INDYCAR SERIES PEAK Antifreeze And Motor Oil Indy 300
Final
Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 Preview
Sep 3, 2008 - 12:22 AMSeptember 7, 2008
Chicagoland Speedway
Joliet, Illinois
Race 17 of 17 in the 2007 IndyCar Series season
TV: ABC, 3:30 p.m. EDT
Length: 200 laps
Race length: 300 miles
Track length: 1 1/2-mile tri-oval
Qualifying record: Richie Hearn, 223.159 mph, 2003
Race record: Dan Wheldon, 194.828 mph, 2006
DRIVERS TO WATCH
----------------
Ryan Briscoe
Team: Team Penske
2008 Points: 412 (5th)
The Australian secured his second career win at Mid-Ohio and
jumped up to fifth in the standings; remains in fifth after
running ninth at Sonoma; first career win came at Milwaukee,
a week after being in the spotlight for wrecking Danica Patrick
on pit road in the Indianapolis 500; won the pole at Watkins
Glen and led the most laps before being wrecked by Scott Dixon
under caution and wound up 12th; started seventh and finished
fifth in last year's Indianapolis 500 for Luczo Dragon Racing;
followed up first win by running third at Texas; took over at
Penske this season for Sam Hornish Jr., who left the IRL for
NASCAR; finished 21st in 2006 IndyCar standings while driving a
limited schedule with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing; made four starts
that season, finishing third at Watkins Glen in debut with team;
finished 19th in 2005 IndyCar standings for Target Chip Ganassi
Racing; did not race here last year.
Helio Castroneves
Team: Team Penske
2008 Points: 576 (2nd)
Broke 29-race winless streak by winning at Sonoma, snapping a
string of four consecutive runner-up finishes; sits second in
the standings, 30 points behind Scott Dixon after finishing
second at Detroit; heads into season finale 30 points behind
Dixon; opened the year by finishing fourth at Homestead and
second in St. Petersburg and Japan; took fourth at Kansas;
finished fourth in the Indy 500, fifth at Milwaukee and second
at Texas and Mid-Ohio; finished sixth in the standings last
year, 191 points behind champion Dario Franchitti; captured a
series-record seven poles last season, but managed to win just
once - at St. Petersburg; recorded six top fives and 11 top-10
finishes last season; in 106 career IRL starts, has 13 wins, 82
top-10s and 25 poles; became the first driver to win the
Indianapolis 500 two years in a row (2001-02) since Al Unser
won in 1970 and 1971; is only the fifth driver in Indianapolis
500 history to win in consecutive appearances; ran fourth here
last season.
Scott Dixon
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing
2008 Points: 606 (1st)
Continued his stellar season by winning his sixth race of the
year at Kentucky, but struggled at Sonoma and finished 12th,
then ran fifth at Detroit to take a 30-point lead into the
season finale; needs to finish eighth or better to clinch
second career IndyCar title and first since the 2003 season;
became the first driver from New Zealand to win the Indy 500;
also won at Texas and Nashville; spun under caution at Watkins
Glen and finished 11th;opened the season with a solid win at
Homestead, but had mechanical issues at St. Petersburg and
finished 22nd; bounced back with thirds in Japan and Kansas;
ran second to Ryan Briscoe at Milwaukee; finished as an unlucky
runner-up in the 2007 season, 13 points behind Dario Franchitti,
after running out of fuel on the final lap of the final race;
failed to win an unprecedented fourth straight race at Michigan
when he was involved in a spectacular six-car accident that
sent Franchitti's car airborne; had four wins last season and
was a runner-up five times; won at Nashville last year after
starting on the pole to became the first repeat winner there;
ran second here last year.
Tony Kanaan
Team: Andretti Green Racing
2008 Points: 481 (3rd)
Picked up first win on the season at Richmond; followed with a
third at Watkins Glen, fourth at Nashville and seventh at
Mid-Ohio; ran eighth at Kentucky; wrecked during the Indy 500
and finished 29th, then bounced back to run third at Milwaukee
and fifth at Texas; ran eighth at Homestead to open the season,
but rebounded to claim third place at St. Petersburg, fifth at
Japan and second at Kansas; finished 2007 season strong and
wound up third in the standings, 61 points behind Dario
Franchitti; had a series-best five wins last year - at Motegi,
Milwaukee, Michigan, Kentucky and Belle Isle; started second at
the Indianapolis 500, but finished a disappointing 12th;
finished fourth three times - at Watkins Glen, Richmond and
Mid-Ohio; captured pole at Kansas, yet finished 15th last
season; won the 2004 IndyCar Series championship; finished
second in the 2004 Indy 500 to Buddy Rice; ran sixth here last
season.
Danica Patrick
Team: Andretti Green Racing
2008 Points: 359 (6th)
Has become one of the most recognizable female athletes in the
United States - especially after winning her first race at Japan
in her 50th start; became the first woman to win a race in a
major auto racing series; followed by finishing 19th at Kansas
with mechanical problems; made headlines when pit-road argument
with Milka Duno at Mid-Ohio was videotaped and plastered over
the internet; ran a disappointing 18th at Edmonton; started the
season by running sixth at Homestead and 10th at St. Petersburg;
finished 22nd in the Indy 500 after a pit road incident with
Ryan Briscoe; posted a second-place finish at Detroit last year;
finished seventh in the final standings with four top-fives and
11 top 10s; started second at Sonoma but finished sixth; was
involved in an accident and finished 16th at Kentucky; struggled
to a disappointing seventh-place finish at Michigan; posted her
second consecutive top-five finish with a fifth place showing at
Mid-Ohio; took third at Nashville prior to that; ran 11th here
last year.
Dan Wheldon
Team: Target Chip Ganassi Racing
2008 Points: 464 (4th)
Dropped to fourth in the standings behind Tony Kanaan after
finishing 20th at Detroit; finished fourth at Texas and
Milwaukee after running 12th in the Indianapolis 500; kicked off
the season by running third at Homestead, 12th at St.
Petersburg and fourth in Japan; entered the Indy 500 having won
at Kansas; finished fourth in the final standings last year with
two wins and a pole at Homestead-Miami; recorded six top fives
and 11 top-10 finishes; won the 2005 championship with a
series-record six victories; last year finished out of the top
five for a six-race stretch prior to Detroit; in 91 career
starts has 14 wins, 69 top-10s and five poles; finished second
in the final standings in 2004 and 2006; won the 89th running
of the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 from 16th starting position;
ran 13th here last year.
2007 Top 10
-----------
1. Dario Franchitti (27)
2. Scott Dixon (9)
3. Sam Hornish Jr. (6)
4. Helio Castroneves (3)
5. Scott Sharp (8)
6. Tony Kanaan (11)
7. Ryan Hunter-Reay (17)
8. Hideki Mutoh (60)
9. Buddy Rice (15)
10. A.J. Foyt IV (22)
Past Champions
--------------
2007 Dario Franchitti, 173.886 mph
2006 Dan Wheldon, 194.828 mph
2005 Dan Wheldon, 169.160 mph
2004 Adrian Fernandez, 140.825 mph
2003 Sam Hornish Jr., 184.294 mph
2002 Sam Hornish Jr., 146.319 mph
2001 Jaques Lazier, 172.146 mph
- 89
rootsRUWTbot Added 19 roots
INDYCAR SERIES PEAK Antifreeze And Motor Oil Indy 300 Lap 190/200Sep 7 5:46 PM - 70
rootsRUWTbot Added 29 roots
INDYCAR SERIES PEAK Antifreeze And Motor Oil Indy 300 Lap 170/200Sep 7 5:33 PM - 41
rootsRUWTbot Added 18 roots
INDYCAR SERIES PEAK Antifreeze And Motor Oil Indy 300 Lap 140/200Sep 7 5:19 PM - 23
rootsRUWTbot Added 18 roots
INDYCAR SERIES PEAK Antifreeze And Motor Oil Indy 300 Lap 120/200Sep 7 5:04 PM - savbyroy twinkle-toes needs a miracle
INDYCAR SERIES PEAK Antifreeze And Motor Oil Indy 300Sep 4 5:10 AM