Tony Kanaan continued Andretti Green Racing strong start to the 2008 IndyCar season by topping the times for a second day at Sebring International Raceway, although the Brazilian will be the first to point out that the team's major rivals don't test until later in the week.
Nine drivers - from AGR, Vision Racing, Rahal Letterman Racing and Roth Racing - again had the Florida airfield circuit to themselves on Tuesday [4 March], while another nine - from powerhouses Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske, as well as AJ Foyt Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Panther Racing - will run for a day-and-a-half over 5-6 March.
Kanaan took over the top position on the timesheets from rookie team-mate Hideki Mutoh with less than 15 minutes remaining in the day, and then topped things off with a faster lap as the chequered flag waved. The Brazilian's 124th lap was timed at 52.8609secs, seven-tenths faster than he had managed on Monday to set a benchmark for those following later in the week. The time is a record for Sebring as the test marks the IRL's first visit to the venue.
"The car got a lot better," Kanaan said, "We made huge improvements during the day. I gave some of my stuff to Hideki and to Marco [Andretti] and to Danica [Patrick], and I got some stuff from Hideki. Actually, the last change that we made on my car was something that he tried and he liked, so I've got to thank him for that.
"It was a great couple of days for me. After Homestead, where I had a rough test, it's good to come out of here knowing that we got the job done. I have a lot of responsibility on my back right now with this team. I don't mind, but it's definitely a relief [to have performed well]. Everything that was on the list, we got it done."
Mutoh and Andretti swapped positions from the previous day, when Andretti was second fastest and Mutoh was third, but AGR was again denied a shot at completing a 1-2-3-4 sweep when Vision's AJ Foyt claimed fourth spot.
