GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300/Miami 100 Fast FactsFAST FACTS          

  IndyCar Series Opens 2008 Season Under The Lights at Homestead-Miami Speedway First race in unified IndyCar Series (NOTE: The official entry list for the Miami 100 is attached as a Word document) GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 Date / Time Saturday, March 29 8 p.m. (EDT) Track Homestead-Miami Speedway Distance 200 laps / 300 miles TV ESPN2 (Live) Radio IMS Radio Network / XM Satellite Radio 2007 Winner Dan Wheldon 2007 Polesitter Dan Wheldon Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-mile, variable-banked oval Opened in 1995 Seats 65,000

Miami 100 Date / Time Saturday, March 29 12:30 p.m. (EDT) Distance 67 laps / 100 miles TV ESPN2 (Taped) 4 p.m., April 3 2007 Winner Alex Lloyd 2007 Polesitter Chris Festa GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300

Unification of Open-Wheel Racing “We are unified." The words motorsports fans worldwide have been longing to hear for more than a decade elicited cheers, toasts and even tears with the announcement Feb. 22. The start of the racing season will see one open-wheel series compete under the banner of the IndyCar Series. The Indy Racing League will serve as the sanctioning body with teams and drivers from Champ Car transitioning to the IndyCar Series. The 2008 IndyCar Series schedule will remain intact, with the potential addition of Champ Car venues Long Beach, Edmonton and Surfers Paradise. The 2008 season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway will produce a variety of new faces and familiar names all competing on one racetrack. Castroneves, Patrick put IndyCar Series in National Spotlight After the checkered flag dropped on the 2007 season, Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick quickly went to work on off-track endeavors that have put the IndyCar Series in the national spotlight. Castroneves joined the cast of the top-rated ABC show “Dancing with the Stars”, capturing the American’s public’s attention and the show’s Mirror Ball trophy. “Dancing with the Stars” pulls in close to 20 million viewers each week. Patrick took time to travel to Florida last October to shoot a spread for Sports Illustrated’s Annual Swimsuit Issue. More than 69 million people are expected to read the special issue while more than 250 million people are expected to view photo galleries on the magazine's Web site. Andretti, Foyt & Rahal: Next Generation of Open-Wheel Stars in IndyCar Series When the green flag waves at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the next generation of open-wheel racers will be on one track, looking to write the next chapter in their families’ Indy car legacy. Marco Andretti, son of Michael Andretti and grandson of Mario Andretti hopes to put his sophomore slump behind him as he focuses on his third season of IndyCar Series racing. A.J. Foyt IV, the grandson of four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt, returns for his second season with Vision Racing, looking to capitalize on the momentum the team created last year. Graham Rahal, son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, enters his first season of IndyCar Series competition with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.

Tony Kanaan Transitions to Father Figure Role at Andretti Green Racing Shortly after the completion of the 2007 IndyCar Series season, Tony Kanaan became a first-time father with the birth of his son Leonardo. This season, Kanaan assumes a similar role at the racetrack, as the veteran team member at Andretti Green Racing. The 2005 IndyCar Series champion has 12 wins, 55 top five finishes and 81 starts to his resume, and that doesn’t include his five years spent competing in Champ Car. Kanaan’s teammates – Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick – have 79 IndyCar Series starts total among the three of them.  King of the Ovals Goes for Four-in-a-Row Dan Wheldon, the 2005 IndyCar Series champion, will attempt to make IndyCar Series history as he goes for his fourth straight win at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Wheldon, who finished fourth in last year’s IndyCar Series point standings, has won at all but two of the ovals the IndyCar Series will visit in 2008. Wheldon returns for this third season with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, a pairing which has produced four wins and 15 top-five finishes over the past two years. Race Notes: Three Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005). Three IndyCar Series champions are scheduled to participate in the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300: Scott Dixon (2003), Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005). Drivers entered in the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 as of March 24 have combined for 51 IndyCar Series victories, 56 pole positions and 788 starts. The GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 will be the eighth IndyCar Series event conducted at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Every former Miami winner is expected to participate including: Sam Hornish Jr. (2001, 2002, 2004), Scott Dixon (2003) and Dan Wheldon (2005, 2006, 2007). The winner at Miami has gone on to win the IndyCar Series championship four times in the last seven seasons. Milestones: Helio Castroneves can establish an IndyCar Series record for most consecutive seasons with at least one win should he win the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300. Castroneves is tied with Scott Sharp with victories in seven consecutive seasons. Helio Castroneves will makes his 94th consecutive IndyCar Series start, becoming the reigning ‘Iron Man.’ Dan Wheldon can become the first driver to win four consecutive races at one track if he wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Vitor Meira has gone 76 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver. Miami 100

Is No. 7 still lucky for Sam Schmidt? The driver of Sam Schmidt Motorsports' No. 7 car has won the drivers championship the last two seasons. Richard Antinucci, who won two road course races during a limited 2007 campaign for Cheever Racing, takes over the car for 2008. Can Antinucci be the third straight driver of the No.7 to win the title? Familiar faces in new places In addition to Richard Antinucci's move to Sam Schmidt, several of last season's top drivers have moved to new teams. Bobby Wilson (Team E) and Chris Festa (Alliance Motorsports) have joined start-up efforts this season, while Logan Gomez re-joins Guthrie Racing, which gave him his first start in the series. Matos shifts gears Raphael Matos, who won the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic championship, jumps on the fast track to the IndyCar Series with AFS/Andretti Green Racing in 2008. Matos won his series debut at St. Petersburg in 2006. Can he repeat with his oval debut? Ladies first? For the first time in series history, two female drivers will compete for the 2008 championship. Brazil's Ana Beatriz and Switzerland's Cyndie Allemann join the series as Lucas Oil Rookie of the Year candidates. Beatriz benefits from the championship experience of Sam Schmidt Motorsports, while Allemann drives for American Spirit Racing, which was one of six teams to win in 2007. Race Notes: 2008 season opens at Homestead-Miami: For the sixth consecutive year, Homestead-Miami Speedway hosts the opening round of the season. Starting strong can be an indicator of how the season plays out. Four of the previous six champions finished first or second in the opener, including 2003 champion and Miami 100 winner Mark Taylor and 2007 champion and race winner Alex Lloyd. First-time winner? Only four drivers entered in the Miami 100 have previously won a race in the series – Richard Antinucci, Logan Gomez, Raphael Matos and Bobby Wilson. Will one of these drivers keep the winner's group a quartet, or will someone break into the group becoming the third driver to win their series debut at Homestead? Milestones: ·         Arie Luyendyk Jr. will attempt to make his 47th start at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which would extend his series record. ·         Bobby Wilson can tie Wade Cunningham's series record for consecutive seasons with a win should he win the Miami 100. Wilson has won in each of the last two seasons. ·         Bobby Wilson will attempt to make his 29th consecutive start, which is third on the series' all-time list. Weekend Schedule: Friday, March 28 9 a.m. – Garages open 11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. – IndyCar Series practice (all cars) 1:30-2:30 p.m. – Indy Pro Series practice 2:45 p.m. – Press Conference (Tony George, Brian Barnhart, Terry Angstadt) 4-4:30 p.m. – IndyCar Series practice (Group 1) 4:30-5 p.m. – IndyCar Series practice (Group 2) 5:15-6:15 p.m. – Indy Pro Series practice 6:30-8 p.m. – PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award Qualifying 8:15 p.m. – Press Conference (IndyCar Series front row) 8:15 p.m. – Indy Pro Series SWE Pole Qualifying TBA – Press Conference (Indy Pro Series front row) Saturday, March 29 8 a.m. – Garages open 12:30 p.m. – Indy Pro Series Miami 100 (67 laps / 100 miles) 1:30 p.m. – Press Conference (Indy Pro Series post-race) 8 p.m. – IndyCar Series GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 (200 laps / 300 miles) TBA – Press Conference (IndyCar Series post-race)