IZOD INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP QUEST RETURNS TO CHARM CITY

Race Broadcast Sunday, Sept. 1 2 p.m. (ET) NBC Sports Network

Qualifying Broadcast Saturday, Aug. 31 6 p.m. (ET) NBC Sports Network

Track Streets of Baltimore (12-turn, 2.04-mile street circuit) Distance 75 laps/153 miles

Radio IMS Radio Network XM 211/Sirius 211

2012 Race Winner Ryan Hunter-Reay

2012 Pole Sitter Will Power (1:17.9750, 94.184 mph)

Track Record Will Power (1:17.5921, 94.649 mph) September 2012

Castroneves aims to keep championship lead

Helio Castroneves took control of the IZOD IndyCar Series standings with his victory at Texas Motor Speedway in early June and carries a 39-point advantage into the Grand Prix of Baltimore. Castroneves, who has recorded 11 consecutive top-10 finishes, seeks his first victory in Baltimore. Will he able further extend his advantage in Baltimore?

Kanaan to become Indy car Ironman

INDYCAR's ironman is a fitting moniker for Tony Kanaan. Not only is the Indianapolis 500 winner a triathlete who has competed in the Ironman triathlon, but Kanaan will break Jimmy Vasser's record for consecutive starts in Baltimore. Coincidentally, Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record at Camden Yards, which is part of the Baltimore Grand Prix circuit.

Wilson brothers team up at Dale Coyne Racing

When Stefan Wilson joins his older brother Justin at Dale Coyne Racing at Baltimore, it will mark the first time that brothers will compete as teammates in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Among the famous brothers who have raced against each other are: Bobby and Al Unser, who raced in USAC and CART events in the 1960s and '70s, Michael and Jeff Andretti, who raced in the early 1990s, Mike and Robbie Groff competed against each other at Walt Disney World Speedway in 1998 but not on the same team and Jaques and Buddy Lazier competed against each other in races from 1999-2006.

Can Dixon, Hunter-Reay get back in contention?

Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay and Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon have been among the front runners all season, but both find themselves losing ground to Helio Castroneves. Finishing first at Pocono Raceway and the Streets of Toronto all in a row has secured Dixon second place in the championship points standing. The New Zealander will be looking for his fourth win of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar series season, while Hunter-Reay, who won at Barber Motorsports and Milwaukee, will try to defend his 2012 race win.

IZOD IndyCar Series returns to Charm City

The IZOD IndyCar Series will return to the streets of Baltimore using a street circuit that incorporates many of the city's most popular attractions. Among the landmarks incorporated into the 2-mile, 12-turn track are Pratt Street, the scenic Inner Harbor area and Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Andretti family legacy

The Andretti name has been a major part of auto racing history and the latest generation of the famed family hopes to make his own history at Baltimore, near the family's base in Nazareth, Pa. Can Marco Andretti score another win at the track for his father, Michael, whose Andretti Sports Marketing helps promote the event.

Manufacturer's title still up for grabs

The tight competition of the IZOD IndyCar Series isn't exclusive to the drivers' championship. Chevrolet leads Honda by three points in the manufacturer standings with four races left. Chevrolet, which took its eighth win at Sonoma, won the Grand Prix of Baltimore in 2012 with Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport. Who will get the upper hand in Baltimore?

Race Notes:

• The Grand Prix of Baltimore will be the third Indy car race on the streets of Baltimore. Ryan Hunter-Reay is the defending race winner. Will Power is the defending pole winner.

• Three drivers entered in the event - Luca Filippi, Tristan Vautier and Stefan Wilson will make their first attempt to start an IZOD IndyCar Series race at Baltimore. Vautier and Wilson competed on the track in Firestone Indy Lights.

• Ryan Hunter-Reay and Will Power are the only drivers to win at Baltimore. Both are entered in the event.

• Will Power is the only driver to win the pole position at Baltimore. Power won from pole in 2011.

Championship Facts:

• Helio Castroneves leads the IZOD IndyCar Series championship with four races to go for the first time in his career. Castroneves has been in contention for the series title in four of the last five years.

• Castroneves leads Scott Dixon by 39 points - matching his largest lead of the season. He also led Ryan Hunter-Reay by 39 points following Toronto1.

• There are 13 drivers mathematically eligible for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series championship. Any driver who trails the leader by 163 points or more following Baltimore will be eliminated from contention.

• Seven drivers were eliminated from championship contention at Sonoma.

• This is the third event at Baltimore. Defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay also won the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series championship.

Season to Date:

• Will Power won his 19th Indy car race in the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. It was his third win in four years at Sonoma.

• Charlie Kimball won his first Indy car race in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. He was the 210th driver to win an Indy car race and the fourth first-time winner in 2013.

• Scott Dixon swept the Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader to become the active leader in wins. The wins were his 31st and 32nd of his Indy car career.

• Scott Dixon led the first podium sweep for Chip Ganassi Racing when he won the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco. It was his first win of 2013 and the 30th of his Indy car career.

• Marco Andretti won his second pole position of 2013 at Pocono. It was his fourth career pole position.

• James Hinchcliffe won the Iowa Corn Indy 250. It was his third win of 2013 and the fourth straight win at Iowa for Andretti Autosport. Helio Castroneves won qualifying heat No. 3 to secure his first pole of the season.

• Ryan Hunter-Reay won the Milwaukee IndyFest for the second consecutive year. It was Hunter-Reay's second win of 2013 and the fourth for Andretti Autosport.

• Helio Castroneves won his 28th Indy car race in the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway.

• Will Power won his 31st career Indy car pole at Texas.

• Mike Conway and Simon Pagenaud split the wins in the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit. It was Conway's second Indy car win and Pagenaud's first Indy car victory.

• Tony Kanaan won the 97th Indianapolis 500 to record his 16th Indy car victory.

• Ed Carpenter won his first pole position since 2010 at Kentucky when he won the pole for the 97th Indianapolis 500.

• There were a race-record 14 leaders and race-record 68 lead changes at Indianapolis.

• James Hinchcliffe won the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 with a last-lap, last-turn pass of Takuma Sato. It was his second win of 2013 and the third win in four races for Andretti Autosport.

• Takuma Sato won his first Indy car race in 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.

• Ryan Hunter-Reay won his 10th Indy car race in 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.

• 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.

• James Davison and Luca Filippi made their first career IZOD IndyCar Series starts at Mid-Ohio

• Lucas Luhr started his first career IZOD IndyCar Series race at Sonoma.

Milestones & Records:

• Should Dario Franchitti win the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series championship, he will join A.J. Foyt as the only drivers to win at least 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.

• Scott Dixon moved into sole possession of seventh place on the all-time wins list with his wins at Toronto's Exhibition Place. Dixon won his 31st and 32nd race to pass Sebastien Bourdais, Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy.

• With their next victory, either Dario Franchitti or Sebastien Bourdais will move into a tie for seventh place with Scott Dixon on the all-time wins list if Dixon does not win before they do. Franchitti and Bourdais are tied with Paul Tracy with 31 wins for eighth.

• Scott Dixon extended his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to nine with his win at Pocono Raceway.

• Helio Castroneves moved into sole possession of 11th place on the all-time victory list with his win at Texas Motor Speedway on June 8. Castroneves won his 28th race to break a tie with Johnny Rutherford.

• Helio Castroneves needs two earned poles to reach 40 in his Indy car career after he won the Verizon P1 Award at Iowa Speedway.

• Will Power recorded the 30th pole of his Indy car career at St. Petersburg and his 31st pole position at Texas.

• Dario Franchitti recorded the 33rd pole of his Indy car career at Sonoma, which gave him sole possession of sixth on the all-time list.

• Scott Dixon needs one earned pole to reach 20 in his Indy car career.

• With his pole at Toronto 2, Scott Dixon extended his IZOD IndyCar Series streak to eight 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.

• Dario Franchitti is the active leader in top-five finishes with 119, which tied Bobby Rahal for sixth on the all-time list. Franchitti finished third at Sonoma.

• Helio Castroneves tied Rick Mears for ninth on the all-time list by recording the 111th top-five finish of his Indy car career at Toronto 2.

• Tony Kanaan will attempt to make his 212th consecutive start, which will break Jimmy Vasser's all-time record of 211. Scott Dixon with 153 straight starts, Marco Andretti with 129 straight starts and Ryan Hunter-Reay with 104 straight starts are the only other active driver with a streak of 100 consecutive starts or more.

At-Track Schedule (all times local):

Friday, Aug. 30

10:10-10:55 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series practice #1 (all cars)

2:30 -3:15 p.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series practice #2 (all cars)

Saturday, Aug. 31

9:05-9:50 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series practice #3 (all cars)

Noon - 1:10 p.m. - Grand Prix of Baltimore qualifying for Verizon P1 Award. (Knockout qualifying/Firestone Fast Six), NBC Sports Network (Delayed, 6 p.m. ET)

Sunday, Sept 1

10:15- 10:45 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series warmup

2:33 p.m. - Grand Prix of Baltimore (75 laps/153 miles), NBC Sports Network (Live)