Castroneves

	de Ferran

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- So far, the transition of Roger Penske's elite race team from CART to the rival IRL has been as smooth as expected.

Marlboro Team Penske tested the IRL waters last year, with both Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran leading here before running into problems, then finishing 1-2 in the Indianapolis 500.

Now committed to the full series, the Penske cars have finished 2-3 in the opener in Homestead, Fla., and 1-2 on Sunday in the Copper World 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Castroneves is now two for four in the IRL, with his victories at Indy and at Phoenix International Raceway -- the only wins on oval tracks among his eight career triumphs. De Ferran, the CART champion the past two years, now has three runner-up finishes in four IRL starts.

"Roger and our team are just trying to get where we think open-wheel racing needs to go," said Penske team president Tim Cindric. "We know we're a target, but you want to be the one everybody wants to knock off.

"We intended to come here and be competitive."

Cindric was particularly proud of the team's effort in here, considering it came the week after team member Gary Buckner died unexpectedly of a heart attack.

Buckner was the team's chief fabricator as well as tire man and left rear tire changer on de Ferran's car.

"It was a very tough week for our entire team," Cindric said. "To come in here and stay focused and have the kind of pit stops we had, is kind of a testament to the preparation and talent on this team."

Sunday's victory was the 111th for Penske in open-wheel racing. That includes 62 on oval tracks and 31 on ovals of 1½ miles or less.

Tough day
Eddie Cheever Jr., the only owner-driver in the IRL, hit the wall for the second straight race. This time, he didn't even have the consolation of having rookie teammate Tomas Scheckter finish the race.

"I am getting tired of talking to Dr. Bock," Cheever said, referring to series medical director Henry Bock. "If I don't see him again for a while, I will be more than pleased."

Cheever was caught up in a crash halfway through the race that was ignited when Buddy Lazier and Anthony Lazzaro banged together in front of him. Before it was over, Cheever and Scott Sharp had become involved.

Scheckter, who crashed his boss out on the third lap two weeks ago in Homestead, Fla., but went on to a sixth-place finish in his first IRL race, this time went out after 40 of the 200 laps with an engine failure. He finished 24th in the 25-car field.

Going up
Longtime open-wheel star Al Unser Jr., making only his second start for Kelley Racing, turned things around with a strong fifth-place finish.

Unser, who lost his ride over the winter when Rick Galles was forced to fold his team because of financial problems, didn't sign on with Kelley until about two weeks before the season-opener. Electrical problems left him 19th in Homestead, but Sunday was a much better day.

"I told the guys in Homestead that we're only as good as our last race," the two-time Indy 500 winner said. "And that race wasn't very good. Today, we finished fifth so, hopefully, we'll keep that going."

Leaving the cockpit
A crash by Tyce Carlson in practice on Saturday proved to be the driver's swansong.

Carlson, who has 29 IRL starts, including an 11th-place run in the 2002 opener, decided to retire as a driver, effective immediately, after his team was unable to repair his car in time for Sunday's race.

He joins Buzz Calkins and Donnie Beechler as IRL drivers who have announced their retirements since January.

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