The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 34

D6 THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2004 ist Sports THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM AUTO RAGING IRL's Dixon unsure if F-l test will lead to job IRL NOTEBOOK Barnhart said he told Scheckter after the race. "So the racing gods (worked it out)." Etc. Cheever Racing managing director Max Jones said he doesn't think the team will field a third car in the Indy 500, as some expect. Honda will test its new 3.0-liter IRL engine March 30 at Phoenix. Barnhart predicted pole speed for the Indy 500 to be "in the 223 (mph) range." Helio Castroneves won the pole last year at 231.725 mph.

Call Star reporter Curt Cavin at (317) 444-6409. looking for the same opportunity. It's hard to know what (team officials) are thinking." Dixon is a leading contender, according to a London-based racing Web site, in part because Schumacher could be headed for a ride with Toyota. After Friday's shakedown test, Dixon will return to Indianapolis. He will drive in the International Race of Champions event at Texas Motor Speedway on April 2 and the IRL's engine manufacturers' test at IMS on April 3.

Then he'll return to Europe for his formal F-l test in Barcelona, Spain. Both F-l sessions will include Zanardi and Montoya. A hard lesson to learn During Sunday's race in Phoenix, IRL senior vice president Brian Barnhart warned Tomas Scheckter about blocking Dario Franchitti on the front straightaway. On the next lap, Franchitti ran into the back of Scheckter when he didn't know the caution had come out. Both were knocked out of the race.

"If you hadn't done what you did on the front straightaway, he'd have (passed) you and you'd both still be running third and fourth," Schumacher, Gene and Pizzonia. Dixon, in the final year of his contract with Chip Ganassi, recently said he would be interested in a one-year testing contract with an F-l team to gain experience. But he backtracked Wednesday. "I've got to weigh that to what I have here," he said. "TargetChip Ganassi Racing and the IRL is still a great thing.

To race competitively and to test are two different things. With F-l being your dream, it pulls you a little to that side, but you can get lost in testing forever." Ganassi has helped two drivers get to the Williams team: Alex By Curt Cavin curt.cavinindystar.com Indy Racing League champion Scott Dixon will test his first Formula One car Friday. Whether it leads to a ride with Frank Williams' team in 2005 remains to be seen. Dixon doubts his chances are as good as when he agreed to a two-part assessment that begins at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France. Dixon based that Wednesday on Ralf Schumacher's softened stance regarding the salary he'll accept to return.

Williams' only known vacancy for next season is for the seat occupied by former Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Mon-toya, who will leave to join McLaren. Williams' test drivers, Marc Gene and Antonio Piz-zonia, have F-l race experience. "It's hard to say now," Dixon said of his chances during a media event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "It looked like two seats (would be available) but everybody knew Ralf was going to soften up. "There's probably a lot of guys We've got spirit Yes we do, we've got in esi ii $90s to $250s 12 Locations around Indy ssi pi I I1 'ii ii! SJ iii in in HI HI III EiSi $5,000 to 10,000 of Standard Features are Included with Our Homes.

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