Ward to sample Infiniti power at Texas

Heritage was due to use the engine in a second car, which was to be fielded for former Formula 1 ace Johnny Herbert, but the Brit's American Le Mans Series commitments mean he is unable to race.

However, rather than the team not use the 3.5-litre Nissan-built engine, Heritage has decided to fit the V8 unit into regular driver Jeff Ward's G-Force for this weekend.

"I am really looking forward to racing with the Infiniti engine," said Ward. "We have tested the engine three times now, at Kentucky, Chicago, and Texas. I am very impressed with the power and the higher torque-band of the engine.

Ward, who switched to Heritage after losing his seat at Team Menard to Jacques Lazier, joins Eddie Cheever and Robbie Buhl in the Infiniti ranks and the 1999 IRL champion was originally due to run his regular Aurora engine.

While the Scottish born 40-year-old is looking forward to sampling the new engine, he has his reservations and will have to adapt quickly to the new power plant.

"It will be a good engine to have at Texas because of the draft that you have there," he said. "But we haven't been in traffic with this engine, so I am not sure how it will pull with other cars around. We will focus on that when we start practice on Friday. We will be on a steep learning curve to get ready for the race."