Background
During the off-season, several CART teams again committed to entries in the IRL-sanctioned Indy 500 for 2002. Penske Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, and Team Green all announced they would return from 2001. Rahal Letterman Racing also announced they would join the CART teams and cross party lines to race at Indy. Due to the MSA, Team Green announced that they would not have primary sponsor KOOL, but their cars would carry the colors of associate sponsor 7-Eleven.
Robby Gordon announced on March 28 that he would attempt "double duty" for 2002 by racing in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Tony Stewart, who attempted the feat in 1999 and 2001, announced he would not do so for 2002. John Andretti, who did so in 1994, also announced he would not attempt the double.
During the spring, the asphalt pavement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway underwent a diamond grinding in an effort to smooth out several bumps. In April, the new SAFER barrier was retrofitted to the retaining walls in the turns at the Speedway. It marked the first installation of the revolutionary-new energy-absorbing technology at an American superspeedway.
Read more about this topic: 2002 Indianapolis 500
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