FORT WORTH, Texas -- Parnelli Jones looked like he meant business as he climbed into No. 98, while Johnny Rutherford put a red bandana over his mouth and Lloyd Ruby stood quietly by his roadster. Gordon Johncock and Jim McElreath joked with some fans before putting on their helmets.

It could have been a scene from Trenton, Phoenix or Indianapolis, circa 1965. Instead, it was Saturday morning at Texas Motor Speedway where Firestone's Heroes of Indy were getting ready to practice for Sunday's 25-lap race in their Thunder Roadsters.

"This is so neat to see," said Eddie Gossage, TMS general manager who came up with the idea to honor the heritage and heroes of Indy-car racing's golden years. "And I think all these guys are having a good time."

That would be a fact.

Twenty to 40 years removed from their heydays, in a deadly era where safety was an afterthought and drivers lost their lives at an alarming rate, this reunion brought out smiles, wisecracks and those old competitive juices.

"The only reason I showed up was they promised me (A.J.) Foyt would be out there," said Jones, breaking into a big grin. "But then I heard he wouldn't fit in the car."

Rutherford, who like Foyt made his reputation at Indy as a three-time winner, couldn't resist piling on his fellow Texan, who has piled on the pounds from his driving days.

"I told Parnelli that getting A.J. in the car wasn't the problem. It was getting him out."

Foyt wasn't around to defend himself but told friends he'd strap on a real race car and run the big 1.5-mile track here against any of his old competition.

As Johncock, the two-time Indy winner whose waist-line has also expanded in recent years, zipped up his driver's uniform, '83 Indy champ Tom Sneva slapped him on the back and cracked: "Gordy, how much material did it take to make that suit?"

Johncock mumbled something about Sneva crashing so many times it gave him a permanent concussion.

Ruby, who led five Indy 500s for 126 laps but never made it to victory lane because of mechanical failures, started the whole weekend off with his typical dead-pan humor.

In a news conference after Friday's practice period, a jug of milk was placed in front of him (the winning drink at Indy) and he drawled: "I never saw that before."

Bill Vukovich II, a front-runner in the '70s whose father was an Indy legend before losing his life while leading in 1955, quit racing in 1982 and spun out a couple times Saturday.

"My car isn't very good but neither am I," he declared.

Truth is, all of the oldtimers here were winners. Like Vuky, Pancho Carter only scored one Indy-car win but was one of the finest sprint-car drivers of all-time. Arie Luyendyk earned two Indy victories, while Scott Goodyear was a five-time Indy-car winner and two-time Indy 500 runner-up.

Rutherford and Johncock were two of the bravest, toughest competitors ever, as was Ruby, a seven-time Indy winner who didn't know much about a chassis but always drove his cars to the limit.

McElreath, who at 75 is one week older than Ruby, represented what was special about Indy-car drivers in the '60s. He worked on his own cars and engines, while being proficient on dirt or pavement track.

But his resiliency is even more impressive.

His only son, James, was a promising racer killed in a sprint car in 1977. His daughter, Shirley Ann, lost her life in a 2000 airplane crash. His wife, Shirley, suffered a major stroke in 1998 and has been in a wheelchair ever since. Then, two years ago, Jim was diagnosed with lukemia.

"We've had our share of things," said McElreath, whose treatments have put his lukemia in remission. "But Shirley has made a lot of progress and I'm doing OK. I'm glad to still be alive and kicking, especially this weekend.

"It's just great to see all these guys again. I haven't seen some of them for 25 years."

Other than Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti, Gossage has all the Indy legends in attendance (Rick Mears is the flagman, Al Unser will drive the pace car and Foyt the grand marshall). It's easy to see why Indy cars ruled in the '60s, '70s and '80s with the fans and why there is such an identity crisis in open wheel today.

"We were around for a long time," said Johncock, whose career spanned 29 years. "And IRL and CART need more Americans. There's too many foreign drivers out there. Nobody knows anything about most of 'em and there's so many new guys every year."

Ruby reckoned he and the old guard of roadster drivers competing here totaled more than 125 years of experience and that longevity spurred several great rivalries.

"Mario tangled with me and A.J., Johnny (Rutherford) and Johncock were real competitive and everybody always wanted to beat Parnelli," he said.

The rivalry between Parnelli and A.J. was also fierce and fabulous, covering midgets, sprints, stock cars and Indy cars, and hooking many kids of the '60s on auto racing. Although he only won one Indy 500 and six Indy-car races total, compared to Foyt's 67 and four, Jones is still considered by many as the finest performer in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history.

"That guy," said Vukovich, pointing at Parnelli, "is one of the best. He didn't make big money like these guys today and only drove for 40 percent. But nobody was better and he could drive anything."

While these Thunder Roadsters don't offer much horsepower and the track is a little quarter-mile bullring inside the big oval here at TMS, Parnelli's talent is still on display. At 65, he's still fast, smooth, aggressive and focused.

"You know I never, ever said I had retired," said Jones, who still competes in vintage races. "I'm still a race driver."

And, for at least a few laps here this weekend, so are some of the greats who made Indy-car racing so intoxicating.

A three-car Panther?
The Pennzoil Panther team made it official Saturday afternoon -- as expected Tomas Scheckter is replacing Sam Hornish next season.

But Scheckter could have as many as two teammates in 2004.

Burger King and Coke are seriously considering sponsoring Sarah Fisher next year and Panther is the leading candidate to take the IRL's most popular driver if that happens.

Also, it's believed that Pennzoil is contemplating a second car for Al Unser Jr., who wants to run one more year before retiring. The two-time Indy winner will no longer be paid a $4 million salary by Tony George and won't be back for a third year with Kelley Racing.

Unser has also contacted Patrick Racing about returning to CART competition.

The rumor in the IRL paddock is that John Menard is selling his equipment to either Richcard Childress/Robby Gordon or Panther Racing but would stay on as a sponsor. Asked Saturday, Menard responded with a laugh: "Let's go with Robby Gordon. Yeah, that's what everybody thinks." Then, the billionaire lumber magnet said: "Let's just get through this season."

Silly season
Here's a quick, but somewhat educated guess at who might be where in open wheel racing in 2004:

Dario Franchitti going to Newman-Haas in CART.

Scott Sharp staying at Kelley Racing, but down to a one-car team.

Bryan Herta returning with Andretti-Green Racing.

Ed Carpenter joining Kenny Brack at Team Rahal.

Alex Barron signing with Red Bull/Cheever.

A.J. Allmendinger, funded by Carl Russo, but running out of Patrick Racing in CART.

Buddy Rice looking for a ride.

Robin Miller covers open wheel racing for ESPN and ESPN.com.