Day 2: Castroneves fastest

Defending race champion Helio Castroneves shot to the top of the timing screens with less than 10 minutes left in the day, the Brazilian reaching 226.716mph in his Penske Dallara-Chevrolet. Rookie Laurent Redon was the only other pilot to top 226, with five more drivers over 225 and another seven topping 224mph. A total of 28 car/driver combinations took to the track.

"I think the wind was more of a factor today than it was yesterday," remarked Castroneves. "People still haven't put in their best qualifying engine so I don't think you'll see everyone's full potential until Thursday or Friday. Right now we're focusing on qualifying speed and eliminating options to make sure we know 100 percent for sure that we know what we are doing."

Felipe Giaffone (225.930mph) was third fastest for Mo Nunn Racing, just ahead of PJ Jones, who is making his first Indianapolis appearance as a substitute for the injured Jaques Lazier. Bruno Junqueira in fifth was again the fastest of the CART regulars.

Junqueira's Ganassi Racing teammate Kenny Brack finally got up to speed at just over 225mph, while Team Green ran 13th (Paul Tracy), 18th (Michael Andretti) and 20th (Dario Franchitti, who reached 221.860mph).

Rain has been forecast through until Thursday morning for the Indianapolis area, making the task of qualifying that much more difficult for Franchitti and the other Indy rookies. Friday's final practice and Saturday (Pole Day) are expected to be clear.