FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- From the moment the track opened for practice Saturday morning, Team Penske had it dialed in.

Penske drivers Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves dominated the practice runs before finishing 1-2 in the afternoon qualifying session.

De Ferran had the top speed during the morning practice session, turning a lap of 177.370 mph that was more than 3½ mph faster than any other driver.

Felipe Giaffone had the second-fastest morning practice time of 173.718 mph. Robbie Buhl went 173.325, Airton Dare 173.228 and rookie Tomas Scheckter 173.203.

In the afternoon practice session, interrupted by light rain and wind, Castroneves went 180.352 mph, while de Ferran clocked a 179.143. Sam Hornish Jr. was third at 176.803, followed by Scott Sharp at 176.705 and rookie Laurent Redon at 175.891.

Mack attack
George Mack brushed the wall early in the afternoon practice session, causing minor damage to the front of his car and knocking off the wing. Mack was not injured.

"We made a change,'' Mack said. "I radioed that the car was really neutral. They told me to stay out. It was probably a setup problem. Maybe the tires weren't up to temp yet.''

A future Foyt
A.J. Foyt IV will drive for his grandfather, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, in the new Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series, which debuts July 7 at Kansas Speedway.

Foyt, 18, will drive the No. 14 car -- a Foyt tradition -- in the developmental series.

The younger Foyt currently changes the right-front tire on Dare's IRL car, which is owned by the elder Foyt. Dare, in turn, will serve as the 18-year-old's coach in the Infiniti Pro Series.

"I'm going to help him as much as I can because A.J. helped me a lot here,'' Dare said.

The teenaged Foyt said being a tire-changer "makes me realize what the guys have to go through and how much hard work it is. When I get into the car, I'll respect those guys more for what they do.

"My grandpa is also going to be helping me a lot. I've been racing with the No. 14 since I was 10 years old. My go-karts and all my other cars were No. 14. It's really going to be big to drive an Indy-type car with the No. 14 on it.''

And end to "infinity"
There is no end to Infinity, except on the Indy Racing League circuit.

Owner/driver Eddie Cheever Jr. was saddened by the announcement Friday that Infiniti will discontinue providing engines to the IRL at the conclusion of this season.

"I am truly grateful for the past three years, in which time we built a mutually beneficial partnership,'' Cheever said.

Using Infiniti engines, Cheever's team has won two races -- including the 2000 race here -- and two poles.

"Our partnership with Infiniti has established Cheever Indy Racing as one of the top teams in the IRL,'' Cheever said. "I am only sorry that we came just shy of delivering an Indy 500 win to Infiniti, which could have made them the first Japanese automotive manufacturer to win the race.

"But it's not over yet. We have the best engine out there on the track right now, and we have until September to kick everybody's butt.''

Chevrolet is the only other company currently producing engines for the IRL. But both Honda and Toyota have announced they will leave the rival CART circuit and join IRL next season.

Breathing lessons
Jeff Ward, who posted his first IRL victory in his 51st start last week in Texas, spent little time celebrating. Ward headed straight for Colorado, arriving on Monday afternoon.

The reason: to get acclimated to the mile-high elevation.

"When you first come here, you get headaches and your nose gets dry,'' Ward said. "It affects you a little bit.

"I ride my bike every day at home and on the road, so I just come up here and do some running and mountain biking -- just to kind of get used to it. It still affects you no matter how long you're up here.''