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Meijer Indy 300 Preview

Aug 11, 2007 - 10:28 AM

August 11, 2007
Kentucky Speedway 
Sparta, Kentucky
Race 14 of 17 in the 2007 IndyCar Series season

TV: ESPN2, 6:30 p.m. EDT

Length: 200 laps 
Race length: 300 miles
Track length: 1 1/2-mile oval

Qualifying record: Sarah Fisher, 221.390 mph, 2002
Race record: Sam Hornish Jr., 197.897 mph, 2003


DRIVERS TO WATCH
----------------

Scott Dixon 
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing 
2007 Earnings: $1,732,717

Did not finish last week at Michigan but remains second in the 
standings, 24 points behind leader Dario Franchitti; won three
straight races to climb to second in the standings; took the 
checkered flag at Mid-Ohio for his ninth career IndyCar series 
victory; also won at at Nashville after starting on the pole to
became the first repeat winner there; started his winning streak
on July 8 at Watkins Glen; has finished out of the top-10 just 
twice this season; has been a runner-up four times this year; 
earned his only other pole of the season at Iowa but finished 
10th; was runner-up to Sam Hornish Jr. in this event last year.


Dario Franchitti 
Team: Andretti Green Racing 
2007 Earnings: $2,652,533

Was involved in a violent wreck last week at Michigan, where he
flipped upside-down before landing on the cockpit of his car;
miraculously walked away from the crash uninjured, but did not 
finish the race; still remains atop the series standings with a 
comfortable 24-point cushion; finished second to Dixon for the 
second straight race at Mid-Ohio; is tied with Dixon for wins 
this season with three - Richmond, Iowa and the Indy 500; has 
been runner-up four times this year and has been remarkably 
consistent, finishing in the top five in 11 of 13 starts; ran
ninth in this race last season.


Danica Patrick 
Team: Andretti Green Racing 
2007 Earnings: $904,605

Struggled to a disappointing seventh-place finish last week at
Michigan; posted her second consecutive top-five finish with a 
fifth place showing at Mid-Ohio; matched her career-best IndyCar 
Series finish by taking third at Nashville prior to that; has 
three top-five finishes this season, including a third at Texas 
on June 9; remains seventh in the standings, but is a distant 
171 points behind Franchitti; started second at Mid-Ohio, but 
had started no better than sixth in eight races before that; ran
eighth in this event last season.


Sam Hornish Jr. 
Team: Marlboro Team Penske 
2007 Earnings: $1,067,139

Also failed to finish last week at Michigan after getting 
involved in wild multi-car wreck; defending series champion 
finished 14th at Mid-Ohio but remains fifth in the standings, 
127 points off Franchitti's pace; placed fourth at Nashville 
and second at Watkins Glen before the disappointing finish at 
Mid-Ohio; lone win this season was at Texas Motor Speedway in 
June; made headlines at Watkins Glen with a post-race 
altercation with Tony Kanaan; won this event last year.


Dan Wheldon 
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing 
2007 Earnings: $1,087,005

Yet another top driver who got involved in the Michigan wreck
and could not finish the race; started 11th and wound up 10th 
at Mid-Ohio for his fifth finish out of the top five over his 
past six races; was third at Richmond over that stretch; 
dropped to fourth in the standings after Mid-Ohio, 119 behind
Franchitti; has two wins this season, starting and finishing 
from the pole in the season opener at Homestead; also won at 
Kansas; placed fourth in this race last year.


2006 Top 10
-----------
 1. Sam Hornish Jr. (6)
 2. Scott Dixon (9)
 3. Helio Castroneves (3)
 4. Dan Wheldon (10)
 5. Tony Kanaan (11)
 6. Vitor Meira (4)
 7. Tomas Scheckter (2)
 8. Danica Patrick (16) 
 9. Dario Franchitti (27)
10. Bryan Herta (7)

Past Champions
--------------
2006  Sam Hornish Jr., 170.676 mph
2005  Scott Sharp, 175.981 mph
2004  Adrian Fernandez, 180.588 mph
2003  Sam Hornish Jr., 197.897 mph
2002  Felipe Giaffone, 149.024 mph
2001  Buddy Lazier, 174.910 mph
2000  Buddy Lazier, 164.601 mph