Friday practice: Rhino to the rescue

When the track surface at the 1.5-mile oval located southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio became even more treacherous with bumps, track officials used a substance known as Rhino Patch to help make the racing surface smoother. It's a patch of quick-sealing asphalt and it's been placed in the bumpy areas to help make the ride smoother for the Indy Racing League teams that will race in Sunday's Belterra Casino Indy 300.

The IRL also made wing changes for this weekend's race. Teams run six-degrees of rear wing at most tracks, but this weekend the wing angle will be at 12 degrees. That is designed to give the cars more downforce on the bumpy track.

"Considering the unknowns of this race two weeks ago, for what everybody has done to put this race on, is a very good job," said IRL driver Greg Ray. "With 12 degrees, it will be a little more racy."

The IRL made the changes after Sam Hornish Jr. and Buzz Calkins both crashed in testing at Kentucky last Friday.

"Sam Hornish is a very talented driver and Buzz Calkins is a steady guy," Ray said. "For both of those guys to crash cars within five laps of each other, there is a concern."

There were no incidents in Friday's practice session for the IRL teams. Eddie Cheever ran the fastest lap in the two sessions at 214.439mph in a Dallara-Infiniti. Scott Sharp was second quickest at 213.719 mph in a Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora, followed by Ray's 212.925mph in a Dallara-Aurora. Robbie Buhl was fourth at 212.815mph, with Mark Dismore's 212.648mph in a Dallara/Aurora completing the top five.

Cheever praised Kentucky Speedway officials and Brian Barnhart, the IRL's vice-president of operations.

"Brian Barnhart had a lot of concerns with how the cars had tested, especially Hornish and Calkins," Cheever said. "He modified the wing to 12 degrees instead of the six. I think we may have gone a little bit too far with the wing. I think that the biggest difference between our series and the other (CART) is that the cars allow us to go to places where we really shouldn't be.

"I'm hoping Brian brings the wing angle down a little bit. We race at six degrees at Texas and Kansas and Chicago. I think he made the change because he wasn't quite sure about the track. The Rhino patch is awesome. It's very smooth in the corners. The track surface is back to where it was last year and probably even better in the corners. It's very difficult for a racing driver to drive a car at 220 miles an hour where the car is bumping and wants to go to the corner."

Cheever's chief adversary - Scott Sharp - believes that sometimes the bumps can help certain drivers in the race.

"The nice thing about the bumps is at some tracks, it can control the car a bit, but here, the car stays consistent underneath you," Sharp said. "I think 12 degrees will be a great show. I think this race will be a lot like Texas, with large packs of cars. I don't think you would have that with six degrees."

With Cheever posting the fastest speed and Buhl putting another Infiniti fourth on the practice speeds, Cheever is confident of putting Infiniti in victory lane for the second time this year. Cheever won the July 8 Ameristar Casinos Indy 200 at Kansas Speedway.

"Robbie Buhl came ever so close to winning the Indy 500," Cheever said. "In fact, I think he had the best engine there. It's very tough to beach General Motors. We have one engine developer and we are trying to catch up. We are at the beginning of the development of the 35A. You may see some other teams racing it. Infiniti has not positioned itself to be very competitive."

Ray is the IRL leader in poles this season with four and 13 in his career, but he said this week's focus is on developing a race-winning car for Sunday.

"The pole isn't even one of our concerns right now," Ray said. "I'm not even sure we will chase the qualifying setup at all. We are looking to have a good race and a good race set-up."

Cheever looked at Ray when he made those comments and snickered.

"If you believe that Greg Ray isn't going to go for the pole, then I want you to call me when Santa Claus slides down the chimney," Cheever said. "I was very impressed with your presentation, but I don't buy it."

At the front of the IRL point standings is Hornish, who leads by 40 over the rapidly charging Buddy Lazier - winner of the last IRL race at Nashville Superspeedway on July 21. It was his third victory in a four-race stretch this season.

"We're not a championship contender right now, but we would like to win some races this year to redeem ourselves," Ray said. "Buddy Lazier is a tenacious, aggressive Pit Bull and he doesn't make mistakes as well. It's going to be pretty exciting for those guys for the rest of the season. If Hornish isn't careful, Lazier will be ready to overtake him."

Qualifying for Sunday's race is on Saturday at 1700 BST (12 noon Eastern Daylight Time).