De Ferran

	Castroneves

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- A year ago, Marlboro Team Penske was just dabbling in the Indy Racing League.

A so-so warmup at Phoenix International Raceway led to a 1-2 sweep of the Indianapolis 500 by Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran, both better known as road racers than oval drivers.

Now, Penske has brought his elite team to the IRL full time, leaving behind the CART series he helped found more than two decades ago.

The return trip to the one-mile PIR oval for Sunday's Copper World 200 is no mere warmup this time. The Penske team is deadly serious, especially after watching defending IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. race away with an easy win in the opener two weeks ago at Homestead, Fla.

De Ferran, winner of the last two CART titles, and Castroneves finished 2-3 in Homestead, but the talk is that team owner Penske expected better from his drivers.

"Nobody really expected us to win every race this year, I'm sure," de Ferran said. "Some people predicted that, but this series has very good, very deep competition.

"I think we can be very successful because we have a very good team and very good equipment, but we have some people to beat out there."

Hornish won last year's race -- his first IRL victory -- while the Penske drivers made their first appearances on the all-oval circuit, with de Ferran finishing 24th and Castroneves 18th.

De Ferran did lead three laps before being crashed out by another driver, while Castroneves led four laps before an engine failure ended his day.

"We ran fairly well in Phoenix last year, but we're a little more prepared this year as we've had additional test time," Castroneves said. "We were pretty satisfied last year, because it was just like a good test. Now we're running for points and a championship, so it's even more important."

To win a championship, the Penske drivers are going to have to beat the confident Hornish, still learning his craft at 22.

After his easy win in Homestead, where he lapped the entire field at one point, Hornish said he could hardly wait for Friday's opening practice to get under way.

"Phoenix is a tough little track because it's small," Hornish said. "I think the biggest thing about those tracks is that they are really suited to what I like and also to what the guys at Pennzoil Panther Racing like.

"We like the short tracks, where it's about the car setup, about patience and timing passes."

Another driver anxiously awaiting Phoenix is Eddie Cheever Jr., knocked out of the opener on the third lap by overanxious rookie teammate Tomas Scheckter.

Besides spending a lot of time explaining the facts of oval-racing life to the 21-year-old Scheckter, the son of former Formula One champion Jody Scheckter, the IRL's only driver-owner did some juggling.

He assigned veteran crew chief Owen Snyder and seasoned engine Paul Burgess to move from his car to Scheckter's for the rest of the season.

"We have been to Phoenix for testing two times since the end of last season," Cheever said. "We have improved with each test. But there are two tracks that Hornish performed impeccably on last year -- Homestead and Phoenix -- and the No. 4 car is going to be tough to beat.

"Penske has also proven to be well prepared and consistent, but the car and the team to beat now is the one with the Pennzoil colors (Hornish). If we execute better than we did in Miami, I see both of our cars being a threat for a podium finish."