Rice sets oval test pace
Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice led the way on the first day of official oval testing at Homestead, as the entire IRL IndyCar Series field lapped within 0.5s of the pacesetting Rahal-Letterman driver
New Fernandez Racing signing Scott Sharp was second ahead of Andretti-Green's Dan Wheldon. All of the top six cars were Honda-powered, as 2004's three powerhouse teams (AGR, Rahal and Fernandez) continued to dominate.
"I'm pleased with today's running and I know we learned a lot about the new Panoz," said Rice, who took his first IRL pole at the Miami track in 2004. "It feels good. We have some work to do on the road course settings, but I'm anxious to get to Phoenix to test the short oval chassis."
Sharp, who endured a miserable 2004 season with Kelley Racing, was delighted with the performance of his new machine.
"It was fun," he said. "I knew getting back on the oval that this kind of car would be strong. I got comfortable right away and we worked through some set-up issues and saved some tyres for the end.
"In traffic, we could go wherever we want. It's a testament to the Fernandez team."
Rice's team-mate Danica Patrick produced an impressive performance, setting the fifth quickest time. With a background in UK Formula Vauxhall Junior and Formula Ford, and Toyota Atlantic, she has less oval racing experience than most of her rivals, and today's sessions marked her first significant experience of lapping in traffic on a speedway.
"It's just a building process," she said. "This is the first time I've run on a big oval with cars so I'm fairly pleased with how I'm adapting. I know the car will be fast, the team is good and it has fast cars, and it's up to me to learn for when the race comes."
Dario Franchitti had ended last week's road course test at the top of the times, but he was only 11th on the oval.
"We didn't really gain the speed we were hoping for," he said. "It just seemed that the more we went through the day, the slower we got in comparison to everybody else. I'm frustrated, but we still have time to make improvements."
Bar a spin exiting the pits by Patrick Carpentier, the test passed without incident.
Buddy Rice (Rahal-Letterman Panoz-Honda), 24.918s
Scott Sharp (Fernandez Panoz-Honda), 24.953s
Dan Wheldon (Andretti-Green Dallara-Honda), 24.982s
Kosuke Matsuura (Fernandez Panoz-Honda), 24.991s
Danica Patrick (Rahal-Letterman Panoz-Honda), 24.995s
Tony Kanaan (Andretti-Green Dallara-Honda), 25.032s
Tomas Scheckter (Panther Dallara-Chevrolet), 25.034s
Bryan Herta (Andretti-Greeen Dallara-Honda), 25.036s
Vitor Meira (Rahal-Letterman Panoz-Honda), 25.049s
Helio Castroneves (Penske Dallara-Toyota), 25.102s
Indy500: Starting grid
IndyCar: Colton Herta takes victory at St. Pete
Barber IndyCar: Lap 1 Crash
Barber IndyCar: Palou wins at Birmingham
Why Grosjean's oval commitment shows he's serious about IndyCar
One of motorsport’s worst-kept secrets is now out in the open, and Romain Grosjean has been confirmed as an Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver in 2022. It marks a remarkable turnaround after the abrupt end to his Formula 1 career, and is a firm indication of his commitment to challenge for the IndyCar Series title
Why IndyCar’s longest silly-season is still far from over
OPINION: The 2021 IndyCar silly season has been one of the silliest for many years, as many talented drivers remain in play – with new pieces to the puzzle being added all the time. Here's what we know so far about who will end up where in 2022
Why IndyCar's generational shift isn't as stark as it appears
OPINION: The rise of two drivers racing only their second full-season IndyCar campaigns to head the points with four races to go has led to some observers doubting the credentials of the old guard. But they haven't faded away, there's merely a deeper talent pool that is helping to make this season one of the best in recent years
The F1 champion who became an Indy king in his second career
Emerson Fittipaldi’s decision to go racing with his brother led to him falling out of F1, but he bloomed again on the IndyCar scene. NIGEL ROEBUCK considers a career of two halves
The lasting legacy of a fallen Indycar rookie
Jeff Krosnoff was plucked out of obscurity to become a respected and highly popular professional in Japan, and then got his big break in Indycar for 1996. But a tragic accident at Toronto 25 years ago cut short a promising career and curtailed his regular team-mate Mauro Martini's passion for racing
The two key areas where Dixon needs to re-assert his authority
OPINION: Having been Chip Ganassi Racing's IndyCar focal point for the best part of a decade, Scott Dixon has been so far outgunned by new team-mate Alex Palou in 2021. After finishing behind the Spaniard at his traditional happy hunting ground at Mid-Ohio, Dixon has work to do to assume his traditional position in the team and the standings
The winners and losers of IndyCar 2021 so far
At the halfway point in the 2021 IndyCar Series season, we've had seven winners in eight races, spread between five teams – none of them Team Penske. In this unusual season, even by IndyCar standards, who’s excelling and who’s dragging their heels?
Castroneves: How I kept it under control to make Indy 500 history
Helio Castroneves’ overwhelming vivaciousness outside the cockpit belies a hardcore racer who knows how to plot his moves – and then recall it all. A day after his fourth Indy 500 win, he explained his tactics
