IRL: Phoenix: FR, Sharp Friday report

Sharp Qualifies Ninth for 100th IndyCar Series Career Start Scott Sharp will make his milestone 100th IndyCar® Series career start from Row Five of the grid after qualifying the #8 Delphi machine in ninth position this afternoon for the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200. Sharp, the 1998 Phoenix race winner, was focusing on race setup during the two practice sessions leading up to qualifying, and was extremely pleased with the handling of his car for tomorrow's 200-lap race. Round Two of 2005 IndyCar Series competition will also mark his record-setting 92nd consecutive race start.

Practice Recap: Sharp claimed the seventh fastest time in opening practice with a best lap of 20.7389 173.587 mph; he claimed the 12th quickest time in the second session preceding qualifying with a best lap of 20.6864 174.207 mph.

Scott Sharp, #8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone:

"I'm pleased. I am never too satisfied with ninth place when there is room to improve, but it was a good day for the Delphi Fernandez team. We worked hard on a car for the race, and hats off to the engineering staff. They came up with some great changes between the test here in February and practice today, and really took a step forward with the car. We have a very good race car for tomorrow, and maybe the reason we didn't qualify as high as we wanted was because we spent so much time on a car for the race. Tomorrow is payday, and that is where I think we are going to shine."

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