Chance for McNish to earn drive in US

Allan McNish could move closer to earning a drive in the Indy Racing League when he takes part in testing in California next week.

The 32-year-old's future is uncertain having been released by Toyota following his maiden season in Formula One. The Scot headed straight for the US from the Japanese Grand Prix and will step into the Toyota-powered Penske car at the Fontana Superspeedway early next week. "I'm looking forward to trying out the Toyota IRL car," said McNish.

"I drove a CART car on a road course a few years back, but I've never had the chance to experience driving on an oval. I get to have a go and it's not only an oval, it's probably the fastest race track in the world. I'm very grateful to Toyota and Penske Racing for giving me this chance."

McNish was hugely disappointed at missing the final Grand Prix in Suzuka having suffered a knee injury in a 170mph accident during qualifying. The Dumfries-born driver said afterwards that he still hoped to continue participating in Formula One in 2003 but has not sorted out a drive yet and admitted he could struggle with few openings on the grid.