top lap speed of . Top trap speeds may have been as high as . Like Patrick Racing the day before, Team Green cancelled their second scheduled day of testing when they felt they had accomplished their testing goals after only one session. Franchitti expressed reservations about the track's roughness and reported pulling 3 Gs in the corners. He also predicted that two-wide racing would be possible during the race. PacWest Racing also tested at the track on February 22 with rookie driver Scott Dixon and Maurício Gugelmin. In 55 degree weather, Dixon drove about 140 laps, with a top speed close to 225 mph. Gugelmin also reported the ability to drive flat out around the track. However, Gugelmin told Gossage and CART officials in a March 19 teleconference that he didn't believe CART could run a race at TMS. He claimed that the "wing configuration was wrong," and the cars were "too fast" for the track. Also at the track on February 22 was Penske Racing with driver Hélio Castroneves and Walker Racing with driver Tora Takagi. Castroneves had a fast lap at about 226 mph. All scheduled testing for February 23 was cancelled due to rain. During the week, no incidents were reported. Tora Takagi, however, suffered gearbox trouble, and completed only 20 laps of testing. Comparisons with IRL The existing track qualifying record at Texas Motor Speedway for the Indy Racing League events was set June 5, 1998, by Tony Stewart (24.059 seconds; 224.448 mph). The fastest race lap, aided by a tow was set by Billy Boat the following day (23.759 seconds; 227.273 mph). The following year, the cars were slowed down by rule changes, and speed remained in the 215–216 mph range. Scott Dixon's unaided lap during testing already unofficially broke the IRL's qualifying record. Changes Following the tests, very few changes were made to the cars leading up to the race. The teams that participated reported satisfaction with the information gathered during the tests. The primary concerns expressed dwelled on the roughness of the circuit. The track itself, however, underwent a few upgrades. Changes included a concrete wall on pit lane between the pit stalls and the grassy "quad oval" area along the frontstretch. The track's surface was also smoothed in some areas, in response to the complaints. Race weekend Friday morning practice Going into race week, many drivers expressed apprehension about the upcoming