By Mike Harris
The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - Slowly but surely the big boys have returned to Indy.

Sunday's race will feature the strongest field since 1995, the year before many of the top teams and drivers in the established CART series began a boycott of the Brickyard because of the newly formed Indy Racing League.

INDIANPOLIS 500

2004 Indy 500 multimedia: Photo galleries, the starting grid, track details and more. More coverage: From the Indianapolis Star

"There are at least 15 guys, maybe more, that can win this race," said surprise pole winner Buddy Rice. "It's going to take a near perfect race - and it's pretty rare when you can run perfect for 500 miles."

It may take perfection with this talented lineup.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing's return to Indy led the way, with Juan Montoya's victory in 2000. Next came the elite Team Penske in 2001, quickly regaining the domination that has given them a record 13 victories here. This year, Fernandez, Rahal Letterman, Patrick and Newman/Haas teams joined their former CART rivals.

"Nobody ever gives you anything at Indianapolis," Penske said, shrugging. "This year, though, it's going to be as difficult as it's ever been because we've got so many good cars and good teams."

Since returning, Penske's team has won three in a row - two by Helio Castroneves and one by Gil de Ferran. But the team stumbled out of the blocks a bit this year. Castroneves, the 2003 pole-winner, qualified a respectable but disappointing eighth and team newcomer Sam Hornish Jr. 11th.

In the storied history of the 500, the only other car owner to win three in a row was Lou Moore in 1947-49.

Penske's success was a key part of the decision by Hornish to accept the ride left vacant when de Ferran retired last season. The 24-year-old Hornish has two IRL championships and leads the IndyCar Series with 12 race victories. But in four tries at Indy, his best finish has been 14th.

"If I can't win the 500 driving for Roger, I probably can't win it," Hornish said.

Starting behind the leaders should be no handicap for Hornish or Castroneves, who has won from 11th and 13th. De Ferran's victory last year came from 10th.

No major wrecks and slower qualifying times because of new engines made for a pretty unexciting month of practice leading up to race day. A sign of how dull it was: The biggest stir came on the final day of time trials, when former IRL champion and current NASCAR star Tony Stewart made a surprise appearance.

Stewart said he intended only to watch the action from a suite, but wound up being fitted for a seat in an A.J. Foyt backup car and suiting up for a possible qualifying effort. His attorney put a stop to it, however, with a reminder about Stewart's contractual obligations.

For a while, there was concern that there wouldn't be enough car-driver combinations to fill the traditional 33-car field. It took all three days of qualifying and some last-minute deals for backup cars and sponsors, but the record of starting at least 33 cars every year since 1948 remained intact.

Former Indy winner Bobby Rahal's team has three entries led by Rice, while Patrick Racing is making its return with two-time Indy winner Al Unser Jr., the most experienced driver in the field with 16 previous starts.

Newman/Haas, still racing full-time in the rival series now known as Champ Car, is back at Indy for the first time since 1995 with Bruno Junqueira starting fourth in the 33-car lineup.

In the wake of a crash last fall at Texas Motor Speedway that left Kenny Brack critically injured and an accident in postseason testing at Indy in which Tony Renna died, the IRL decided to find ways to slow the cars down and try to keep them on the ground.

The league changed its engine formula from 3.5 liters to 3.0 liters, effectively cutting about 25 horsepower. More significant, a series of aerodynamics changes to the IRL chassis have made the cars more difficult to drive, forcing drivers to slow down, particularly in the corners.

"The speeds in the race, running in traffic, will probably be 216 or 217, which are considerably slower than they were last year," Penske said. "That's going to give the drivers a chance to pass easier."

Rice, subbing for the recuperating Brack, led qualifying with a four-lap average of 222.024 mph - nearly 10 mph slower than the 231.725 posted by pole-winner Castroneves last May.

One problem the aerodynamic changes have raised is how the drivers find a comfort zone in the car.

"The sweet spot in these cars, the right balance or feel, is much harder to find and to keep than in the past," said Dario Franchitti, who will start alongside Rice and series points leader Dan Wheldon in the first of 11 three-car rows.

Even with all the changes, Wheldon, part of a four-car Andretti Green Racing effort with Franchitti, Tony Kanaan and Bryan Herta, said he feels considerably more comfortable this year. He finished 19th here last year as a rookie.

"I think you just get used to it," Wheldon said. "You know what to expect and when to expect it. But 500 miles around this place is a long, long way. You're in traffic a lot, the track seems to change and, sometimes, the conditions can be different from any other time all month."

Other than adjusting the handling of the cars during the 200-lap event on the 21/2-mile oval, pit work could also play a major role, particularly with more stops expected, thanks to 30-gallon fuel tanks, 5 gallons smaller than last year.

That prompted Newman/Haas to bring in its Champ Car crew to pit for Junqueira.

"There are some differences in the cars, but it will be better to have people here who know the way I pit," said Junqueira, who will start fourth.

The rest of the second row includes Kanaan and Fernandez

NASCAR regular Robby Gordon will attempt "The Double" again Sunday, racing at Indy then flying to Concord, N.C., to drive 600 more miles in the Coca-Cola 600. It's the third straight year he has tried the feat, but he has yet to complete the entire 1,100 miles.

"We've done it enough now that we've got the travel part down," Gordon said. "I know what I've got to do to be ready physically."

"The only thing we can't control," he added, "is the weather."