AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Nobody has won (eight) or started (70) more Indy Racing League shows than Buddy Lazier. Nobody's earned more money ($8,173,694) for his team. Nobody's career has been defined more in this all oval-track series than the 2000 IRL champion.

And nobody is anticipating Sunday's Purex 200 any more than the 35-year-old veteran from Vail, Colo.

"I'm as hungry as I've ever been and I just want to get back out there," said Lazier, who missed the season-opener at Homestead, Fla., earlier this month because Hemelgarn Racing couldn't come up with the money to have his car up and running.

"Standing around at Homestead was the absolute worst feeling and I'm not a very good spectator. That's why I can't wait until practice begins Friday."

Of the 124 drivers that have passed through the IRL during its seven-year history, Lazier represents the guy whose career has benefited the most. Driving older, under-financed cars in CART from 1989-95, he received some equal equipment when the IRL was formed in '96.

He also took the opportunity and ran with it -- winning the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and becoming one of the guys to beat week in and week out. He ran second to Juan Montoya in 2000 at Indy and went on to claim his first major title. He's also led 1,023 laps, fourth on the all-time list.

But last year he went winless for the first time since 1999 and only led three laps as Sam Hornish Jr. captured his second straight IRL championship and tied Lazier's career win mark.

With CART stalwarts Chip Ganassi, Morris Nunn, Bobby Rahal and Michael Andretti joining Roger Penske in fielding full-time teams this season, plus the strength of the Honda and Toyota engines, Lazier suddenly finds himself facing a situation similar to his CART days. He's virtually had no testing, his Chevrolet engine appears down on power compared to the two Japanese powerplants and his team lost its primary sponsor (Coors) for the most competitive year in IRL history.

"Obviously, we're going to be playing catch-up for a little while and we have some obstacles to overcome," said Lazier, whose longtime engineer (Ron Dawes) and chief mechanic (Dennis Lacava) are still on board. "I only got in a half a day of testing before we broke a fuel pump and the engine felt significantly stronger than last year.

"But until I'm out on the track against the Hondas and Toyotas I can't make any comparisons. I can say the new Dallara chassis is a much nicer car to drive and really seems to fit my style."

	It's been a while since Lazier rocked in Victory Lane.

Lazier is both confident of his ability and realistic about his situation.

"We know we can't go out and expect to win three of the first four races but I guarantee you I'm capable of winning races and so is this team," he said. "I have a good team and a very hungry team and there's a lot of racing left in this season.

"I'm excited to go racing and so are my guys. We've got a lot of passion for what we are doing."

While Lazier has come from last to first at Phoenix International Raceway, another veteran has never made it to Victory Lane here despite all his open-wheel success. Al Unser Jr. will be trying to end his 0-for-15 streak on the racy, one-mile oval.

"Phoenix is a track I've never won at and I definitely would like to get a win at what I consider my home track," said the two-time Indy winner and native of Albuquerque, N.M. "We haven't been the fastest team in testing, but I feel that we have a good race car.

"I'm hoping that we're more competitive at Phoenix than we were in Homestead and that we're able to bring home a podium finish for the Corteco team."

Unser's longtime friend and rival, Andretti, will be making his first appearance at PIR since 1995 and only has one win here among his 42 in CART.

"Phoenix has always been a great race, and I'm looking forward to going back there. It's one of my favorite tracks," said the 40-year-old second-generation star who qualified on the front row of the IRL opener. "The challenge with Phoenix is that Turns 1 and 2 are very different from Turns 3 and 4, and that makes it a real compromise when setting up the car.

"Everyone was motivated by our qualifying performance in Homestead, and I know that they want to win this next race as badly as I do. I'd like to post a win or two before I get to Indianapolis."

A total of 22 cars are entered (one more than Homestead) and the IRL won't be in action again until April 12 at Motegi, Japan.

Robin Miller covers open-wheel racing for ESPN and ESPN.com. Miller answers user e-mails on ESPN.com and questions on ESPNews.