3261
19.  Ed Carpenter       Vision             Dallara  1:35.0767  + 4.3984