Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's Bombardier ATV Copper World Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Billy Boat
The Glendale, Arizona native has performed well at his home track over the years; had finishes of fifth last year, sixth in 2000, fourth in 1999 and third a year before; only needs to start the Copper World Indy 200 to become the fifth driver to exceed $4 million in Indy Racing League money winnings; but winning the race is more important, "I haven's been to victory lane since Texas in 1998," he said. "It's the longest dry spell of my career." this will be his 49th IRL start, a career that began with A.J. Foyt in 1996-97; in 1998 also won the Copper World Classic sprint race at Phoenix International Raceway; had a good car in Miami, but a spin put him five laps down to just a 16th place finish; his car will carry the logo and colors of the World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks for this race; nine-year-old son Chad won the Arizona state Light Modified quarter-midget championship in 2000 and the Light 160 last year; Chad switched to dirt karts and swept all four races this year thus far.

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 last year; good start in the Indy Racing all ovals series with a third place finish in Miami behind de Ferran and winner Sam Hornish Jr.; was one of four leaders during the course of the race, up front for two laps.

Eddie Cheever
An accident with South African rookie teammate Tomas Scheckter took him out of the race in Miami on lap three; qualified fourth in Miami and looks forward to a strong run in Phoenix, "We have gone to Phoenix two times since the end of last season and have improved with each test," he said. "If we execute better than we did in Miami, I see both our cars being a threat for a podium finish."; born in Phoenix, Cheever will drive at his home track for the sixth time; led three of five IRL races at Phoenix, with a best result of 10th in 2000 and 1998; in 1989, his final year of Formula One competition, he finished third in the Phoenix Grand Prix with the Arrows-Ford team; ended his F1 career with 132 starts, the most of any American driver; winner of the 1998 Indianapolis 500.

Airton Dare
A.J. Foyt hired Dare to drive for the rest of the 2002 season; the 24-year-old driver replaced the injured Donnie Beechler who sustained a concussion in a March 1 practice session and was not cleared to drive in Miami; Dare drove a Dallara chassis for the first time in Miami and finished 10th after an accident on lap 195 ended his day five laps short of the end; ran as high as second during the race, "I was very impressed with Dare," owner Foyt said. "He had never driven a Dallara chassis before, only the G Force and then qualified at over 196 miles per hour and drove a great race."; Dare drove for TeamXtreme in 2000 and 2001, with finishes of 16th and 10th, respectively, in the points standings; has two top-five finishes in 23 starts, with second as best result in 2000 at Pikes Peak International Raceway.

Gil de Ferran
His runner-up finish to Sam Hornish Jr. in Miami marked the second time he placed in that position in three Indy Racing League starts; also came home second to Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves at the 2001 Indianapolis 500; led briefly for three laps at Homestead; won the CART championship twice, but made the move to this series in the offseason with Team Penske; was one of only four drivers to win consecutive championships in the CART series; won seven CART races and 16 poles in his career, with five poles recorded in 2001.

Felipe Giaffone
His first race for Mo Nunn Racing in the IRL was a success considering he started 17th; finished seventh after steadily made his way through the field; it was the first IRL event in the three-year history of Mo Nunn Racing, which also lines a car in the CART series with Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan; Giaffone, another Brazilian driver, finished sixth in his first appearance at Phoenix last year; drove for Treadway/Hubbard Racing in 2001 en route to Rookie of the Year honors; a season he had 10 top-10 finishes, including a best of second place in Texas.

Sam Hornish Jr.
The Panther Racing driver enters the race as a favorite and defending champion; has a two-race win streak dating to last year's season finale in Texas; comes off a dominant performance at Homestead-Miami where he led 166 of 200 laps; the win in Miami was his fourth, tying him with Arie Luyendyk and Kenny Brack for fourth on the all-time win list; since joining the circuit last year, he has been the most consistent driver; completed all but seven of the 2,850 laps run in his 14 starts with Panther Racing; the 22-year-old is the youngest driver to win an American professional open-wheel series in modern history, doing so in dominant fashion last year.

Buddy Lazier
The 2000 Indy Racing champion had a good run at Phoenix last year to a third place showing; in his championship year, he charged from last to win this race in a most impressive fashion; came up short of defending his title in 2001 due to a superb campaign by Sam Hornish Jr.; won a series-high four races and had eight finishes in the top 10; however, three results outside the top 10 in the last races proved to be costly in the final standings; ended the year in second place, 105 points behind Hornish; had back-to-back victories at Pikes Peak and Richmond, Virginia, coupled with two more 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.

Eliseo Salazar
The native of Chile made his way through the field to finish fifth in Miami after starting 15th; driving for the A.J. Foyt team a third straight season; was fifth in last year's points standings; 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.

Tomas Scheckter
The driver from South Africa had a mixed first Indy Racing start in Miami; first he took out team owner and teammate Eddie Cheever onlap three, but made up for that mistake somewhat by coming home sixth in the end; "We tested in Phoenix and I feel we have a good car there," Scheckter said. "The weather will be a bit different than our test, so we will have to be prepared. I want to leave Phoenix higher in the championship than my current sixth place."; was runner-up in the 2001 Formula Nissan Championship and the British Formula 3 series the previous year; won the 1999 Formula Opel Euroseries championship; also winner of the South African karting championship at age 15.

Scott Sharp
Drove a good season in 2001, but did not start quite well this year; a fuel pump problem after 168 laps in Miami forced him out to a 20th place finish; last year he won at Texas Motor Speedway and grabbed three pole positions including the Indy 500; finished in the top-10 in 10 races which steered him to a third place in the final standings with 355 points; recorded at least one victory in five consecutive seasons; winner in Phoenix in 1998, fifth in 2000 and fourth last year.

Al Unser Jr.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner has a new look this season; will sport the colors of Kelley Racing and new sponsor Corteco starting at this event in Phoenix; a native of Albuquerque, new Mexico, has gone a most rigorous offseason training program, losing 30 pounds in an effort to win the Indy Racing League championship; never won at Phoenix in the CART series, but finished second in 1985, 1989 and 1994; placed ninth in 2000 in this event.

Jeff Ward
The veteran driver had a good season-opening race in Miami where he led 29 laps, second most after winner Sam Hornish Jr.; it marked the first time he has led a race since April 2000 at Atlanta Motor Speedway; driving a full-time Indy Racing League team fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing this season; started third and finished seventh in Phoenix last year.