Wilson says St Pete pole is possible

The Briton, who has moved to Coyne's small squad after losing his Newman/Haas/Lanigan seat, was second fastest yesterday afternoon, having been third in the morning.

"I think we had a pretty good day," said Wilson. "The car was working well and we were able to keep working on it. We were trying to get the ride quality even better to absorb some bumps out here, because that's a pretty big part of it. I'm very pleased with the progress."

Although Wilson reckoned that the string of late incidents and yellows in practice meant the times were not entirely representative, he is still very confident of his car's potential.

"I think this afternoon is not a true reflection of what we can do or of what everyone else can do because it was pretty messy out there at the end," he said.

"With 22 cars, everyone is eager to get the season started. So there were lots of little incidents going on out there, but I think we are in good shape and hopefully we can stick it in the top six tomorrow and challenge for that pole position."

The Coyne team first raced in Champ Car in 1986, but is still searching for its first pole and win. Despite its lack of resources, it has made great strides in recent years and has hired ex-Ganassi engineer Bill Pappas to try and take a further step in 2009.

Although Wilson is currently Coyne's sole driver, the team expects to add a second car by the Indianapolis 500.