1. Championship up for grabs; points race is tightest ever with 3 to go: Helio Castroneves’ move to the top of the IndyCar Series championship race underscores season-long consistency.
Castroneves trailed Marlboro Team Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr. by 30 points heading into the Firestone Indy 400. A victory at Michigan International Speedway on July 30, coupled with Hornish’s mechanically-forced exit, vaulted Castroneves past Scott Dixon and Hornish to first.
“The way things are going, the consistent guy from now on is going to be very important,” he said after edging Vitor Meira by 1.6229 seconds at the 2-mile oval on July 30. “I guess whatever team is going to work together, drivers be patient, be in the right spot at the right time, (is) probably going to win. That's it.”
Kentucky Speedway (Aug. 13) and Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 10) -- 1.5-mile ovals – book end the road-course race at Infineon Raceway in California (Aug. 30) to end the season.
The championship battle – much like all IndyCar Series races – will go down to the wire. Only 56 points separate first place through fifth, and there is an eight-point difference between Castroneves (376) and three-time race winner and two-time series champion Hornish (368).
Reigning IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon has 359 points, while Dixon, his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, is fourth with 345. Meira is fifth with 320. Actually, the top 13 in the standings are mathematically eligible for the title.
It’s the tightest championship race since point calculations were adjusted for the 2001 season. In 2003, Castroneves also led with three events remaining. Hornish, in fifth place, was 61 points back. Dixon was fourth, but claimed the championship with three consecutive runner-up finishes at Chicagoland, California Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.
Two years ago, Wheldon was 72 points behind then-Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan with three races remaining. He remained second in the final tally. Last year, the St. Petersburg, Fla., resident had a comfortable 79-point lead over Kanaan with three left.
As demonstrated for most of the season, any of the top five could be atop the standings coming out of the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret on Aug. 13.
“With three races to go in 2003, I was in fourth place in the driver standings with a 42-point deficit behind Castroneves,” Dixon said. “There were five of us in the hunt, and it was consistency, the Target team’s “never give up” attitude and teamwork that won us the championship that year. We are nowhere near ready to give up on that now. The last two races were very frustrating for us but with three races left, we still can do this. We have all the elements to be successful.
Standings since 2001 with three races remaining
2006 After 11 of 14 races
Driver Points Behind Final Pos.
Castroneves 376 Leader -
Hornish 368 -8 -
Wheldon 359 -17 -
Dixon 345 -31 -
Meira 320 -56 -
2005 After 14 of 17 races
Driver Points Behind Final Pos.
Wheldon 570 Leader 1
Kanaan 438 -79 2
Hornish 456 -96 3
Franchitti 413 -157 4
Castroneves 400 -170 6
2004 After 13 of 16 races
Driver Points Behind Final Pos.
Kanaan 503 Leader 1
Wheldon 431 -72 2
Rice 427 -76 3
Castroneves 379 -159 4
Franchitti 366 -172 6
2003 After 13 of 16 races
Driver Points Behind Final Pos.
Castroneves 429 Leader 3
de Ferran 404 -25 2
Kanaan 397 -32 4
Dixon 387 -42 1
Brack 348 -61 5
2002 After 12 of 15 races
Driver Points Behind Final Pos.
Hornish 399 Leader 1
Castroneves 395 -4 2
de Ferran 386 -13 3
Giaffone 382 -17 4
Barron 283 -116 5
2001 After 10 of 13 races
Driver Points Behind Final Pos.
Hornish 374 Leader 1
B. Lazier 349 -25 2
Sharp 244 -95 3
Giaffone 265 -109 6
Salazar 241 -133 5
2. Chesson to compete in Knoxville Nationals: IndyCar Series driver P.J. Chesson will return to his roots this week when he drives a 410 sprint car in the Knoxville Nationals.
“I can’t wait to get back in a race car, even if I haven’t really driven a sprint car since last summer,” Chesson said. “It should be a lot of fun.”
Chesson will become the first driver since Steve Kinser in 1997 to compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and Knoxville Nationals in the same year when he takes to the track for Wednesday’s qualifying round. He’ll drive the 55K fielded by 2005 Knoxville Raceway track champion VerMeer Motorsports.
“(The car) won a couple of races with (2005 track champions) Kerry Madsen this year, so it should be a good piece,” Chesson said. “We’ll see if rusty old P.J. can do anything with it tomorrow night.”
Chesson, one of 18 drivers to compete in both at Knoxville and Indianapolis, remains hopeful of returning to the IndyCar Series next season..
“I’m not going to Knoxville to look for a ride,” he said. “I think I’ve found a home in Indy Cars. I just want to have some fun and raise a little hell in Iowa.”
3. On the road: IndyCar Series drivers Sarah Fisher, Sam Hornish Jr., and Danica Patrick will help promote the Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Coca-Cola and Secret in the Greater Cincinnati market Aug. 10-11.
Hornish, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion, will throw out the first pitch for the Cincinnati Reds’ game with the St. Louis Cardinals at 12:35 p.m. on Aug. 10. He will also be interviewed during ESPN’s telecast of the game and by the Cincinnati Reds radio network.
Fisher will visit Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center patients in two activity centers on behalf of the Racing For Kids charity on Aug. 11, while Patrick will greet fans during an autograph session from 6 -7 p.m., at the Meijer store located at 4990 Houston Rd. in Florence, Ky.
4. Of note: Marco Andretti can clinch the Bombardier Rookie of the Year Award by outscoring rival Jeff Simmons by eight points or more at Kentucky Speedway … There have been six IndyCar Series pole sitters and five IndyCar Series pole winners at Kentucky Speedway. Only Buddy Lazier, who won the first two IndyCar Series races at Kentucky, repeated.
1. Horsepower meets horse power in Kentucky: The 2006 IndyCar® Series season shifts to the Kentucky Speedway for the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret on Aug. 13.
The race will be the seventh IndyCar Series race in the Bluegrass State, which is home of one of the world’s most renowned events, the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
Since 1875, the Kentucky Derby has been the crown jewel of horse racing. The 132nd annual race held in May saw Barbaro defeat Bluegrass Cat. The IndyCar Series has historically produced exciting racing and close finishes at the 1.5-mile oval. In fact, three of the last four events at Kentucky Speedway have seen margins of victory of less than one second.
How does the competition at the Kentucky Derby stack up against that of the IndyCar Series?
The average horse is listed at eight feet in length while an IndyCar Series chassis must be at least 16 feet. That means it takes two horses standing nose to tail to equate to the length of an IndyCar.
As far as the muscle that powers each of these, that’s a completely different story. While it only takes one horse to win the Derby, it takes an estimated 670 of them to find Victory Lane at the Kentucky Speedway.
And down the stretch they come. Let the comparisons begin.
HORSEPOWER or HORSE POWER?
A glance at the margin of victory (in car lengths)
Year
Kentucky Derby Margin
of Victory Meijer Indy 300 presented by
Coca-Cola and Secret Margin
of Victory
2001 Monarchos over Invisible Ink 9.50 car lengths Buddy Lazier over Scott Sharp 29.14 car lengths
2002 War Emblem over Proud Citizen 8.00 car lengths Felipe Giaffone over Sam Hornish Jr. 1.82 car lengths
2003 Funny Cide over Empire Maker 3.50 car lengths Sam Hornish over Scott Dixon 22.65 car lengths
2004 Smarty Jones over Lion Heart 5.50 car lengths Adrian Fernandez over Buddy Rice 1.12 car lengths
2005 Giacomo over Closing Argument 9.50 car lengths Scott Sharp over Vitor Meira 1.53 car lengths
2006 Barbaro over Bluegrass Cat 13.00 car lengths
2. Potekhen to return to Indy Pro Series: Mike Potekhen, who made his Indy Pro Series debut in the Liberty Challenge on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, will return for the final four races of the season, beginning with the Kentucky 100 on Aug. 13.
Potekhen will drive the No. 76 Part Sourcing International car sponsored by 360brake.com.
“I’m very impressed with Mike,” team owner Steve Eppard said. “He did a great job in the Liberty Challenge, and we’re happy to have him on board for the final one-third of the season. I expect him to do well in those four races and finish close to the top 10 in points.”
Potekhen, a 26-year-old Colorado native, also competes in the Star Mazda Series, where he is second in the point standings, 13 points out of first, with four races to go. He’s captured race wins at Milwaukee and Portland this year.
“I’m excited about running the Indy Pro Series car the rest of the season,” said Potekhen, who finished 11th in the Liberty Challenge. “We’ve been running real well in the Pro Mazda championship, and hopefully we can carry that momentum over.
“The Indy Pro Series cars are so much fun to drive. I can’t wait to get back in them and have some races on ovals.”
3. Gregg also returns at Kentucky: Travis Gregg, who won the Kentucky 100 for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2005, will return to the team for this weekend’s Indy Pro Series race at Kentucky Speedway.
Gregg, who started from the pole at Kentucky in 2004 and 2005, will drive the No. 77 entry with sponsorship from Lucas Oil and Argosy Casino as a teammate to current series point leader Jay Howard.
***
The next IndyCar Series event is the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) on Aug. 13 at Kentucky Speedway. The race will be telecast live by ABC Sports and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPN Deportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio channel 145 “IndyCar Racing” and www.indycar.com. The fifth season of Indy Pro Series competition continues with the Kentucky 100 on August 13 at Kentucky Speedway.
