FAMILIAR TERRITORY; Newman/Haas/Lanigan racing hopes 16 is its lucky Indy number.(Competition)

Byline: CURT CAVIN

Dan Wheldon has never finished behind a Newman/ Haas/Lanigan Racing driver on an oval track, yet he considers the former Champ Car World Series team one of his strongest competitors heading into the Indianapolis 500.

He pointed out that NHL had only a month to work on its cars when the team last raced at Indy in 2005, "and they were very, very strong in the race.''

Indeed, the team has earned much respect over the years. But although the outfit founded by actor Paul Newman and entrepreneur Carl Haas in 1982 has been involved in some memorable moments at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it still doesn't have a win to show for it.

Mario Andretti led 402 laps at Indy between 1983 and 1994 and won the pole in 1987. Michael Andretti paced another 337 laps from 1989 to 1992, staging a magical duel with eventual winner Rick Mears in 1991.

This is the team that brought Nigel Mansell and his European media circus to the Speedway in 1993 and the team that nearly stole the 500 from the Indy Racing League regulars in 2005. That year, Bruno Junqueira was poised to win because of fuel strategy before being eliminated in a crash with A.J. Foyt IV that broke Junqueira's back and ended his Champ Car season.

This year, with Mike Lanigan now part of the ownership group, the team makes its 16th try at Indy, having a total so far of two second-place finishes (Mario Andretti in 1985, Michael Andretti in 1991) and 791 laps led. It also fielded Paul Tracy in 1995.