Crafty veterans source: indycar.com / Dave Lewandowski The addition of Danica Patrick to the Andretti Green Racing lineup hasn't disrupted team harmony. If anything, after two Open Tests and a dozen or so technical meetings, the 2005 Bombardier Rookie of the Year "is one of the guys." Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti, who have competed for the team since it joined the IndyCar Series in 2003, have welcomed her much like they did at this time last year with 19-year-old Marco Andretti. Well, maybe a little lighter on the practical jokes. Their shared goal is race victories, which could translate into one or more being in championship contention and returning the team to dominance. In the 2004 and '05 seasons, AGR won 19 of 33 races and produced the series titlist (Kanaan in '04 and Dan Wheldon in '05). Franchitti and Kanaan, who registered one of the two AGR race victories last season at The Milwaukee Mile, believe the pieces are in place to challenge again on every course. The team was strong on short ovals and road/street circuits, but speedway speed was lacking (four top-five finishes, three recorded by Kanaan). Off-season development to cure those ills was apparent at the Open Test last month on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval, which will host the season opener March 24 (8 p.m. EDT on ESPN2). "We spent a lot of time in the off-season working very hard to close the gap, and I think the lap times at the tests have shown that," said Kanaan, driver of the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone who finished sixth in the series standings last year. "But we've still got some work to do on the Team 7-Eleven car before the Homestead race. We're getting closer to the (Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing) red-and-white cars, and hopefully you'll see us win more races this season."
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