Team Penske swept the front row in qualifying for today's Indy Racing League A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile
source: indystar.com by Curt Cavin The engines powering the cars of Sam Hornish Jr., the pole winner, and Helio Castroneves were Toyotas. Come next year, that might not be the case. Team owner Roger Penske said Saturday he's had conversations with officials from Honda and Chevrolet regarding engines for 2006. He emphasized he has a contract with Toyota for next year, the final season the manufacturer will participate in the IRL. But he would consider a switch. "We want to look at our options," Penske said. "We're open to what's the smartest thing to do." With Honda committed to supply 10 full-time cars next season, a Penske-Chevy partnership makes sense. Team Penske used Chevys (and Oldsmobiles before that) in its first two IRL seasons. However, it had Honda power late in its CART days and Penske is a one-third owner of Ilmor, which builds Honda engines. Chevy, which is only powering Panther Racing this season, has stated its intention to leave the IRL at the end of the season, although there have been signs of a softening in recent months. IRL president Brian Barnhart said Saturday that Chevy officials have stressed consistency with engine rules might convince them to stay. Barnhart plans to deliver that when he announces the rules package for 2007 and beyond.
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