Tracy

INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul Tracy is a veteran of four Indianapolis 500s but hasn't been in the race since 1995. A member of CART Team Green, he has returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in seven years and hopes to qualify for the 33-car field.

Tracy was 14th-fastest in Sunday's opening day of practice with a lap of 224.891 miles per hour in a Dallara/Chevrolet.

"I missed coming here, it's a big deal," he said. "You can see by today how many people are out here. I think now with so much crossover and so many different drivers here from all around the world, it's kind of like it was before. The crowd was pretty big today compared to past years.

"It's coming back. We'd like to see it all come back together as one series, but I think that will take more time."

Tracy and Team Green teammates Dario Franchitti and Michael Andretti were among many racers who took advantage of the lengthy practice session in hopes of better understanding their race cars.

"The track changed quite a bit throughout the day," Tracy said. "We have to learn the car. It's pretty new. The testing here last month helped, but it was so cold we were able to go flat and whatever changes we made didn't really affect the car because it was so cold. Today it was a little bit more tricky. It was hot today and I didn't get flat all the way around until the last three laps.

"We have to trim it out and get comfortable in the car and work on it all week."

Several drivers struggled to find the proper setups for the racing surface at the 2½-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including Tracy.

"I chewed up the first set of tires pretty quick because I had a big understeer in the car," Tracy said. "We got it to where it was a little bit loose. I didn't like that. I moved the car around with the balance. It's a totally different car for us than the one we run.

"It is what it is, it's a race car. A stock car is a stock car and an IRL car is an IRL car. It's fairly similar to what we have in CART, but it takes a little bit different approach to set it up, and it's new for us, so we are going to take our time."

Tracy is one of a growing number of CART drivers who have decided to compete in the IRL's biggest event. He likes the quality of competition this year and believes it will be a struggle throughout the month.

"The competition is tough," Tracy said. "Everybody is out there right off the bat, trying to go for it. It's going to be tough to qualify up front and it's going to be tough to make it in. And it will be a hard-fought race.

"You have to get a handle on the car. I didn't drive it last year, so the car is all new to me. It's not where I want it to be yet. I'm getting used to it. The speeds are creeping up. There is more power coming in and cars are getting more refined. Speeds will be around 230 in qualifying to get on the front row."

Sitting it out

	Scheckter

Indy Racing League rookie Tomas Scheckter won't be allowed to take the track until Wednesday. The 21-year-old from South Africa was penalized for rough driving by IRL vice president of competition Brian Barnhart.

"When you are part of an association and when you sign up to do the IRL, you have to accept their rules," Scheckter said. "They penalized me for the way I was driving and I accept it. I have to accept it and get on with business now."

Scheckter has crashed in three of the first four IRL events. His latest came on April 21 at Nazareth Speedway when he ran into the back of Jaques Lazier, who suffered a broken lower back.

Scheckter has earned a reputation for his driving style, and that has led to scrutiny by IRL officials.

"I've maybe seen other people make mistakes and get away with it," Scheckter said. "I have to forget about why and what and get in the car three days before qualifying and trying to have a good car to make the race.

"I'm here to race. That's what I've been doing, but maybe I've been racing too hard. I just have to get a balance. We have had a possibility to win every race we've been in. I just need to translate that speed into some points."

Scheckter met with Barnhart and former Indianapolis 500 winners Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford on Thursday when he was informed of the penalty. That got his attention, he said.

"That is why I accepted it because when you have a meeting with Brian, he wants the best for you," Scheckter said. "He wants what's good for you and what's good for the series. He's not just shilling you out, he is telling you why he wants you to be better. That's why I accepted it.

"I also think the IRL judges everybody fairly. They have also given Sam Hornish Jr. a lecture, and that is fair. Brian has been great to work with. Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford gave me constructive criticism. I'm going to spend the next three days going around the track with them and learning a lot from the two of them."

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a unique, high-speed oval where drivers must maintain a certain degree of caution or risk involvement in a serious crash.

"I have to learn from it, move on and go," Scheckter said. "We've got the speed, we just haven't been able to win. Waking up in a hospital makes you realize a lot of things as well."

Scheckter will be part of a three-car team in this year's race, joining owner-driver Eddie Cheever and CART's Max Papis.

"This is actually my first time ever in an IRL car and my first time driving at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Papis said. "It's quite a lot to learn. It's quite impressive. This is definitely something different than I have ever done before. I am working on getting used to the car and the speeds. The speeds here definitely require a lot of respect. The goal is to get the right feeling on the car, log it in my brain and work on it for tomorrow.

"The fans here are great. They have shown a lot of support and they are very knowledgeable. Being out there in the same place where so many great names in the history of auto racing have driven is something that can't be bought with any amount of money."

Groovy

	Andretti

Michael Andretti was one of several drivers who complained the track surface gave a "groovy feeling." The surface recently was ground by a process called diamond grinding to make it smoother. But the grooves cut into the track created a situation called "groove wander," which is the same sensation felt on an interstate highway when it is grooved to help water run off.

"The grinding of the track has really made a difference," Andretti said. "It's very, very smooth, which is great, but it feels a bit strange at first. It might take a day or two to get used to the new grooves, but that's not a problem."

IRL officials said they were unaware of a problem regarding the grooves.

"Nobody has come to me and said anything about it," Barnhart said. "Every comment I've gotten from everybody is the surface is outstanding, it's smooth and has a lot of grip in it.

"The grooves aren't in a wave. They are in a straight line. That could be a function of setup. Based on the performance I saw today, I don't think it's too bad. A lot of cars were running quick in a hurry."

Barnhart was impressed with the frantic activity during the opening day of practice.

"I think guys looked at the weather forecast because if you lose a few days to rain, a lot of people looked at it as we've got to get a baseline setup and be ready to go," he said.

Firestone, IMS strike deal
Bridgestone/Firestone announced an agreement with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to sell a new high-performance tire on the passenger car market.

The Firehawk Indy 500 high performance tire was announced Sunday and already is being sold at Firestone dealers.

Firestone, the winning tire of the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 and 51 times since (including every race from 1920-66), is the first tire company to be able to use the Indy 500 and its trademark "winged wheels" logo.

"We're very proud to see a new street tire that celebrates the world's greatest race, produced by a company we respect and trust," said Indianapolis Motor Speedway president and CEO Tony George. "More Indy 500 races have been won on Firestones than all other tire companies combined and we're honored Firestone would publicly introduce a tire for street use evoking a rich heritage at the Speedway. We're pleased it will wear our name and logo."

Shu Ishibashi is president of Bridgestone-Firestone North American Consumer Tire Sales Group and said the Indy 500 brand name will help bring the company back to prominence after two difficult years in the consumer market.

"The Firehawk Indy 500 tire emphasizes the history and the future of the Firestone brand at the Indianapolis 500," Ishibashi said. "We really appreciate the fact that the management of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has the trust and confidence in our performance to allow us to put the Indy 500 name and logo on one of our street tires.

"They know this new Firehawk tire is worthy of displaying the Indy 500 name and logo."

According to Firestone officials, the tires will sell from $50-$110 apiece, based on size.