Cheever

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- The work ahead of us is clearly evident. The results, at least so far, are not.

After Red Bull Cheever Racing's Buddy Rice finished 16th in the IRL IndyCar Series opener earlier this month at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- and our fellow Chevrolet drivers struggled as well -- we went back to work knowing we're behind. But we also know we're making progress, and we know the problems aren't just about the engine.

The evidence of our immense task lies with the numbers: Toyota swept the first three positions at Homestead, with Scott Dixon leading Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves across the finish line. The best Chevy-powered car -- Sam Hornish Jr.'s -- finished 10th. The others finished 15th, 16th, 19th, 20th and 21st, although the last three finishes were the result of accidents.

Not good, but all is not lost on one race.

It has become blatantly obvious to us that the intensity Toyota and Honda have displayed heading into their first season in the Indy Racing League is paying off. They're going about this with the definite intention of winning the Indianapolis 500, and they're only two races and two months away from that prize.

In other words, if we want an American engine to win America's most significant auto race, we have our work cut out for us.

Blaming the engine, though, would be an easy out. It's far more complicated than that. At this point, we're trying to prop up all of the different parts of our race team. The approach we're taking is a lot more detailed than people might think. It's not just about horsepower, especially heading into this weekend's Purex Dial Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. It's a flat one-mile track that calls for balance and finesse, not necessarily power.

So, as we prepare for this race, we do so a little differently than we prepare for longer races at larger tracks. The key at PIR is getting the car to work efficiently through four totally different corners. Everybody thinks you just put more power into it, but that isn't always the case. Especially here.

I'm confident the Chevrolet engine will come around. In the marketplace, Chevrolet is the No. 1 automotive manufacturer in the world. There is no reason why they can't be No. 1 on the track as well.

In part, it's a test of different business models. Toyota and Honda have a hands-on approach; they develop their own engines in-house. General Motors, on the other hand, works out-of-house with smaller engine tuners and individual teams. We definitely have the resources and technically astute people backing the engine, but I believe GM may have been somewhat tepid in its approach to the 2003 season. They may have underestimated what we're up against, but they're making major strides.

The first step after the Homestead opener was to realize what we were lacking. Our task is more difficult heading into this race, and, with help from Menard Cheever Technoligies -- the R&D firm we formed with fellow owner John Menard -- we're gaining ground rapidly. What we accomplish this weekend at PIR will lead us toward our goal: the 87th running of the Indianapolis 500.

I'm looking forward to seeing how quickly we're improving. And how close we're getting to that goal.

IRL driver Eddie Cheever Jr. owns and drives the No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Infiniti car. He provides a diary to ESPN.com. Cheever's team Web site can be found at www.cheeverindyracing.com.