Hornish still fastest in final practice

During a simulated four-lap qualifying run, Hornish posted a lap of 227.925 mph in the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara-Honda, little more than a tenth of a second faster than Scott Dixon's lap of 227.322 mph.

"I don't think anybody has shown his complete hand yet," Hornish said. "Everybody's trying to get as close as they can right now, because when you get right down to it, you're only going to have a little bit of time to make those adjustments tomorrow. You're not going to have all the time in the world."

The day was interrupted briefly by light rain, marking the eighth consecutive day in which track activity was disrupted because of weather. Last weekend's qualifying sessions were rained out, forcing IRL IndyCar Series officials to attempt to fill the entire 33-car field in six hours Saturday.

It isn't likely to be filled entirely in one day. At least 33 cars appear to be ready to run, but further crashes during Saturday's pre-qualifying warmup or during practice laps in between qualifying runs could endanger the 33-car standard. Jeff Simmons crashed late in the session Friday, forcing Rahal Letterman Racing to prepare his back-up car for Saturday's attempt.

Of the two drivers who crashed on Thursday, Arie Luyendyk Jr. made it back to the track for the final day, while Thiago Medeiros did not. One driver who hadn't been on the track since the opening day of practice last week, P.J. Jones, made a shakedown run on Friday in Greg Beck's No. 98 Honda/Panoz, bringing the overall car count, including Medeiros, to 34.

Jon Herb, who had been struggling to get over 210 mph in the No. 12 Playa Del Racing Honda/Panoz, was replaced by IRL veteran Roger Yasukawa during Friday's session. It wasn't immediately clear if Yasukawa would replace Herb for qualifying.

"We don't know yet, but fortunately I did get to drive, at least," Yasukawa said. "Hopefully, I'll get to race."

Several other cars remain available, including the No. 22 of Tony George's Vision Racing and the No. 48 of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, in case the field comes up short of the traditional 33 cars Sunday.

Meanwhile, the battle for the front row - as it has since May 9 - is shaping up as a battle between Marlboro Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi.

"It's a week overdue, and we're really looking forward to what can happen," Hornish said. "I think it's going to be a great battle between the four guys, but you never know who might jump up and give us a good run for the pole."

While Hornish and teammate Helio Castroneves stand as the favorites for the number one spot, Ganassi teammates Dixon and Dan Wheldon aren't far behind. Wheldon backed Dixon's lap with a screamer of his own on Friday - 227.040 mph in the No. 10 TCGR Honda/Dallara. Castroneves, who has settled on his T-car as the preferred of the two Penske No. 3 Dallaras, had the fourth-fastest lap of the day.

"I don't think we're quite there yet," Castroneves said. "It was a lot of up and down, so we've decided to wait for the right time tomorrow and continue working."

Several surprises might lurk in the wings, however, including Andretti Green Racing, which has struggled throughout the two weeks to find speed in its five cars. Fernandez Racing teammates Scott Sharp and Kosuke Matsuura have been steady, as have Panther Racing's Vitor Meira and Vision Racing's Townsend Bell and Tomas Scheckter.

"I think everybody's got a little bit left on the table," Dixon said.

Friday practice times:

                    
Pos  Driver             Team               Chassis  Speed (mph)
 1.  Sam Hornish Jr     Penske             Dallara  227.925
 2.  Scott Dixon        Ganassi            Dallara  227.322
 3.  Dan Wheldon        Ganassi            Dallara  227.040
 4.  Helio Castroneves  Penske             Dallara  226.654
 5.  Tony Kanaan        Andretti-Green     Dallara  226.104
 6.  Scott Sharp        Fernandez          Dallara  225.560
 7.  Kosuke Matsuura    Fernandez          Dallara  225.477
 8.  Vitor Meira        Panther            Dallara  225.336
 9.  Jeff Simmons       Rahal-Letterman    Panoz    225.287
10.  Townsend Bell      Vision             Dallara  225.087
11.  Tomas Scheckter    Vision             Dallara  224.905
12.  Marco Andretti     Andretti-Green     Dallara  224.394
13.  Ed Carpenter       Vision             Dallara  223.648
14.  Danica Patrick     Rahal-Letterman    Panoz    223.601
15.  Buddy Rice         Rahal-Letterman    Panoz    223.536
16.  Eddie Cheever Jr   Cheever            Dallara  222.126
17.  Max Papis          Cheever            Dallara  221.759
18.  Buddy Lazier       Dreyer & Reinbold  Dallara  221.594
19.  Dario Franchitti   Andretti-Green     Dallara  220.974
20.  Jaques Lazier      Playa Del          Panoz    220.915
21.  Jeff Bucknum       Hemelgarn          Dallara  220.882
22.  PJ Chesson         Hemelgarn          Dallara  220.757
23.  Bryan Herta        Andretti-Green     Dallara  220.026
24.  Michael Andretti   Andretti-Green     Dallara  219.789
25.  Felipe Giaffone    Foyt               Dallara  219.519
26.  Stephan Gregoire   Team Leader        Panoz    218.869
27.  Airton Dare        Schmidt            Panoz    218.860
28.  Al Unser Jr        Dreyer & Reinbold  Dallara  218.658
29.  Roger Yasukawa     Playa Del          Panoz    218.466
30.  Larry Foyt         Foyt               Dallara  218.313
31.  Marty Roth         Roth               Dallara  215.798
32.  Arie Luyendyk Jr   Luyendyk           Panoz    209.478
33.  Jon Herb           Playa Del          Panoz    204.104
34.  PJ Jones           Team Leader        Panoz    194.644