CART has supposedly found a major sponsor for Penske and gave him the pitch last week. Honda, winners of six straight CART championships and big supporters of de Ferran, have also tried to entice "The Captain" to keep one car in the series he helped launch in 1979.

"We've dedicated some time and energy to finding a sponsor for not only Roger Penske but for several of our teams," said Stark Taylor, CART's vice president of strategic partnerships. "We definitely want to keep Penske and we're being proactive to find another sponsor for Roger, Gil and Helio in case Marlboro isn't available.

"I don't have anybody specific to fill that role but I'm working on it."

De Ferran, only the fourth driver to win back-to-back CART titles, has put on his game face when asked about leaving CART for the IRL, but privately has confided to fellow drivers he desperately wants to remain in a series that features road courses, street circuits, short ovals and superspeedways.

Rahal to make it official
Co-owners Bobby Rahal and David Letterman are expected to be in attendance Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when they announce they're returning to the Indianapolis 500 in 2002 with Jimmy Vasser and the Miller Special.

Vasser, who will campaign the Shell Special in CART next year with Miller as an associate sponsor, has competed in the past two Indy 500s for Chip Ganassi but '86 Indy winner Rahal hasn't been back since 1995.

Team Rahal general manager Scott Roembke said Wednesday he's still trying to put together sponsorship to run two cars in CART in 2002.

PacWest getting Hondas
It's expected PacWest and CART rookie-of-the-year Scott Dixon will be switching from Toyota to Honda engines for the 2002 CART season.

"We're negotiating with Honda and, obviously, they are very interested in Scott," said team manager Russell Cameron.

Dixon, a 21-year-old New Zealander, impressed everyone this past season with his heady driving, which included one win and eighth in the standings.

"That kid has got a great future," raved de Ferran.

Whether veteran Mauricio Gugelmin returns remains up in the air, but Cameron said owner Bruce McCaw intends to continue a two-car effort.