1.      Cunningham in for Conway at finale2.      INDYCAR Championship Celebration to be held Dec. 6 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway3.      Castroneves-Dixon duel for third place4.      RLL team to honor Roembke5.      Of note1. Cunningham in for Conway at finale: Wade Cunningham will replace Mike Conway in the No. 14 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing in the MAVTV INDYCAR World Championships at Auto Club Speedway on Sept. 15.Conway, who tested at the 2-mile oval Sept. 12, asked to sit out the 250-lap race.In 53 IZOD IndyCar Series races, Conway has one victory (Long Beach in 2011) and 13 top-10 finishes. This season, he had a best finish of third at Toronto after starting 11th. He qualified second at Baltimore but started 12th because of an unapproved engine change.After talking with Conway, team director Larry Foyt contacted Cunningham."Fortunately, Wade was available to drive for us, and we're looking forward to working with him again," Foyt said. "Mike's been a great asset to our team, and I'm disappointed that we can't finish out the season together. However, it took a lot of courage for Mike to come forward and we respect him highly for that and we certainly want to honor his decision."Cunningham, the 2005 Firestone Indy Lights champion who has three victories on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in the Firestone Freedom 100, made three IZOD IndyCar Series starts in 2011 and competed in his first Indianapolis 500 in May (started 26th and finished 31st; out with electrical issue) in an A.J. Foyt Racing car."I didn't get to do any racing at Indy and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to race again," Cunningham said. "I'm pleased that I must have done something right in May to get the phone call."We start behind the eight ball because the whole field has tested in the last two weeks. We just have to bring ourselves up to speed one step at a time and really just make smart gains. You have to have realistic expectations when you show up like this at the last minute."Cunningham received track time Sept. 13, with INDYCAR president of competition Beaux Barfield and IZOD IndyCar Series technical director Kevin Blanch observing."It's in everyone's best interest that (Cunningham) gets comfortable on the oval," Barfield said. "We have unlimited time today, so we'll watch him closely."The 28-year-old native of New Zealand, clinched the Firestone Indy Lights title with a victory at Auto Club Speedway (then California Speedway) after starting fifth. It was the first of his eight victories in the series.2. INDYCAR Championship Celebration to be held Dec. 6 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: The stars of the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights will cap off the 2012 season by celebrating at racing's most iconic location, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.The 2012 INDYCAR Championship Celebration will take place Dec. 6, in conjunction with the opening night of the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Pagoda Pavilion will serve as the venue for the awards ceremony, which will be followed by a reception in the famed Pagoda.With the Indianapolis Motor Speedway serving as the host of the pinnacle race in the IZOD IndyCar Series season, the excitement that comes along with this location is evident in all events that take place at the track."The celebration of our champions is something we look forward to every year," said Randy Bernard, CEO, INDYCAR. "It's a time to recognize and reflect on a great season, and fully show our appreciation for the efforts our drivers, teams and sponsors put forth throughout the year. We're excited to have the opportunity to host the banquet during IMIS so others within the motorsports industry can join in the festivities."  A limited amount of tickets will be available to the public for purchase, with details announced at a later date.The Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted the INDYCAR Championship Celebration in 2006 and 2007.3. Castroneves-Dixon duel for third place: Castroneves, who has two pole starts and has finished in the top 10 six times in eight starts at Auto Club Speedway from 1998-2005, is seeking to remain third in the final IZOD IndyCar Series standings.It would mark his best championship finish since 2008, when he was runner-up to Scott Dixon. Castroneves holds a one-point lead over Dixon entering the MAVTV 500 INDYCAR Championships at Auto Club Speedway.A podium finish in the 250-lap race would be the 70th of Castroneves' Indy car career (12th on the all-time list), and a second-place finish would be his 30th (tying Bobby Unser, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Jr.). Dixon also has 29."It is going to be very competitive out there and I'm excited to see how the championship plays out over the 500 miles," said Castroneves, driving the No. 3 Auto Club Team Penske car. "Our car has felt strong all year long thanks to my crew and Chevrolet and hopefully we can finish with an awesome race."4. RLL team to honor Roembke: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has competed in all 10 previous Indy car races at Auto Club Speedway (one victory by Jimmy Vasser in 2002, four podiums). The No. 15 entry for Takuma Sato will be the 20th Indy car entry for the team at the track.The team will honor Scott Roembke by placing decals with his initials on the race cars and by wearing black armbands at the IZOD IndyCar Series event and the American Le Mans Series event at Virginia International Raceway. The team COO died Sept. 9.5. Of note: The Firestone Firehawk tire spec selected for Auto Club Speedway is identical to the spec used for the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway in June. ... Oriol Servia will make his sixth start at Auto Club Speedway (two in Indy Lights). He clinched the 1999 Indy Lights championship at the track.***The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the MAVTV 500 on Sept. 15 at Auto Club Speedway. The race will be televised live at 7:30 p.m. (ET) by NBC Sports Network and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM (Sirius 212 and XM 94) and www.indycar.com. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is Sept. 15 at Auto Club Speedway. It will be televised by NBC Sports Network at 4 p.m. (ET) on Sept. 20.