ITAIPAVA SAO PAULO INDY 300 presented by NestleRace Broadcast Sunday, May 5 11 a.m. (ET) NBC Sports Network
Qualifying Broadcast Sunday, May 5 1 a.m. (ET) NBC Sports Network
Track Streets of Sao Paulo (11-turn, 2.536-mile temporary street circuit)
Distance 75 laps/190.2 miles
Radio IMS Radio Network XM 211/Sirius 211
2012 Race Winner Will Power
The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle will mark the IZOD IndyCar Series' fourth visit to South America. Indy car racing has been extremely popular in Brazil; CART hosted five races on a 1.864-mile oval in Rio de Janerio from 1996 to 2000. The Sao Paulo Indy 300 will feature three Brazilian drivers - Ana Beatriz, Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan. Can any of these drivers become the first Brazilian to find their way to Victory Lane in their home country?
Power looks for four in a row on streets of Sao Paulo
The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 is the fourth and final street/road event of the
IZOD IndyCar Series' first quarter. Will Power is the only driver to
win on the streets of Sao Paulo but hasn't found winner's circle since last year's race. Can Power break his winless drought and see the checkered flag first again in 2013?
Castroneves looks to continue points haul
With podium finishes in two of the first three races, Helio Castroneves leads the IZOD IndyCar Series standings. Can Castroneves continue his strong start to the 2013 season and build upon his points lead by scoring a popular home win in Sao Paulo?
Hunter-Reay seeks first Brazil win
2012 IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay has had success in Brazil, finishing second in 2010 and 2012 in Sao Paulo. Hunter-Reay has already won in 2013. Can claim win No. 2 on the challenging street circuit?
Dixon off to another strong start
Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon has staked an early claim to the 2013 crown. The New Zealand native has two top-five finishes in the first three races of the season, including his fourth consecutive second-place finish at Barber on April 7. Can Dixon continue his strong start and take his first victory at Sao Paulo?
Is luck changing for resurgent Andretti?
Offseason focus paid off in a podium finish for Marco Andretti, who is off to the best start of his career. Andretti has posted three straight top-10 finishes for only the third time and sits fourth in the standings. Can Andretti continue his strong start and add a win in Brazil?
Keep an eye on Simona
A strong sixth place at St. Petersburg showed that Simona de Silvestro is ready to have a breakout season. The Swiss driver looked poised to make a podium finish in her KV Racing Technology debut before fading to sixth. Can the Swiss Missile hit the target at Sao Paulo and become the third first-time winner in the first four races of 2013?
Can Sato make it two in a row?Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver to win an Indy car race when he won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Now he aims to win again at the track where he led his first laps and scored his first podium finish - Sao Paulo. Sato drove from 25th to third last season and led 23 laps in 2011. Can he take A.J. Foyt Racing to another win?Hinchcliffe looks to rebound James Hinchcliffe started the IZOD IndyCar Series season by scoring his first Indy car win in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The former Sunoco Rookie of the Year returns to Sao Paulo, where he has recorded back-to-back top 10s. Can Hinchcliffe bounce back from disappointment at Long Beach and score another strong finish?Vautier impresses with Schmidt Peterson MotorsportsRookie Tristan Vautier has shown he will be a force to be reckoned with in the IZOD IndyCar Series. The 2012 Firestone Indy Lights champion scored his first top-10 finish at Barber and has qualified in the Firestone Fast Six in his first two starts. With Honda powering his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car, could the fast Frenchman be the dark horse this weekend?Rising stars seek breakthrough winJames Hinchcliffe claimed his first Indy car win at St. Petersburg and Charlie Kimball knocked on the door at Barber, showing that several more rising stars are looking to add their names to the win column. JR Hildebrand, Simon Pagenaud and Simona de Silvestro have built strong fan followings with their performances on and off the track, but each is looking for their first win in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Can one of the young stars break through at Sao Paulo?Race Notes:The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle will be the fourth INDYCAR-sanctioned event conducted on the streets of Sao Paulo. Will Power is the only driver to win in Sao Paulo, winning the race from 2010-2012. Power and Dario Franchitti are the only drivers to win pole position. Franchitti won in 2010. Power won in 2011-12. Both are entered in this year's race.Twenty-four (24) drivers entered in the event have competed in Indy car races at Sao Paulo. Seven (7) of those drivers have led laps: Will Power 99, Dario Franchitti 30, Takuma Sato 23, Ryan Hunter-Reay 20, Scott Dixon 8, Simona de Silvestro 4, James Hinchcliffe 1.One driver will compete in their first IZOD IndyCar Series race at Sao Paulo: Tristan Vautier.Season to Date: James Hinchcliffe won the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. It was the first win of his Indy car career. He was the 207th driver to win an Indy car race. Will Power won his 30th career Indy car pole at St. Petersburg. Tristan Vautier started his first career IZOD IndyCar Series race at St. Petersburg. Ryan Hunter-Reay won his 10th Indy car race when he won the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park from the pole position. It was the second time he had won a race from pole. Takuma Sato won his first Indy car race when he won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He was the 208th driver to win an Indy car race and first Japanese driver to win. It was A.J. Foyt's first win as a car owner since 2002. Dario Franchitti won his 30th career Indy car pole at Long Beach. There were four race leaders and four lead changes in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg. There were four race leaders and six lead changes at Barber.
Milestones & Records: Should Dario Franchitti win the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series championship, he will join A.J. Foyt as the only drivers to win five Indy car titles in their career. Franchitti won the title in 2007 and again from 2009-2011. Foyt won seven championships in his career. With their next victory, either Dario Franchitti or Sebastien Bourdais will move into sole possession of seventh place on the all-time wins list. Franchitti and Bourdais are tied with Paul Tracy with 31 wins. With a victory in 2013, Scott Dixon will extend his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to nine. With his next victory, Scott Dixon will move into sole possession of ninth place (9th) on the all-time wins list. Dixon won his 29th race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 5, 2012, to tie Rick Mears for 10th place on the all-time wins list. With his next victory, Helio Castroneves will move into sole possession of 11th place on the all-time wins list. Castroneves, who won his 27th race at Edmonton City Centre on July 22, 2012, tied Johnny Rutherford for 12th with the victory. Helio Castroneves needs three earned poles to reach 40 career poles in his Indy car career. Will Power recorded the 30th pole of his Indy car career at St. Petersburg. Dario Franchitti recorded the 30th pole of his Indy car career at Long Beach. Scott Dixon needs two earned poles to reach 20 in his Indy car career. With one pole in 2012, Scott Dixon will extend his IZOD IndyCar Series streak to seven consecutive seasons. Scott Dixon's second-place finish at Barber was the 30th of his Indy car career. It tied Helio Castroneves, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Jr., and Bobby Unser for fifth on the all-time list. Helio Castroneves recorded his 108th top-five finish to pass Tony Kanaan and Gordon Johncock for 10th on the all-time list. Scott Dixon recorded the 100th top-five finish of his Indy car career at Barber Motorsports Park. Tony Kanaan will attempt to make his 200th consecutive start. Jimmy Vasser holds the all-time record of 211. Scott Dixon with 141 straight starts and Marco Andretti with 117 straight starts are the only other active driver with a streak of more than 100 consecutive starts. Ryan Hunter-Reay needs eight (8) starts to mark 100th consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series starts.At-Track Schedule (all times local):Saturday, May 48:30-9:45 a.m. IZOD IndyCar Series practice (outside top 10: 8:30-9 a.m.; all cars: 9-9:45 a.m.)12:05-1:05 p.m. IZOD IndyCar Series practice (All cars)2:35 -3:45 p.m. IZOD IndyCar Series Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award(Knockout qualifying & Firestone Fast Six format)Sunday, May 58-8:30 a.m. IZOD IndyCar Series Warmup11:50 a.m. IZOD IndyCar Series Pre-Race12:30 p.m. Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle (75 laps/190.2 miles)NBC Sports Network (Live)***The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season continues with the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on Sunday, May 5 on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The race will be televised live at 11 a.m. (ET) by the NBC Sports Network (Verizon FiOS 90/590, DirecTV 220, DISH 159 and AT&T UVerse 640) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211 and www.indycar.com. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Firestone Freedom 100 on Friday, May 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be broadcast by NBC Sports Network live, during the network's coverage of Carb Day.
