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 Friday, February 11
Penske decides to skip Indy 500
 
Associated Press

 INDIANAPOLIS -- Car owner Roger Penske apparently has changed his mind about bringing his CART team to the Indianapolis 500.

Penske's cars have won a record 10 races at Indianapolis, but CART has not competed there since Speedway president Tony George founded the rival Indy Racing League in 1996. There has been speculation about a possible reconciliation, and several CART teams indicated a possible return this year.

"If you had talked to me three months ago, Indy was high on our list because we thought it might enhance our chances of getting back together" with the IRL, Penske said.

"We ordered a couple of cars from (IRL chassis manufacturer) Riley & Scott, but after we sat back we decided this wasn't the year," Penske said Wednesday in Homestead, Fla., during CART's spring training at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Indianapolis-based Walker Racing, with 19-year-old rookie driver Sarah Fisher, is the only CART team so far that has said it will race at Indy this year.