Hornish heads up test times

"We've been real good on the handling tracks so far this year," Hornish said. "That's a positive for us."

Scott Sharp, who turned a field-high 217 laps, was third on the speed chart at 163.707mph. Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon and top Honda runner Adrian Fernandez rounded out the top five at 163.332mph and 162.025mph, respectively.

Andretti Green drivers Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon, who are first and second in the points standings are rather less happy than Hornish. Wheldon explained: "We're a little bit behind on these short tracks. I know Toyota did a test at Richmond, and I think that's helping them a lot for around here. We've obviously got Richmond coming up and we're just trying to make sure that we're as best prepared for the shorter ovals as we can be. We're a little bit behind right now, but the team has done a good job and I'm sure we'll get there."

A total of 22 IRL car-driver combinations turned laps over the course of the day with Texas crasher Ed Carpenter on the sidelines as Cheever brought just one car to the test, which was driven by Alex Barron. Carpenter is expected to get into the car during the second day.