Meira tests for Menard.

Vitor Meira, the 2000 South American Formula 3 champion, passed the speed phase of his Indy Racing League rookie test last week at Kentucky Speedway in what could be the first laps of a longer relationship between team and driver.

Meira completed 72 laps in the No. 2 Menards/Johns Manville/Pittsburgh Paints Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone for Team Menard under the eye of Mark Bridges, technical manager for the Indy Racing League.

"He's focused. He's aware of what he has to do," said Bridges. "He passed all four phases and did his second and third phase back to back. He didn't come in to stop and think about it. He knew what to do and just stepped up. He performed well and looked comfortable in the car."

Meira spent the 2001 season in the European Formula 3000 series.

"My first impression was certainly that the car is very quick, but then after a few laps I felt much more comfortable," said Meira. "It is a very, very nice car. Everything was very good and fast. The track is very, very nice. There are not a lot of bumps. It feels very smooth. I'm certainly very happy to have passed my rookie test."

Meira could make a surprise IRL debut for Menard in the next round of the series, also at the Kentucky Speedway, after veteran Mark Dismore was released from his contract. Dismore had been subbing for the injured Jaques Lazier who, after stating his intent to return in the penultimate round at Chicagoland, may now be out for the year.

If Meira does not race in the IRL, or the Infiniti Pro Series in which Menard also has a team, he may be a target for the 2003 season when Menard is expected to expand to a two-car effort.

In addition to the Meira, some of the top drivers in the Indy Racing League tested July 31st at Kentucky in preparation for the Belterra Casino Indy 300 on Aug. 11. Marlboro Team Penske driver Gil de Ferran, who leads the series points standings, and his teammate, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, tested in preparation for their first race at the 1.5-mile oval.

"We learned the track," said Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone. "It's the first time that I've been here. Certain tracks have different types of banking. This is one that does not have much banking. It's very nice and similar to Kansas City, the layout of the track.

"We had a very good test. We found speed but still want to keep working to make sure that the balance of the car can improve." De Ferran, driver of the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone, noted that speeds have already climbed above 220 mph, faster than the track record of 219.191 set by Scott Goodyear in 2000.

"That's likely to increase by the time we come to the race weekend," said de Ferran. "It's going to be a very exciting and very, very fast race."

Defending Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr. turned 180 laps in his No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone, the most of any driver at the test.

"The day went OK," said Hornish. "We were working on race set-up and trying to make the car faster over longer periods of time. It worked pretty well. We accomplished everything we wanted to."

Sarah Fisher, coming off a strong eighth-place finish in the Michigan Indy 400, also tested at Kentucky with her teammate and car owner Robbie Buhl. Buhl was battling Buddy Lazier for the lead last year at Kentucky when he ran out of fuel on Lap 198. He finished ninth.

"We've changed a lot on the car from a year ago here," said Buhl, driver of the No. 24 Team Purex/Aventis/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G Force/Infiniti/Firestone. "Every race weekend when you learn things and things are positive, it's stuff that carries over, and we still have to do a lot more of that."

"All the mile-and-a-half tracks we run, like Kansas City and Chicago, that were new to us last year, every one of those tracks has its unique surface, in terms of its banking. All those subtle things really highlight what these cars can do."

His teammate Fisher, driver of the No. 23 Team Smart Blade/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G Force/Infiniti/Firestone, finished third at Kentucky in 2000.

"It's really nice to be able to come and be in a relaxed atmosphere and work with the team more and more," said Fisher. "Kentucky is a great place for us to visit because I've had previous experience here. I've never run the package that we have now (at Kentucky Speedway), the G Force Infiniti package, which performed quite well at Michigan."

Richie Hearn, who has finished in the top 10 in seven of the last eight Indy Racing League events, is in search of a first-time victory for team owner Sam Schmidt.

"It's a good track," said Hearn, driver of the No. 20 Meijer/Coca Cola/Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone. "It's a little trickier to figure out than I thought because the corners are a little different. I can see it being a good race because the corners don't pinch off at the exit so you can run two-wide all the way around. It'll be fun."