The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner turns 33 on Saturday, the same day as pole qualifying for the May 25 race.
"I'm ready to go," he said Friday. "I love it. I love to be in the pressure, because that makes me really precise, it makes me go for the limit and try to achieve the impossible. So far, I've been very fortunate to do that."
Castroneves won the 500 in 2001 and 2002, his first two years at Indy, and won the pole in 2003 and again last year. He leads the IndyCar Series in points so far this season.
"It's two races," he said of Indy qualifying and the race itself. "When you're in that scenario, when you know you can get the No. 1 (qualifying) spot, you're going to do everything you can. The good news is I have great guys beside me that can put me in that kind of position. For me, it's just awesome."
Last year, Castroneves never had the fastest speed on any day of practice, but he qualified with a four-lap average of 225.817 mph to gain his second start from the inside of the front row. He led three times for 19 laps and was running third, behind Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, when the race was halted by rain 34 laps from the end.
Rain also washed out practice Wednesday and Thursday, leaving everyone scrambling for speed heading into Saturday's qualifications.
"It depends on the weather, it depends on the car and trying to find the edge," Castroneves said of the team strategy with limited practice.
"You might face a situation where you can't find a clean lap. ... Everybody will face the same problem," he said. "Yes, I do believe teams are going to go a little more to the edge now to find the limit, and hopefully tomorrow we still have more practice. Right now it's just a matter of knowing what you've got, and tomorrow we'll see if we can push it a little further or not."
------
TEACHER MEARS: There's not much Rick Mears needs to teach this year's Indy 500 rookies about driving. They've already got plenty of experience behind the wheel.
A four-time Indy winner and consultant for Team Penske, Mears is also a driving coach for the IndyCar Series, but the talent and experience of many of the drivers that came to the IRL in the merger with Champ Car made his job a lot easier.
"You kind of show them the general pattern," he said. "Obviously, the car dictates the final pattern you run, but you try to help get them in the general area to begin with and let them go from there. It's more just talking about patience, things to watch out for."
The rookies include Oriol Servia, who made 125 starts in Champ Car; Justin Wilson, a former Formula One driver who had four wins among his 54 Champ Car starts; Will Power, the Champ Car rookie of the year in 2006 and winner of that series' final race two weeks ago at Long Beach, Calif.; former F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi; even Graham Rahal, the 19-year-old son of car owner and former Indy winner Bobby Rahal, who drove in 14 Champ Car races last season and won his IRL debut this year at St. Petersburg, Fla.
"There's no substitute for laps around this place. ... That's actually key," Mears said. "As far as the questions they ask, it's across the board, from shut-off points, what you look at, your turn-in point, how far ahead are you looking, what you do with the turbulence. ... But I really try to do an overall, rather than getting into driving the car."
------
YOUTH VOTE: One of the 25 remaining original copies of the Declaration of Independence is going on display at the Speedway Hall of Fame Museum as part of a "Declare Yourself" exhibit encouraging young people to register and vote.
The exhibit includes a video with actress Reese Witherspoon, a descendant of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and readings of the Declaration by actors including Mel Gibson, Morgan Freeman and Michael Douglas.
"I'm registering with Declare Yourself because it's something very important," driver Danica Patrick said in a recorded public service announcement. "Just register and vote. It's the only way you can have any part in what you want out of this country. In the time it takes me to do one lap around this track, you could have already voted."
Other PSAs were recorded by drivers Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
------
On the Net: http://www.declareyourself.com
------
FRUSTRATED ANDRETTI: John Andretti, struggling in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series, tried to work a deal to return to his hometown and drive in the Indy 500 this month, but that, too, appears unlikely now.
"Right now, I just feel like a man on an island," Andretti said Friday.
"The opportunity that I had put together in April kind of took a change because of some things," he said. "So ... whatever. It's frustrating. Today hasn't been a good morning. Right now, my enthusiasm is pretty low, because I really want to be here and I should have just gone to Darlington, to be honest with you."
The NASCAR Dodge Challenger 500 is at Darlington, S.C., on Saturday night. Andretti, who was 30th last year in his first race at Indianapolis since 1994, is 49th in NASCAR's Sprint Cup standings and does not have a full-time ride in that series this season.
He's been in only three of the 10 Sprint Cup races so far.
------
SPARK PLUGS: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels visited the Speedway Friday to promote Vision Racing's wellness program, allowing fans to receive free cholesterol and glucose screenings at the track. "We know it will be a long trail, but efforts like this are central to making real progress," Daniels said. "Being screened is the best way to remind yourself to take care of yourself." ... Pete Loeffler, a member of the band Chevelle, was honorary starter Friday and waved the green flag to begin practice. ... Car owner Roger Penske, whose drivers have won a record 14 Indy 500s, was announced winner of the U.S. Auto Club's Roger McCluskey Award of Excellence, which will be presented during the May 24 drivers meeting.
Rookies begin practice for Indianapolis 500
Rainout forces drivers to adjust at Indy
St. James starts project to help women drivers
Hamlin surges after late-race tire call
Hamlin wins pole at hometown track
