Teams conclude road test

Hornish replaced his Marlboro Team Penske team-mate Helio Castroneves, who tested at the track on Wednesday, and recorded 67 laps in the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota.

"It's been a while since I've done the right-left thing," Hornish said. "I'm just getting in the swing of things and knocking off all the cobwebs. I'm trying to get comfortable with all the shifting, the braking points and what not. A lot of guys are running both days, but (team-mate) Helio (Castroneves) and I have both been off of road courses for a while, so the team thought it would be a good idea for us to both run. Right now, I'm trying to get all my rhythm right. I guess the rest will come."

Carpenter replaced Barron in the No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Chevrolet following the lunch break and recorded 70 laps. Carpenter's previous road-racing experience came in shifter karts and a 10-lap Toyota Atlantic run at Sebring several years ago.

"It was cool. I've been waiting for this for a long time," Carpenter said. "Alex drove yesterday and most of today, and he ran some really quick times. He gave me a really good car to start out in. We did everything we wanted to do for the league. We did all of our brake stuff. I had a lot fun in the half-day that I ran, and I can't wait to test somewhere else now."

Drivers returning for a second day of testing at Homestead were: Dario Franchitti (Andretti Green Racing), Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing), and Buddy Rice (Rahal Letterman Racing).

Each driver and team participating in the test is aiding IRL officials in determining parts for a road-course racing package. Among the elements the group is testing are the cooling system, brakes, and transmissions.

"We didn't do many laps yesterday, so the first 15 laps really gave us a direction which we translated into a setup overnight," Franchitti said. "It's running well. I'm pleasantly surprised with the way everything is reacting. The car is a lot of fun to drive. The engine, for an engine that's built to run on ovals, it's pretty good. We're still trying stuff for the IRL, still trying different brake packages and stuff, and again we're getting positive results with that. Overall, we're very happy and having a good time."

Team owner Michael Andretti was similarly enthused. "It was a must for open-wheel racing, and I think it's the first step in getting us back to where we used to be," Andretti said of the move to road racing. "We were excited as a team, and I know as a series, I think everybody is excited.