CHAMPCAR/CART: Honda Rockingham practice

Morning showers and a slow-to-dry race circuit forced CART FedEx Championship Series officials to cancel most on-track activities today at Rockingham Motor Speedway in the English Midlands.

All-day rains on Tuesday and Wednesday saturated the grounds here, and although the skies cleared shortly before noon time today, the new 1.5 mile oval track retained several damp patches through the end of the day.

The CART field did take to the track for a pair of five-lap "installation laps" behind the pace car, enabling the race crews to determine that all pre-race maintenance on their cars was successfully completed. The only other on-track activity today was a practice session for the European-based ASCAR stock car series which also is running this weekend.

Alex Zanardi Update: Two-time former series champion Alex Zanardi continues to receive treatment in a Berlin hospital for injuries he received in a devastating crash at last weekend's American Memorial race at the EuroSpeedway in Germany. The Honda-powered driver has been awakened from his medically-induced coma, and now is alert and talking to both family members and physicians. Doctors say his condition continues to improve on a daily basis.

-HPD-