IndyCar® Series: Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret, 12th race in 14-race 2006 season

Indy Pro Series™: Kentucky 100, ninth race in 12-race 2006 season

INDY-STYLE RACING IN KENTUCKY:

Auto racing made its debut in the Cincinnati area in 1916 when John Aitken won the International Sweepstakes, a 300-mile race held on a 2-mile board oval. Louis Chevrolet won the race in 1917, while Joe Boyer won the final race in 1919.

The Cincinnati Race Bowl was a 3/8-mile paved oval opened in 1948. It was later named the Cincinnati Midget Speedway and then Milford Speedway. The site is now an industrial park located in Hamilton Township.

In 2000, the Kentucky Speedway opened in Sparta, Ky., and welcomed the IndyCar® Series for the first time. Buddy Lazier won the inaugural event, the Belterra Casino 300, in 2000 en route to his IndyCar Series championship that season.

INDYCAR SERIES NOTES:

•Four Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005) and Sam Hornish Jr. (2006).

•Five IndyCar Series champions are scheduled to participate in the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret: Scott Sharp (1996 co-champion), Sam Hornish Jr. (2001, 2002), Scott Dixon (2003), Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005).

•Drivers entered in the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret have plenty of talent and experience. The 19 drivers entered in the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret have combined for 70 IndyCar Series victories, 68 pole positions and 967 starts.

•The Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret will be the fifth of six events in 2006 contested on a 1.5-mile track. Winners in 2006 on 1.5-mile tracks: Dan Wheldon (Homestead-Miami Speedway), Helio Castroneves (Twin Ring Motegi and Texas Motor Speedway) and Sam Hornish Jr. (Kansas Speedway). The final 1.5-mile track on the schedule is Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 10).

•Scott Sharp and Sam Hornish Jr. are the only former Kentucky winners expected to participate in the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret. Sharp is the defending champion of the event. Hornish won in 2003.

• The Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret will be the 132nd  IndyCar Series event since the series’ inaugural race in 1996. In the 131 previous events, 26,200 laps of competition have been completed.

• In 11 races thus far in 2006, there have been five winners. Sam Hornish Jr., Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves are the only multiple winners. Hornish won at Indianapolis, Richmond and Kansas, Castroneves won at St. Petersburg, Motegi and Texas and Dixon won at Watkins Glen and Nashville. Dan Wheldon won at Homestead-Miami and Tony Kanaan won at Milwaukee. In those 10 races, 16 drivers have finished in the top five in at least one event.

INDY PRO SERIES NOTES:

• Bobby Wilson is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in every event in 2006. He’s also the only driver to have been running at the finish of each race and the only driver to have completed all 414 laps.

• Nick Bussell and Jaime Camara will make their 23rd consecutive starts in the Kentucky 100.

• For the fourth time in Indy Pro Series history, a record six race winners are entered in the Kentucky 100. Jaime Camara (2 wins), Wade Cunningham (2), Travis Gregg (3), Jay Howard (1), Alex Lloyd (1) and Bobby Wilson (1) will look to increase their series win totals.

INDYCAR SERIES NEWS SNIPPETS:

•Close points battle hits Bluegrass State: Helio Castroneves enters the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret leading one of the closest title races in IndyCar Series history. With three races remaining Castroneves leads his teammate Sam Hornish Jr., by 8 points with reigning series champion Dan Wheldon is 17 points behind. 2003 IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon is 31 points back with Vitor Meira (56 points) and Tony Kanaan (67 points) are also in title chase.

•Top IndyCar Series teams shoot for first Kentucky win: Marlboro Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing have dominated the 2006 IndyCar Series season, but neither team has ever visited victory lane at Kentucky Speedway. Is this the year that changes?

•Fernandez Racing tries continue its string of success at Kentucky Speedway? Fernandez Racing has enjoyed considerable success on the 1.5-mile oval at Kentucky Speedway. Team co-owner Adrian Fernandez found the winner’s circle in 2004, and Scott Sharp followed in 2005, while Super Aguri Fernandez Racing’s Kosuke Matsuura has finished in the top-10 in each of his starts at Kentucky Speedway. Still, no team has won three consecutive races at any track the IndyCar Series visits.

•Sarah vs. Danica: For the first time since the 2000 Indianapolis 500, two women drivers are entered in an IndyCar Series event. Sarah Fisher, the first female to start on the pole in the IndyCar Series when she won the pole at Kentucky in 2003, is scheduled to compete against Danica Patrick for the first time in the IndyCar Series. Patrick claimed three poles in her rookie season, including at Kentucky Speedway last season.

•Fast cars: Kentucky Speedway is site of the second-fastest IndyCar Series event when Sam Hornish set the mark in 2003 at 197.897. With seven out of the first 11 events this season setting the fastest IndyCar Series race average records, another record could fall at Kentucky.

•The IndyCar Series – Powered by Ethanol: The IndyCar Series, which has been recognized for its technical leadership in automobile racing, is now the motorsports leader in renewable and environmentally responsible fuel produced in America. The Honda V-8 engines that will compete at Kentucky Speedway are powered by an ethanol/methanol blend (methanol had been the fuel since the IndyCar Series’ inception). In 2007, 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol will flow through the systems. Find out how the IndyCar Series is leading the way in bringing renewable fuels to the forefront of American auto racing.

INDY PRO SERIES NEWS SNIPPETS: 

•Six in championship hunt with four races to go: For the second consecutive season, the championship points race appears it will go down to the season’s final race. The top six drivers are separated by 64 points. England’s Jay Howard leads the pack with 269 points. Bobby Wilson (-30) and Jonathan Klein (-31) are the next closest contenders while Jaime Camara (-43), Nick Bussell (-54) and Wade Cunningham (-64) also are in the mix.

• Seven winners in eight races: When Jaime Camara passed Wade Cunningham with two laps to go at Milwaukee on July 22, he became the seventh driver to win an Indy Pro Series race this season, establishing a new series record. Raphael Matos’ doubleheader sweep in St. Petersburg accounted for the only repeat winner. Race winners thus far have been Jeff Simmons, Matos, Cunningham, Bobby Wilson, Alex Lloyd, Jay Howard and Camara. Similarly, five drivers have captured the seven pole awards (The pole for the second St. Petersburg race was based on the finishing order of the first race). Pole winners have been Howard, Matos, Cunningham (3), Wilson and Graham Rahal. A new pole winner at Kentucky would tie the series record.

• Camden, Ohio’s Gregg aims for repeat win: Kentucky Speedway is a special place for Camden’s Travis Gregg. The 28-year-old won the pole at the track in his Indy Pro Series debut in 2005. Last year, he took the pole again and led all 67 laps en route to his third career victory. Gregg’s past successes came with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. He’ll be back in the car with the Schmidt team at Kentucky. Gregg made two starts earlier this year with Michael Crawford Motorsports.

• Cunningham returns to defend series title: Wade Cunningham is the first Indy Pro Series champion to return to defend his series title. Cunningham won the season finale at California Speedway in 2005 and had 10 podium finishes en route to the Firestone Firehawk Cup. He missed the two St. Petersburg races this March after undergoing an emergency appendectomy race week, but returned with a win in the Freedom 100 on May 26 in Indianapolis. He ranks sixth in points and leads all drivers in pole positions (3) and laps led (201).

• Racing for $3 million: The Indy Pro Series announced numerous enhancements during the offseason as the series continues to grow. Most notably, the series tripled the total prize purse for the season to $3 million, spreading the payout throughout the field. The series also introduced a balanced schedule of six oval races and six road-course races, a testing policy which rewards IndyCar Series teams with bonus test days if they also participate in the Indy Pro Series, and a dual shock system on the front of the race car, making it more similar to an IndyCar Series car.

• An annual stop: Kentucky Speedway is one of three tracks that have hosted an Indy Pro Series race every season since the series was founded in 2002. Nashville Superspeedway and Chicagoland Speedway are the other tracks that have been on the calendar every year.

INDYCAR SERIES PRE-RACE QUOTES:

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, point leader): “Kentucky is a challenging track, because it’s very bumpy and very fast. The racing there is extremely tight with a lot of side-by-side action, so Sunday should be an exciting show for the fans. The race always comes down to the final laps, and I’m not expecting anything different this year. We’ll definitely look to maintain the momentum from our win in Michigan and put up another strong finish.These last few races are very critical in the hunt for the championship, and I know Marlboro Team Penske is up to the challenge.”

SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, second place, 8 points behind): “Kentucky has always been a special place for me. Not only have I won there (in 2003), but I also led my first IndyCar Series laps there in 2000. My performance in that race resulted in me getting my first full-time ride in the series. Kentucky Speedway is a fairly difficult track because of the bumps, plus the surface gets pretty slick when we run in the afternoon heat. After our difficulties in Michigan, I’m really looking forward to getting back out there and continuing our efforts to earn Marlboro Team Penske’s first series championship.”

DAN WHELDON (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, third place, 17 points behind): “I came to the Target team with a lot of goals, and one of them was to win the championship with a new team. That hasn’t changed. I can’t deny that it has been disappointing not to capitalize on every opportunity we had this year. We’ve had a lot of them, but there was always something. But with just three races left, we are that much more motivated to win. I’ve had less wins than any of the other drivers in the hunt, but I’m only 17 points out. It’s a great opportunity to show what we have now, and I intend on battling to the end.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, fourth place, 31 points behind): “With three races to go in 2003, I was in fourth place in the driver standings with a 42 point deficit behind Castroneves. 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. I’ve got two wins this year and I’m looking for more. I started second and finished second at Kentucky in 2003. No one should count us out.”

VITOR MEIRA (No. 4 Revive Panther Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, fifth place, 56 points behind): “Kentucky is a track where Panther has had a lot of success, and we expect the same this season. We have reached a point where we feel very confident coming into every single race, and our expectations are high for this weekend. Panther has been strong at every different kind of track this season – superspeedways, short tracks and road courses, so we expect the same at Kentucky."

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone, sixth place, 67 points behind): “The testing program that we have with the Indy Pro Series is paying off for us. We ran much better at Michigan as a result of it. We (AGR) tested at Kentucky with Dario (Franchitti) and Jonathan Klein, and I believe that Team 7-Eleven will see the benefits of that test when we race at Kentucky Speedway."

INDY PRO SERIES PRE-RACE QUOTES:

JAY HOWARD (No. 7 Lucas Oil/Isilon/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, point leader): “I’m not very happy with the lead I have as such. I think it could have been bigger. As long as we don’t have any more dramas, mistakes, we should go on and win. I am fortunate to have a 30-point lead. If Kentucky goes to plan – we tested there and the car was good – then we should be in good shape. After that, I hope Infineon will be the decider. I want to be on the podium there for sure. I really don’t want to go to Chicago with all types of scenarios in play. ‘If so-and-so wins, you have to finish fifth.’ That type of thing, because invariably something goes wrong.”

BOBBY WILSON (No. 24 Kenn Hardley Racing, second place, 30 points behind): “I’m looking for a consistent finish at Kentucky, and can’t wait to get to Infineon. In the oval races, anything can happen, so it would be nice to get out of there with a solid finish. We’re looking to dominate at Infineon. I think we should have a very good car.”

JONATHAN KLEIN (No. 27 Klein Tools/Turn-Key Forging, third place, 31 points behind): “I need to maximize points by all means necessary at Kentucky. I’m only one point behind Bobby, and I know he’ll be one of the strongest cars at Infineon, and that’s a double weekend. Jay’s 31 points ahead, but one DNF and I could be right there. It’s real cutthroat right now. It’s a moment of truth.”

JAIME CAMARA (No. 11 Neo Quimica, fourth place, 43 points behind): “I think Kentucky will be a tough race like last year. Kentucky is a track that you need a very good setup, because you need a car that stays with the same balance until the end of the race. I just need to make sure things proceed the way they are since Nashville. I have an excellent team that is giving me a great car every race, and I will fight hard for the win in Kentucky.”

NICK BUSSELL (No. 52 Cheever Racing, fifth place, 54 points behind): “The championship is really hard to predict. They’re have been so many different winners this season, there’s not one person who’s in control. There’s quite a few guys with a good shot at it. Jay is sitting pretty good, but Bobby Wilson is right there. Even Wade isn’t out of it, especially with the way he’s been running. Myself, I haven’t even thought about the championship. We’re so concerned about running better. We haven’t been in a position to win, but we’re still in contention. Anything can happen on the 1.5-mile ovals. Our best result was on a 1.5, and we’ve got two of those coming.”

WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 1 Brian Stewart Racing, sixth place, 64 points behind): “To win the championship, I’d have to win a majority of the races left and the leaders would have to have horrible luck. I’m not banking on that. If you look at the entrant points, we’re second, so if we hadn’t have missed St Pete we’d be in a much better position. At Kentucky, we’ll roll out a fast car and hope for a repeat of Indy, the test at Nashville and qualifying at Milwaukee. We want to carry our momentum and race at the front.”

MILESTONES:

• Helio Castroneves earned his 11th IndyCar Series victory at Milwaukee, breaking a tie with Dan Wheldon for second on the IndyCar Series list for all-time victories.

• Marlboro Team Penske tied Andretti Green Racing for most victories by a team when Tony Kanaan won at Milwaukee. Each team has 22 wins in the IndyCar Series

• Helio Castroneves extended his record for most poles in a career when he won the pole at Michigan International Speedway. Castroneves has 15 career pole positions.

• Sam Hornish Jr. became the first IndyCar Series driver to surpass $11 million in career earnings with his victory at Indianapolis earlier this season. He needs $171,245 in earnings to surpass $12 million in his IndyCar Series career.

• Scott Sharp needs one win to earn his 10th IndyCar Series victory and to tie Dan Wheldon for third place on the IndyCar Series all-time wins list. Sharp will attempt to extend his series record for consecutive starts to 117 straight races.

• Marco Andretti would be the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event should he win at Kentucky. Scott Dixon was 20 years, 9 months and 14 days when he won a Champ Car event at Nazareth in 2001. Sam Hornish Jr. (21 years, 259 days) was the youngest winner of an IndyCar Series event when he won at Phoenix in 2001. Andretti will be 19 years, 5 months old on race day.

• Vitor Meira has gone 56 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.