Tight championship battle heads to Iowa

Date / Time Sunday, June 21 1 p.m. (EDT) ABC (Live)

Track Iowa Speedway

Distance 250 laps / 218.75 miles

Radio IMS Radio Network / XM 145 / Sirius 211

2008 Winner Dan Wheldon

2008 Polesitter Scott Dixon

 .875-mile oval

First IndyCar Series race in 2007

Seats: 40,000 Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer

Musical chairsThe points lead has been like a game of musical chairs in 2009 with no driver able to remain atop the standings for more than one race. Leaders after each race have been Ryan Briscoe (St. Petersburg), Dario Franchitti (Long Beach), Tony Kanaan (Kansas), Franchitti (Indianapolis), Scott Dixon (Milwaukee) and Briscoe (Texas). Briscoe holds a slim three-point advantage over Dixon entering the Iowa Corn Indy 250, and the top five drivers are separated by only 32 points. Can Briscoe score enough points to hold the points leader for another week?

Seeing redPhotographers in Victory Lane this season have been seeing a lot of red – the red firesuits of Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti and Team Penske drivers Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves. The four drivers from those two teams have won all six races in 2009. Anyone picking a favorite at Iowa might lean toward TCGR, which won last year’s race with Dan Wheldon and has had Dixon start from the pole for both races at Iowa. Team Penske’s best finish at Iowa is seventh with Briscoe in 2008. Will Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penkse maintain their stranglehold on Victory Lane?

Patrick leading Andretti Green effortAndretti Green Racing hopes to return to Victory Lane for the first time since Tony Kanaan’s win at Richmond last June at a track where they have run strong the past two seasons. Danica Patrick leads the team, ranking fifth in points. She is one of three drivers with four top-five finishes. Last year, she finished sixth at Iowa. Andretti Green Racing drivers have led 198 laps in the two races at Iowa. Marco Andretti has finished on the podium both years and is coming off a fourth-place finish at Texas. Hideki Mutoh scored a career-best second-place finish at Iowa last year. Will Iowa be the site of AGR’s first win of 2009?

Panther, Wheldon eye Victory LaneDefending race winner Dan Wheldon is looking for his first victory with Panther Racing. Wheldon is one of only three drivers with five top-10 finishes in 2009. He has led 61 laps at Iowa, while Panther Racing has led 71 laps at the track with driver Vitor Meira in 2007. Can Wheldon and Panther get their first win together at Iowa?

Hunter-Reay transitions to A.J. Foyt RacingRyan Hunter-Reay will make his debut with A.J. Foyt Racing. The third-year driver is 10th in points with a best finish of second at St. Petersburg. He’ll transition from Vision Racing to A.J. Foyt Racing, which had a fifth-place finish at Iowa with Darren Manning in 2007. Hunter-Reay finished eighth at Iowa last year. Can Hunter-Reay and Foyt form a winning combination?

Rahal starting strongGraham Rahal has turned in strong qualifying efforts in 2009. The 20-year-old won poles at St. Petersburg and Kansas and started on the front row at Milwaukee where he finished a season-best fourth. He qualified fourth at Indianapolis. Can Rahal qualify up front again and earn another top-five finish?

Three short ovals in five weeksIndyCar Series drivers are tackling three short ovals in a five-week span. All three of the tracks have unique characteristics that make them very different to drive. The stretch started at The Milwaukee Mile on May 31, continues at the variably banked .875-mile Iowa Speedway on June 21 and concludes at the bullring at Richmond on June 27. Last year, drivers from three different teams won the three races (Ryan Briscoe/Team Penske at Milwaukee, Dan Wheldon/Target Chip Ganassi Racing at Iowa, Tony Kanaan/Andretti Green Racing at Richmond). Can one team find a way to win at all three tracks?

Race Notes:The Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer will be the third IndyCar Series event at Iowa Speedway. Past winners Dan Wheldon (2008) and Dario Franchitti (2007) are entered in the event.

Scott Dixon has started on pole for both races at Iowa, winning the pole in 2007 and starting on pole based on points in 2008.

Sixteen drivers entered in the event have competed in previous races at Iowa. Seven of those drivers have led laps: Helio Castroneves (151), Dario Franchitti (96), Tony Kanaan (71), Dan Wheldon (61), Marco Andretti (30), Scott Dixon (10) and Danica Patrick (1).

Marco Andretti has finished on the podium in both races at Iowa, finishing second in 2007 and third in 2008.

Helio Castroneves has started second both years, recording a best finish of eighth in 2007.

Tony Kanaan has finished 16th and 18th in two races at Iowa.

Hideki Mutoh finished a career-best second in 2008.

Season-to-Date:• Twenty-two drivers have recorded top-10 finishes.• Thirteen drivers have recorded top-five finishes.• The top 10 drivers in points come from six teams.• Ryan Briscoe is the only driver to be running at the finish of all six races and the only driver who has completed all 1,038 laps. Briscoe also leads all drivers with 424 laps led.• E.J. Viso is the only full-time driver who has not been running at the finish in 2009.• Ryan Briscoe earned his third career victory and Team Penske’s 30th IndyCar Series victory in the season opener at St. Petersburg.• Dario Franchitti earned his ninth career victory and Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s 25th IndyCar Series victory in the race at Long Beach.• Ryan Hunter-Reay gave Vision Racing its best-ever finish with a second at St. Petersburg.• Justin Wilson gave Dale Coyne Racing its best-ever IndyCar Series finish with a third at St. Petersburg.• Andretti Green Racing placed all four drivers in the top 10 at Kansas for the first time since Milwaukee 2006.• Helio Castroneves became the ninth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 three times or more. The win gave Castroneves at least one victory in a record nine seasons and a victory from the pole in a record eight consecutive seasons.• Scott Dixon’s win at Milwaukee gives him two or more victories in three consecutive seasons.• Team Penske has had at least one of its cars finish in the top two of every race.• Tony Kanaan recorded back-to-back DNF’s at Indianapolis and Milwaukee for the first time in 103 IndyCar Series starts.• For the second consecutive season, four different drivers won the season’s first four races.

Milestones & Records:• Tony Kanaan will attempt to make his 104th consecutive start, the active leader among IndyCar Series drivers.• Scott Dixon ranks second with 18 career victories. Sam Hornish Jr. holds the record with 19.• Andretti Green Racing’s next victory will be its 35th. The team ranks first in the IndyCar Series.• Team Penske has 32 IndyCar Series victories.• Target Chip Ganassi Racing has 27 IndyCar Series victories.• A victory in 2009 will give Tony Kanaan a victory in seven consecutive seasons, becoming the fourth driver to do so.• Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves have 69 career top-five finishes, the most in IndyCar Series history.• Helio Castroneves has 92 top-10 finishes, the most in IndyCar Series history.• Helio Castroneves has led 75 races, the most in IndyCar Series history.• Helio Castroneves has at least one race victory in each of the last nine seasons, an IndyCar Series record.• Helio Castroneves has at least one victory from the pole in each of the last eight seasons, an IndyCar Series record. His eight career wins from the pole is also a record.• Helio Castroneves has 27 career poles, the most in IndyCar Series history.• Helio Castroneves ranks second all-time with 103 races running at the finish. Scott Sharp holds the record with 111.• Helio Castroneves ranks second all-time with 3,186 laps led. Sam Hornish Jr. holds the record with 3,428.

Schedule (all times local):Friday, June 197-7:45 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights practice

Saturday, June 209:30-11 a.m. – IndyCar Series practice11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights practice (two groups)1-2:30 p.m. – IndyCar Series practice (two groups)3-4 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying4:15 p.m. – PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying7:20 p.m. – Iowa 100 pre-race8 p.m. – Iowa 100 (115 laps/100.625 miles)

Sunday, June 2111:30 a.m. – Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer pre-race12:30 p.m. – Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer (250 laps/218.75 miles)