Roaming around the Indy paddock

Before Indianapolis was added to the Formula 1 schedule in 2000, Monza, built in the early 20s, stood as the grand prix racing's oldest circuit. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909 and held its first 500 mile race in 1911. Renault driver Fernando Alonso was asked if he had a sense of the Speedway's history. "This is a very special race. There are three or four Grands Prix that stand out and really have a prestigious name. Indianapolis is definitely among them."

Alonso's teammate, Jarno Trulli echoed the same sentiments, "We have just visited Monza, which is one of the temples of motor racing, and Indianapolis is another circuit which holds that special status."

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Jackie Stewart will be honored on Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. when he drives the high-performance Ford GT concept car on the 2.605-mile road course. Stewart's ceremonial laps will mark the 30th anniversary of his retirement from competitive driving. Stewart competed in Formula 1 from 1965-73, scoring 27 victories and three world championships.

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Bridgestone has shipped approximately 1,400 tires from Bridgestone's UK base and F1 production factory in Tokyo. Bridgestone will have available eight specifications of dry tires, one wet tire and one extreme weather tire.

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Sauber Petronas Technical Director Willy Rampf characterizes the Indianapolis circuit as a "medium to low downforce circuit," with the banked final corner and tight infield section providing a mutually exclusive set of demands. "The compromise on downforce you choose has a critical effect on the car's performance over the course of the lap. I think most teams will opt for low downforce because it is always very difficult to make up any places that you lose on top speed down the straight once you get to the twisting part of the circuit."

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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway public-address system will be broadcast via radio at 100.1 FM. The broadcast will be available for all three days of the event.

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Speeding tickets: With the pit lane speed set at 37.3 mph (60 km/h) during practice, two drivers were fined on Friday for exceeding the limit. At 11:02, just two minutes into the session, Justin Wilson was the first driver to get a speeding ticket. His speed of 63.9 km/h cost him US $2,000. AT 11:42, Jos Verstappen was nailed for doing 77.8 km/h and received a US $3,500 fine. Four minutes later, Verstappen was back at it, and it cost him US $4,500 after being recorded at 66.8 km/h.

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Visitors to the paddock on Friday included 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner and former Formula 1 driver Eddie Cheever, IndyCar Series drivers Tomas Scheckter and Felipe Giaffone, F 3000 driver Townsend Bell, former CART driver Max Papis and NASCAR Winston Cup team owner Ray Evernham.