1. Kanaan to reach milestone start
2. Firestone 10th Anniversary poster up for sale on Ebay
3. Wheldon closing in on more records
4. ESPN360.com to web-simulcast California races
5. Abbott returns to Menards Infiniti Pro Series
1. Kanaan to reach milestone start: Tony Kanaan will reach a landmark in his IndyCar Series career at the Toyota Indy 400 on Oct. 16.
The 2004 IRL IndyCar® Series champion will start his 50th IndyCar Series event, becoming the fifth driver this season and the 17th driver overall to reach the mark. Helio Castroneves, Tomas Scheckter, Alex Barron and Buddy Rice also reached 50 starts this season. Scheckter capped his 50th start with a victory at Texas Motor Speedway in June, a feat Kanaan hopes to match.
"Team 7-Eleven has been very competitive this season on the superspeedways,” Kanaan said. “Last year, we clinched our IndyCar Series championship at California and while we won't have that opportunity this year, we can still win the race and secure a '1-2' finish for Andretti Green Racing. That would be a great way to wrap up the season."
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2. Firestone 10th Anniversary poster up for sale on Ebay: A limited edition Firestone 10th Anniversary poster signed by all IndyCar Series race winners is available for bid on online auction house eBay.
Proceeds from the winning bid will be split between CARA Charities and the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation. The winning bidder will receive a limited edition Firestone 10th Anniversary poster signed and numbered by the artist, Paul Laguette. Featuring the autographs of 31 race winning drivers, the poster will be delivered professionally framed and with a letter of authenticity.
Twenty-five posters were produced to commemorate Firestone’s 10th anniversary as the official tire of the Indy Racing League.
The auction will close Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. (EDT), coinciding with the Indy Racing League Championship Celebration in Hollywood, Calif.
For more details or to place a bid, visit the eBay auction page at www.ebay.com/indycarposter
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3. Wheldon closing in on more records: Dan Wheldon can add several more records to his record-setting championship season at the Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway.
Wheldon, who became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series championship in the same season, has already set records for most wins in a season (six) and tied the record for consecutive wins (three).
Wheldon can break the following records this weekend:
Record - Needs to - Current record
Single-season, Races led - Lead a single lap - 14 – Tied with Dixon (2003)
Single-season, Laps Led - Lead 145 laps - 889 – Tony Kanaan (2004)
Single-season Earnings - Earn $23,636 - $2,699,040 – Buddy Rice (2004)
4. ESPN360.com to web-simulcast California races: During ESPN's coverage of the Toyota Indy 400, ESPN360 users will be offered the opportunity to follow the action with a live stream video of Danica Patrick’s in-car camera. Viewers of the webcast will have the option of an audio mix of Patrick’s in-car radio and natural sound from the car or ESPN's race call.
In addition, ESPN360 will offer a live stream of the California 100 Menards Infiniti Pro Series race, scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. (EDT).
Following the IndyCar season finale, Patrick is scheduled to appear in a "This is SportsCenter" promotional spot alongside Dan Patrick at the end of October. This will be the first "SportsCenter" ad involving an IndyCar Series driver.
5. Abbott returns to Menards Infiniti Pro Series: P.J. Abbott will drive the No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry Oct. 16 in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series California 100.
The race will be Abbott’s fourth career start in the series and his second this season. The 41-year-old from Grand Prairie, Texas, debuted in the series with a seventh-place finish at the 2-mile oval last year. This season, he finished 11th at Texas Motor Speedway in June.
“I’m really excited to be running at California Speedway again this year,” Abbott said. “I have a home about a mile-and-a-half from the track, and I spend a lot of time out there. I know the track well, so it’ll just be a matter of getting the car dialed in.”
The car will display the American Red Cross emblem on the sidepods in an effort to continue raising funds for hurricane victims.
“I have a lot of friends and a lot of our fellow Americans who still need our assistance,” said Abbott, who has business interests in the gulf coast region. “I’m excited to work with the American Red Cross to help on this effort.”
Representatives of the local Red Cross, as well as hurricane evacuees who made it to California, are expected to attend the race.
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The 10th season of IndyCar Series competition concludes with the Toyota Indy 400 at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) on Oct. 16 at California Speedway. The race will be broadcast by ESPN and the IMS Radio Network. The race broadcast also will be carried on XM Satellite Radio channel 152 (XM Extreme). The final Menards Infiniti Pro Series race is the California 100 on Oct. 16 at California Speedway. The ESPN2 race telecast will be available live on ESPN360.com. It will be telecast at 3 p.m. (EDT) on Oct. 20.
