HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It seems unlikely the 2007 IndyCar Series could get any more competitive than last season, but that's exactly what defending champion Sam Hornish Jr. is expecting.

A year ago, Hornish and Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves fought it out all season with Chip Ganassi Racing's Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon, the foursome combining to win 12 of 14 races. In the end, Hornish got his third IRL championship by beating Wheldon on a tiebreaker, and the other two finished within 15 points of the leaders.

So, how could it get any closer?

Hornish says the answer is new Andretti Green Racing teammates Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick, a pair which has the potential to make things even more interesting than they were in 2006.

"I'm looking forward to the '07 season because I think you add a couple of Andretti Green (Racing) cars in there, Marco, Danica, whoever else it might be, and things are definitely going to be shaken up," Hornish said as everyone prepared for Saturday night's Indy 300, the start of a 17-race season.

The Andretti Green team, which got victories from former champion Tony Kanaan and top 2006 rookie Andretti, was a disappointment most of the year.

"We spent a lot of time in the offseason working very hard to close the gap," Kanaan said. "The (winter) tests have shown we're getting closer to the red and white cars (Penske and Ganassi) and, hopefully, you'll see us win more races this season."

Andretti, the 20-year-old son of team co-owner Michael Andretti, is expected to be a bigger factor in the title chase this year, along with veteran teammates Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and team newcomer Patrick, who left Rahal Letterman Racing during the offseason.

After losing the Indianapolis 500 to Hornish last May by a few feet, then winning on the road course in Sonoma, the confident Andretti has his sights set a lot higher than his seventh-place finish in last year's points.

"I think what's realistic is a championship. I really do," said Andretti, who only failed to finish once after breaking axles in each of his first two races. "People thought I was crazy when I said, 'I think I can win the Indy 500,' before that race. I'm not going to say it to make me look good or anything like that.

"I think it's pretty realistic with the team we have this year. A championship is one of my goals. And there's one thing left to do at Indy, as well. I'm here to win this year."

Patrick, who will turn 25 on Sunday, is coming off a disappointing sophomore season. She finished ninth in the points but rarely was in contention for her first race victory as the team struggled all year after Rahal Letterman rookie Paul Dana was killed in a crash during the race-day warmup for last year's opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"As the races go on and the seasons go on, I feel more pressure to do well, to perform," said Patrick, whose was unable to improve on a rookie season that ignited "Danica-mania."

"If it was as simple as one more season should give you better results, then that should have happened from season one to season two. But the circumstances were that we had an engine advantage the first year. We had a chassis advantage in certain places the first year. The team was in much better condition than it was the second year," she said.

"While I drove better and more flawlessly and more aggressively and with more knowledge, it didn't translate as much because of all those circumstances."

That disappointment led to her move to Andretti Green, where a friendly rivalry with Andretti could be good for both drivers, as well as an open-wheel series still struggling to gain a foothold with American race fans.

Former Indy winner Buddy Rice also left Rahal Letterman and will join an expanded Dreyer & Reinbold Racing that also signed Sarah Fisher. Former series co-champion Scott Sharp moves to Rahal Letterman, where he joins holdover Jeff Simmons, while Darren Manning moves to Foyt Racing.

A.J. Foyt IV joins Ed Carpenter and Tomas Scheckter at Vision Racing, and Kosuke Matsuura will team with Vitor Meira at Panther Racing.

The cars are virtually unchanged for 2007, but now will use 100 percent ethanol fuel. Last season, the IRL used a 10 percent blend as a transition to the cleaner, grain-based ethanol.

But the focus will be on racing, not fuel or technology. And Wheldon, who won at Homestead and Chicagoland last year, has simple goals for the new season: reclaim his Indianapolis 500 title and the IndyCar championship from Hornish.

"I was disappointed with my 2006 season because of all the chances we missed," Wheldon said. "We came so close in so many races, including the Indy 500, but just didn't quite get it done in the end.

"You don't want to tie for a championship. You want to win it outright. This year, we'll do everything not to let those opportunities get away from us."

NASCAR

NEXTEL CUP

Food City 500

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 12:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (FOX, 10:30 a.m.)

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns)

At a glance: Mark Martin has had four straight top-10 finishes since leaving longtime employer Jack Roush for Ginn Racing, but he will sit out this race and the one next week at Martinsville, ending a string of 621 consecutive starts. … Juan Pablo Montoya finished fifth at Atlanta, his best in the Nextel Cup and on an oval. He leads the rookie of the year standings by one point over David Ragan and is the first driver to lead the Cup and Busch rookie standings simultaneously. … Kevin Harvick snapped a 55-race winless streak by taking the 2005 event. That day, Harvick's crew chief, Todd Berrier, was serving the second of a four-race suspension for rigging the car's gas tank earlier in the year in Las Vegas. … Kurt Busch has not won since taking last year's event.

NASCAR BUSCH

Sharpie Mini 300

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 8 a.m.); race (ABC, noon)

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns)

At a glance: Carl Edwards is the only driver to finish among the top 10 in all five races this season. He has not placed worse than sixth. … Harvick has four career Busch wins at Bristol, including the 2005 event from the 38th starting position. He finished second in both events at the track last year. … Ryan Newman is the last driver to win three straight Busch races in Aug. 2005.

IRL

XM Satellite Radio 300

Site: Homestead, Fla.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 5:45 p.m.; Saturday, race (ESPN2, 5 p.m.)

Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1 1/2 miles, 18-degree banking at bottom, 19-degree banking in middle, 20-degree banking at top)

At a glance: Sam Hornish Jr. is trying to become the sixth driver in Indy history to repeat as champion, something his teammate Helio Castroneves accomplished in 2001-02. He has won three of the six Homestead races, including the 2002 event from the pole. … Danica Patrick joins Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Bryan Herta on Andretti Green Racing this year. Patrick has yet to record her first win on the circuit. … Defending champion Dan Wheldon also won the 2005 event. … Marco Andretti, the son of Michael Andretti and the grandson of Mario Andretti, made his series debut in last year's event and finished 15th. At 19 years, 13 days, he was the youngest driver to start an IRL race since A.J. Foyt IV at Homestead in 2002.

-- Associated Press