Check out a short list of favorites for Saturday's Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

	Barron

Alex Barron
The San Diego native will drive in the 2002 Indy Racing League with Blair Racing, owned by entrepreneur and successful businessman Larry Blair; was a 1997 KOOL/Toyota Atlantic champion and Rookie of the Year; made his debut in the IRL last August with Sam Schmidt Motorsports at Gateway International Raceway, his only Indy Racing start; also raced in the CART series for Blair Racing, Team Penske, Dan Gurney All-American Racers and Dale Coyne Racing.

Billy Boat
Had a consistent season but end results could have been better; logged eight top-10 finishes and did not finish lower than 18th the entire season; best effort was second at Harrah's Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee; final outcome was fourth in the points standings with 313 points.

Helio Castroneves
As Team Penske moved from CART to Indy Racing, so did Brazilian teammates Castroneves and Gil de Ferran; in the rival series, he won six poles and six races for Marlboro Penske over the years; three of those wins were in 2001 and he also took the checkered flag at the Indianapolis 500 which is on this circuit; in all, he started in the top 10 in 16 races and scored 11 top-10 finishes.

Eddie Cheever
Up-and-down 2001 season with some high results and also some lows; the lone victory was recorded at Kansas Speedway on July 8; had four other finishes in the top nine but that was overshadowed by five races outside the top 15; the 1998 Indianapolis 500 champion placed ninth in the race at Miami; finished the year in eighth place after accumulating 261 points.

	De Ferran

Gil de Ferran
The two-time CART champion joins the Indy Racing circuit as a driver for Team Penske, which made the move to the league in the offseason; was one of only four drivers to win successive championships in the CART series; in total, he won seven CART races and 16 poles in his career; five of those poles were recorded last year; had a tremendous run in the second half of last season, with finishes among the top eight in the last 10 straight races; won in England and led wire-to-wire in Houston; also had seven other podium results and 16 top-eight finishes altogether.

Felipe Giaffone
Ran a tremendous first Indy Racing season which was capped by a Rookie of the Year award; accumulated 304 points to finish sixth in the championship standings; his first 10 races were impressive finishes of no lower than 11th; overall, he had 10 top-10s, including a best of second place at Texas; in Miami, started fourth and also drive to a fourth place result.

Sam Hornish Jr.
At 22, he became the youngest to win an American professional open-wheel series in modern history, and did it in dominant fashion; started 2001 with a win at this track and never looked back, winning three races and finishing in the top six in 12 of 13; was on the podium in seven of those races, including four as runner-up; completed 2,643 of a possible 2,650 laps; clinched the title in the penultimate event, marking the first time a driver had the title secured before the final race.

Buddy Lazier
The 2000 Indy Racing champion spent all last season trying to capture coveted back-to-back titles; came up short despite a series-leading four victories and eight overall finishes in the top 10; chased Sam Hornish Jr. most of the season's second half, but three finishes outside the top 10 in the last three races proved to be costly; ended the year in second place, 105 points behind Hornish; had back-to-back victories at Pikes Peak and Richmond, Virginia, coupled with two straight wins at Nashville and Sparta, Kentucky; the four wins gave him eight for his career, the most in IRL history; led the most laps in a single race with 224 at Richmond.

Anthony Lazzaro
A racing veteran but a rookie in the Indy Racing League after signing a multiyear contract to drive for Sam Schmidt Motorsports; won the 1999 KOOL/Toyota Atlantic championship; drove for Schmidt Motorsports last year at the inaugural Gateway Indy 250 and at the Chevy 500 season finale at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing 18th and 13th, respectively: "Anthony is a great driver who still carries a daily passion for the pursuit of the wins," said Schmidt, a teammate of Lazzaro at Team Atlanta Motorsports in 1995 in the Hooters Formula Ford 200 series.

	Salazar

Eliseo Salazar
The native of Chile is a resident of Miami; hopes to cross the finish line first after coming close last year; was third behind winner Sam Hornish Jr. and Sarah Fisher; anticipates a home track advantage as he enters the third year on the legendary A.J. Foyt team; finished fifth in the series points standings last year; competed three years in Formula One, scoring points in a handful of races; won three IMSA sports car races before turning his attention to Indy Racing.

Scott Sharp
The Norwalk, Connecticut native is coming off a good season; earned a victory at Texas Motor Speedway and won three poles including the Indianapolis 500 pole; also started in the top three in five more races, which led to 10 results in the top 10; in Miami, he started eighth and finished in the same spot; finished third in the final points standings with 355; recorded at least one victory in five successive seasons.