Date / Time - 4 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, July 25Track - Edmonton City Centre Airport(1.96-mile temporary street circuit)Distance - 50 laps/98 miles

First visit to Edmonton in highly-competitive seasonThe 2009 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the series’ first race at Edmonton City Centre Airport, the Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Edmonton. AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing’s J.R. Hildebrand maintained his points lead at Toronto with his second place finish. Hildebrand leads his teammate Sebastian Saavedra by 51 points, with Mario Romancini of RLR/Andersen Racing 70 points behind. Wade Cunningham of Sam Schmidt Motorsports is 77 points out of the lead.

Talented field for 2009The 2009 season features one of the deepest fields in series history with race winners such as J.R. Hildebrand, Wade Cunningham, James Davison and Ana Beatriz, joining a promising rookie class that includes Canadian James Hinchcliffe (Atlantics), Sebastian Saavedra (German F3) and Mario Romancini (World Series by Renault). Other newcomers include Charlie Kimball and Martin Plowman (F3 Euroseries), Gustavo Yacaman (Spanish F3) and Pippa Mann (World Series by Renault).

Ladies first?For the second consecutive season, two female drivers are competing in Firestone Indy Lights. Brazil's Ana Beatriz, the first female to win in Firestone Indy Lights, and England’s Pippa Mann each have a legitimate shot to walk away with the race win this weekend. Beatriz benefits from the championship experience of Sam Schmidt Motorsports, while Mann drives for Panther Racing, which claimed four wins in 2008

.America’s next open-wheel starNamed one of RACER Magazine’s 12 U.S. stars poised for a breakout year in 2009, J.R. Hildebrand slides behind the wheel of an Andretti Green Racing/AFS Racing car, replacing 2008 Firestone Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos. The 21-year-old from Sausalito, Calif., who won on the streets of Long Beach and at Watkins Glen earlier this season, returns to Toronto this weekend in hopes further extending his points lead in his chase for the Firestone Firehawk Cup.

Former driver transitions to Firestone Indy Lights team ownerFormer IndyCar Series competitor Bryan Herta has found a second career on top of the pit cart as a Firestone Indy Lights team owner. Herta, the 1993 Indy Lights champion, founded Bryan Herta Autosport this season with Daniel Herrington behind the wheel. The team also has a technical partnership with Vision Racing.

Racing for a reasonTeam PBIR's Charlie Kimball competes at a high-level of motorsports despite being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes nearly two years ago. Kimball races with a blood-sugar monitor that operates like his own personal dashboard and allows him to adjust his blood-sugar levels while in the car. In addition to his racing success, Kimball serves as a role model for diabetics, as his goal is to show others with the disease that there are no limitations to what they can do.

Race Notes:New race but a familiar placeEdmonton may be a new venue for the Firestone Indy Lights but at least four drivers – points leader J.R. Hildebrand, James Davison, James Hinchcliffe and Richard Philippe – have competed on the Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit before. Will the past Edmonton experience pay off for those drivers?

Local LightsJames Hinchcliffe returns to his native Canada as a Firestone Indy Lights driver. The Oakville, Ontario, native stands sixth in points with four podium finishes and has had success at Edmonton. Hinchcliffe made three visits to the podium at Edmonton in his previous starts. Can he make another podium run in Edmonton?

Team Moore Racing may be based in Pittsboro, Ind., but it may be considered the home team in the Canadian province of Alberta. Calgary native Tom Wood, founder of Xtreme Coil Drilling, co-owns the No. 2 car driven by Andrew Prendeville with Mark Moore.

A bonus for Seb?Sebastian Saavedra could claim a $5,000 “Repeat” Bonus from Firestone should he win the Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto. Junior Strous, who won both ends of the doubleheader at St. Petersburg, is the only driver to claim the award since it was instituted prior to the 2008 season.

Season to dateJunior Strous, J.R. Hildebrand, Sebastian Saavedra, Wade Cunningham, Mario Romancini and Ana Beatriz have won races. Strous swept the doubleheader at St. Petersburg, Hildebrand won at Long Beach and Watkins Glen, Saavedra won at Kansas and Toronto,Cunningham won at Indianapolis, Romancini won at Milwaukee and Beatriz won at Iowa.  At least six drivers who have previously won in Firestone Indy Lights – Ana Beatriz, Wade Cunningham, James Davison, J.R. Hildebrand, Mario Romancini and Sebastian Saavedra are expected to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Edmonton. Seventeen drivers have recorded top-five finishes. Twenty-two drivers have recorded top-10 finishes. James Davison is the only driver to finish every race this season.

Milestones:

Sebastian Saavedra claimed his second career win at Toronto, tying Ana Beatriz, Aaron Fike, Jay Howard, Hideki Mutoh and Junior Strous on the Firestone Indy Lights all-time victory list. Andretti Green Racing/AFS Racing won its eighth race at Toronto. Sebastian Saavedra claimed his second career pole at Toronto. James Davison has been running at the end of 15 consecutive races dating to 2008. The series record is 18 held by Nick Bussell. Wade Cunningham tied Thiago Medeiros’ series record of nine poles in a career at Indianapolis. Wade Cunningham became the series’ all-time lap leader after leading 103 laps at Iowa. Cunningham has led 693 in his career.

Weekend Schedule: (All times local)

Friday, July 247 a.m. – Garage opens9:30 – 10:30 a.m. – Firestone Indy Lights practice1:30 – 2:15 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights qualifying4 – 5 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights autograph session

Saturday, July 116:30 a.m. – Garage opens8 - 8:30 a.m. – Firestone Indy Lights warmup1:30 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto pre-race2 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto (50 laps/87.75 miles)