Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

	Andretti

Michael Andretti:
The owner and chief executive of new team Andretti Green Racing will compete in four races before retiring from competition. "I'm glad to see that the season opener is just around the corner," Andretti said; made move from CART series and will have first opportunity to see how far the preparations have come in a short period of time.

Kenny Brack
The 1998 IRL champion and 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner will drive the single entry in the series for Team Rahal; this is the Swedish driver's second tenure with the team. He drove in the CART series during the 2000-01 seasons, finishing fourth and second in the championship, respectively; "A lot has changed in the IRL since my last season in 1999, but I am confident that between Honda and Team Rahal, I will have everything I need to be successful," the 36-year-old said; Brack won four races, 11 top-three finishes and 23 top-10s in his two season with Team Rahal.

Helio Castroneves:
The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner is a Miami resident and has performed well in the recent testing at the track; fourth fastest at 206.152 mph in the No. 3 Team Penske machine; finished 20 points behind Sam Hornish Jr. in the standings in second place; also won in Phoenix last year and finished lower than ninth just once (17th) in 15 races; in addition to the two victories, he was on the podium five other times including three runners-up; was only driver to complete all 15 races, just the third racer to accomplish that feat in IRL history (Buzz Calkins 1999 and Sam Hornish Jr. 2001).

Scott Dixon
One of two entries for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2003 IRL season; made the move along with the team after two successful seasons in CART, particularly on ovals; recorded nine top-10 finishes in 12 races on oval tracks during his CART career; the 22-year-old was the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing history at age 20 and 9 months when he took the checkered flag in April 2001 at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, which now plays host to an IRL event; "I'm very happy to be back with the team for another year," Dixon said. "This has been the best team in open-wheel racing for the last 10 years."

Gil de Ferran
The two-time CART champion lives in nearby Fort Lauderdale and also tested well, second fastest with a lap of 206.756 mph in the No. 6 Team Penske car; after winning titles in 2000 and 2001 in CART, the veteran driver moved to the IRL and won at Pikes Peak and Madison, Illinois; also won four poles and finished the year with 10 top fives, good for third place in the standings with 443 points.

A.J. Foyt IV
Will drive in his rookie IRL IndyCar Series season in car owned by grandfather and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt; the 18-year-old is the youngest driver in IRL history; in 2002, he showed great skill in winning the inaugural championship for the IRL Infiniti Pro Series, the league's development series.

Felipe Giaffone:
The 2001 IRL Rookie of the Year enjoyed another rookie experience on February 14 at Daytona International Speedway when he competed in his first IROC event, finishing 10th; Driving for Mo Nunn Racing and is one of six Brazilian in this race; won at Kentucky Speedway last year and finished fourth in points with 432; for those accomplishments, he was one of 12 drivers selected to drive the IROC competition.

Tony Kanaan
The 29-year-old Brazilian joined Team 7-Eleven and Andretti Green Racing late last fall to end his CART career; was 1996 Champ Car Rookie of the Year and won at Michigan Speedway two years later; "I'm going into the race expecting the best and I'm going to give it my best shot," he said. "It's my second IRL race and is also my hometown (resided in Miami)." Kanaan raced in the 2002 Indianapolis 500 as his other IRL appearance where he had an accident and finished 28th.

Sam Hornish Jr.:
Along with Panther Racing begin their quest for and unprecedented third IRL IndyCar Series title; this track has been very good to the team, as Hornish won both races held there last year and in 2001; the-23-year-old defeated Helio Castroneves 531-511 in the points standings to claim his second straight IRL title; looks to become only the second driver in history to win three Indy-style championships in a row (Ted Horn won three consecutive title from 1946-48); led in 12 races to set an IRL record along with Castroneves.

	Lazier

Buddy Lazier
The 2000 IndyCar Series champion and 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner and Hemelgarn Racing are the most enduring team-driver partnership in IRL history; they have teamed up to start 70 of 71 races since the series started in 1996; have combined to win a record-tying eight races; Lazier has recorded 25 top-five finishes and 39 top-10 results, both series records; the 35-year-old arned more than $8.1 million for a series-high in winnings.

Tomas Scheckter
The 22-year-old son of 1979 Formula One champion Jody Scheckter is entering his second season in the competitive Indy Racing League; the South African won three poles, was third in laps led and captured his first career victory at the Michigan Indy 400; "It's a dream to join a great organization like this," he said about Target Chip Ganassi Racing. "I had an up-and-down year last season, but I learned a lot. I'm already excited about racing with Team Target and Toyota power."

Scott Sharp:
The 1996 IndyCar Series co-champion enters his seventh IRL season; "The competition level this season is going to be so close," Sharp said. "The cars are all comparable so it will be splitting hairs to find an advantage." This will be his sixth season with Kelley Racing. Finished sixth in the 2002 championship. In two previous starts at Homestead-Miami, he started 11th and finished 20th after a mechanical failure last year, and started eighth and finished there in 2001; the Jupiter, Florida resident was third fastest at the Open Test in February at 206.230 mph; winner of 2001 Indianapolis 500 pole.

Al Unser Jr.:
In his fourth season of IRL competition and 21st of open-wheel racing. "We have all made a lot of changes during the offseason," he said. "We made a move to Toyota engine and during testing, it ran flawlessly"; This is his 309th career start, 14th in the IRL in his second season with Kelley Racing; finished seventh in last year's championship; raced two other times at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 2002 he started 19th and finished 13th while in 2001 he drove for Galles Racing, started 19th and finished sixth; won the Indianapolis 500 in 1992 and 1994, and also won two open-wheel championships in 1990 and 1994.