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
Latest news
Verstappen buoyed by new handling characteristics of 2023 F1 tyres
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen is hopeful the new Pirelli tyres will help further dial out the inherent understeer of the current generation of cars.
Pastrana adds NASCAR Truck Series race to Daytona programme
Travis Pastrana has added the season-opening NASCAR Truck Series race to his appearance at Daytona International Speedway this month.
Turkington continues with WSR BMW for 2023 BTCC season
Four-time British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington will bid for a fifth title in 2023 with the West Surrey Racing BMW squad, the team confirmed on Wednesday morning.
Domenicali: F1 doesn’t want to “gag” drivers
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the series will “never put a gag on anyone” in the light of the controversial FIA clampdown on drivers speaking out.
Nigel Mansell’s greatest F1 and Indycar drives
It’s 30 years since Mansell won the Formula 1 world title and then headed off to do battle in America. Here are his best races – and the Briton’s memories of them
How Ericsson achieved Indy immortality as Ganassi's main man stumbled
Chip Ganassi Racing team was strong again in the Indianapolis 500, with poleman Scott Dixon and reigning champion Alex Palou leading almost three quarters of the race between them. But when dominator Dixon was penalised for pitlane speeding, ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson stepped up to score the biggest win of his career and seize the IndyCar points lead
Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
In an enthralling 2021 IndyCar campaign, the series bounced back from its COVID-19 truncated year prior and Alex Palou defeated both the established order and his fellow young guns to clinch a maiden title. It capped a remarkable season with plenty of standout performers
How F1's other IndyCar exile finally unlocked his potential
Romain Grosjean's swashbuckling rookie year in IndyCar captured the imagination of many in 2021. But another ex-Formula 1 driver whose potential was masked by five years of toil in, at best, middling machinery also enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 - winning twice and finishing sixth in points. Here's how Marcus Ericsson finally delivered on his promise
How Ganassi's relentless new champion outfoxed IndyCar's best
IndyCar sophomore Alex Palou stunned by overcoming team-mate Scott Dixon and the rest of a white-hot field in 2021. He was consistently fast and crucially showed a level head, rebounding well from setbacks to put himself in a near unassailable position entering the final round
Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCar’s next winning match-up?
Despite appearing to have an IndyCar job for life with Meyer Shank Racing, Jack Harvey’s departure and move to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing sparked plenty of debate. However, Harvey's and RLL's combined strengths could prove to be a winning combination - if they get the balance right
Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing IndyCar win
Saturday 16 October marks the 10th anniversary of Dan Wheldon’s death. David Malsher-Lopez pays tribute, then asks Wheldon’s race engineer from 2011, Todd Malloy, to recall that magical second victory at the Indianapolis 500
Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting
Kyle Kirkwood, the record-setting junior formula driver, sealed the Indy Lights championship last weekend. But despite an absurdly strong junior career and scholarship money, his next move is far from clear
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.