Infiniti Pro Series dials in cars at Chicagoland.

On Aug. 31, 2001, plans for the Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series were unveiled at Chicagoland Speedway, two days before the inaugural Delphi Indy 300 Indy Racing League event at the 1.5-mile oval.

On June 24, 2002, 297 days after the announcement and at the same track, eight drivers representing six teams completed a total of 639 laps in their new Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series cars during the development series' Open Test. Speeds peaked at 177 mph.

It was the second Open Test day for the new development series, and the second time temperatures soared past the 90-degree mark during the tests. On June 22, eight drivers representing five teams shook down their cars at the 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., also in hot and humid conditions.

Ed Carpenter, Matt Halliday, Mike Koss, Arie Luyendyk Jr., G.J. Mennen, Jason Priestley, Tony Renna and Marty Roth tested their Infiniti-powered Dallara chassis on Firestone tires at Chicagoland Speedway. All but Carpenter and Roth tested at Gateway.

"It's a completely different feel, so that's why I'm using this test to get comfortable in the car," said Carpenter, driver of the No. 2 Menards/Johns Manville Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. "In the USAC cars, I hop in, and it's just like second nature because I've been driving them so long, but this thing still feels a little different. It's like I moved into a new house or something. I'm still finding my way around and getting to see how it works."

Roth, driver of the No. 3 Brian Stewart Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, was impressed with the car and hopes his time in the Infiniti Pro Series will pay dividends.

"It's a great car," Roth said. "It should be a really good series. I'm here to go racing and do it in a very serious way. Getting involved in the Infiniti Pro Series was a great opportunity to take Brian Stewart's experience and bring it forward into the Indy Racing League. My goal is to race in the Indy Racing League, and the Infiniti Pro Series is the vehicle that can take me there."

Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series Executive Director Roger Bailey was pleased with the progress made at the Chicagoland test.

"It was an extremely successful day," Bailey said. "I was delighted at the level of preparation and performance we saw today. We had no mechanical problems. I think everything bodes well for a great first race in Kansas. I am extremely excited about the future of the series."

The inaugural, seven-race Infiniti Pro Series season will begin July 7 at Kansas Speedway and culminate with the season finale Sept. 14 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The 100-mile Infiniti Pro Series "sprints" will take place at the same track and on the same day as Indy Racing League events except for the Texas race, which will be conducted the day before the IRL's season-ending Chevy 500.

Drivers will compete for a $100,000 purse at each Infiniti Pro Series race, and all events will be broadcast by ESPN2 and distributed worldwide via ESPN International.