Bryan Herta slides off the track at Turn 1 into the run-off area in morning practice. He continues on course with no apparent damage to the car.

09:08 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/250 CF5.6

Montoya pits with a large amount of smoke billowing from the rear of the car. He quickly exits the car as the crew pulls off the engine covers. Juan had entered the session late, and had only completed three laps in the session before the apparent engine problem sidelined his practice effort.

09:12 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/250 CF5.6

Only minutes later, Helio Castro-Neves also pits with smoke showing at the rear of the car. CART pit workers report a possible header problem.

09:16 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF5.6

And while we’re on the subject of smoke, here’s Mauricio Gugelmin locking up his wheels at Turn 1.

09:45 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/700 CF5.6

And then Paul Tracy doing the same a few minutes later.

09:50 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/700 CF5.6

Back in the pits, Bryan Herta waits out a caution period caused by Memo Gidley stalling at Turn 5 against the outside wall.

10:11 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/250 CF5.6

But there is not time to clear the track and restart the session, so the drivers climb from their cars. Max comes to the pit wall to discuss his performance with the Tim Reiter, his race engineer.

10:12 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/250 CF6.7

Team owners Carl Hogan and Chip Ganassi chat about the session.

10:12 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/125 CF5.6

Local driver Greg Moore is interviewed for local television. He lost an engine in practice and quickly switched to the spare car for the rest of the session.

10:18 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/250 CF6.7

Adrian Fernandez sits out this race due to his injured wrist, but he’s there to coach substitute P.J. Jones - to great effect.

109:19 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/90 CF5.6

Roberto Moreno walks back to the paddock with Michel Jourdain Jr. riding his bike.

10:25 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/180 CF6.7

Greg Moore’s easy-rider motorbike is parked by the Player’s team garage.

11:07 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/250 CF5.6

The Tecate Girls pose for a photo with a track worker.

10:46 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/1000 CF4.5

Team owner Carl Haas performs his regular ritual of laying his hands on the cars and blessing them before the start of qualifying. Apparently the team members hate him doing this...

13:20 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/700 CF5.6

Moreno prepares to climb into the cockpit of his Newman-Haas Swift-Ford. The weather is dry, but there are clouds looming over the mountains.

13:21 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF9.5

Tony Kanaan chats with his McDonald’s Drive-Thru Crew before the start of qualifying.

13:23 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/500 CF9.5

Green flag waves to start the Group Two qualifying session, with Michael and Roberto screaming out of their pit boxes.

13:30 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/500 CF8.0

With the session over, Paul Tracy is in third place and out of his car: “I’m pretty happy with how the day ended up. I didn't expect to run in the top five with how the guys were going, but I guess I owe P.J. [Jones] dinner for causing that red at the end of the session and saving my bacon.”

14:04 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/1000 CF5.6

P.J. finds himself second on the grid, behind Montoya: “We started improving at Chicago with a seventh-place finish, and this weekend, we just kept carrying on. I wanted to go out and put a good lap in, and we got it. I'm happy for Tecate, Quaker State and Adrian [Fernandez]. He deserves a lot of credit. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn't have had this opportunity.”

14:05 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/500 CF8.0

The Tecate Girls are there to help P.J. celebrate, and to pose with another course worker.

14:11 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/1500 CF4.5

What did you take this for, Paul? Well, notice that even though Luiz Garcia’s new ride in car 21 is sponsored by Tang, Team Hogan still relies on  Gatorade for race-time refreshment!

14:20 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/500 CF11.0