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Tuesday, March 13 SUV to serve as pace car Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS -- Cars for two-time winner Arie Luyendyk and 1996 Indy Racing League co-champion Scott Sharp are among the first entries for the May 27 Indianapolis 500. CART's Team Green and driver Michael Andretti also are expected to return to Indianapolis. "It feels great to be back in a car," said Luyendyk, who is testing this week at Las Vegas, the site of his last IRL victory before his retirement from racing two years ago. "I'm really comfortable in the car. "I didn't push it too hard, but I was flat all the way around. I just wanted to take my time and get up to speed and accomplish our engineering goals, which we got done," he said. Luyendyk, who decided in January to end his retirement in hopes of winning a third Indy 500, will test at Las Vegas through Wednesday before heading for Phoenix to help Treadway Racing and rookie driver Felipe Giaffone for the IRL season opener on Sunday. The Treadway-Hubbard team has entered four G Force-Oldsmobile cars for Luyendyk and Giaffone for the Indy 500. Kelley Racing has entered six Dallara-Oldsmobiles, two each for Sharp and teammate Mark Dismore and two with no driver listed. The entry deadline is April 11, two days before the start of the annual Rookie Orientation Program and just over three weeks before the start of full practice. The Indianapolis-based Team Green reportedly is trying to finalize plans that could bring Andretti back to the Speedway. Andretti, the 1991 CART champion and son of former Indy winner Mario Andretti, has not driven at Indianapolis since 1995, the year before the CART-IRL split Among other expected entries are cars for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, a CART team that won the Indy 500 last year with driver Juan Montoya, who is now driving for the Williams team in Formula One. Ganassi plans to enter Indy with rookies Bruno Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian. Last month, CART's Penske Racing also said it would compete at Indianapolis with drivers Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves. The Speedway also announced this year's pace car will be a 2002 Bravada, the 11th Oldsmobile but first sport utility vehicle to lead the 33-car starting field. The pace car driver will be announced later. Last year's pace car, an Oldsmobile Aurora, was driven by actor Anthony Edwards.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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