CART KING DE FERRAN TARGETS INDY.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

FONTANA - It would be challenging enough to defend the CART FedEx Series championship, but Team Penske is upping the ante before the season even starts.

Marlboro Team Penske will enter its drivers, CART champion Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves, in the Indianapolis 500, it was announced Wednesday during the CART season preview at California Speedway.

Other challenges Team Penske will face in 2001 include racing an expanded schedule - from 20 races to 23 when adding the Indy 500 - and having Honda as an engine supplier that will service nine drivers instead of five, as it did last year.

De Ferran has the added obstacle of being the defending champion in the series, which he considers the most difficult in the world.

``My mindset is that I have won the championship and that is something that I have always wanted to do,'' de Ferran said. ``It's nice. Thank you very much. But now it's time to go racing again. I am very aware that we all start from zero again.''

When asked if he agrees with those who say winning the first championship is easier than winning another, he said, ``I don't believe that. It's difficult any way to skin a cat.''

De Ferran's championship season was anything but easy. The series title was up for grabs until the final race of the season - the Marlboro 500 at California Speedway. Five drivers entered the finale with a chance to claim the title. Indicative of the season, only six finished the race, with de Ferran on the podium. It was enough to capture the series championship, his first.

De Ferran did reach victory lane twice in 2000, and the Brazilian also scored points in 15 of the 20 races. Castroneves said he doesn't believe his teammate will drive any differently now that he's won a championship.

``The only thing that will be different is his number, from two to one on his car,'' Castroneves said.

Castroneves might prove to be de Ferran's toughest competitor. He won one more race than de Ferran last season and is returning to the same team for the first time in his three-year CART career.

``It takes time to adapt, time to get situated with a new team,'' Castroneves said.

This year, Castroneves won't have to worry about that. In fact, Team Penske is about the only CART team that didn't go through a massive overhaul in the offseason. Team president Tim Cindric said that puts his drivers in an enviable position.

``We have an advantage,'' Cindric said. ``We can plan ahead a bit further. We already have a head start in 2001 with our development work. We are six months ahead of the game.''

Then there's Indy.

Following the lead of CART teams headed by Chip Ganassi and Derrick Walker, Roger Penske will return to the Brickyard to claim what many believe is the crown jewel of American auto racing.

Cindric said Penske will use an Aurora-powered car in the Indianapolis 500.

Castroneves has already tested there once, and had the opportunity to meet former Indy 500 champ Rick Mears. Castroneves said he told Mears how his opinion of Mears changed after his test.

``I have much more respect for you now,'' Castroneves said.

Unlike Castroneves, de Ferran has raced at Indianapolis once before. That was in 1995, before Tony George, owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, created the Indy Racing League and made his track the pinnacle of his new racing series. In effect, George also created a seemingly insurmountable hurdle for CART owners and drivers to overcome if they wanted to enter the Indy 500.

That hurdle is a little easier to clear these days, as Ganassi demonstrated last season, when he ended up winning the race with Juan Montoya as his driver.

De Ferran said he is excited about returning to Indy and is glad he is doing it with Penske.

``It's the only way I would want to go,'' de Ferran said.

But de Ferran doesn't see many other CART teams following their lead.

``I don't think it will be a trend for other CART teams,'' de Ferran said. ``Still, it's a race that will always be in demand and one that everyone wants to participate in.''