IZOD INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES DOWN IN H-TOWN

Race 1 Broadcast

Saturday, Oct.5

3 p.m. (ET)

NBCSN

Race 2 Broadcast

Sunday, Oct. 6

1 p.m. (ET)

NBCSN

Qualifying Broadcast

Friday, Oct. 4

7 p.m. (ET)

NBCSN

Track M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Speedway at Reliant Park

(10-turn, 1.683-mile street circuit)

Distance 90 laps/153 miles (Each race)

Radio IMS Radio Network (XM 211/Sirius 211)

2012 Race Winner Returning event (Sebastien Bourdais won last race in 2007)

2012 Pole Sitter Returning event (Will Power won last polein 2007)

Track Record Will Power(57.405, 105.545 mph) April 2007

First Indy car Race 5/12/2006

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 49-point advantage into the IZOD IndyCar Series' second stop in the Lone Star State - the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston. Castroneves has recorded 12 consecutive top-10 finishes and has completed every lap of every race in 2013. Will he be able to further extend his advantage in Houston

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. Three wins in a row at Pocono Raceway and the Streets of Toronto propelled Dixon to second place in the championship standings. The New Zealander will be looking for his fourth win of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season, while Hunter-Reay, the reigning series champion, won at Barber Motorsports and Milwaukee. Can either driver rebound by winning on the final street circuit of 2013?

Bourdais hopes to stay undefeated in Houston

Six drivers have competed previously at Reliant Park, but only one driver came away with the race wins. Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais won the Champ Car races at Reliant Park in 2006 and 2007. Can he use his knowledge of the track to score Dragon Racing's first win and stay undefeated in Houston?

IZOD IndyCar Series prepares to double down in H-Town

The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston will mark the final doubleheader on the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule. The 90-lap races Saturday and Sunday on the 1.683-mile temporary street circuit will pose a unique challenge for IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and teams. Who will be crowned Houston's king of the streets?

Standing starts return for first race in Houston

The IZOD IndyCar Series will conduct a standing start in the first race of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader. In Race 2 at Toronto, pole sitter Scott Dixon had a clean getaway and went on to complete his doubleheader sweep. How will the standing start go in Houston?

Will anyone have a SONAX Perfect Finish?

SONAX, the official automobile detail partner of INDYCAR, will offer a $50,000 bonus to any driver who can sweep the races at Reliant Park. Scott Dixon claimed a $100,000 bonus at Toronto, Can anyone have a Perfect Finish in Houston?

Manufacturer's title still up for grabs

The tight competition of the IZOD IndyCar Series isn't exclusive to the drivers' championship. Chevrolet and Honda are tied in the manufacturer standings with three races left. Honda took its eighth win at Baltimore. Who will get the upper hand in Houston?

Race Notes:• The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston will be the third Indy car race at Reliant Park and the first since 2007. Sebastien Bourdais won both races. Will Power won the pole in Houston in 2007. • Six drivers entered in the event - Sebastien Bourdais, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Graham Rahal, Oriol Servia and Justin Wilson - have race previously at Reliant Park. • Houston hosted Champ Car racing from 1998-2001 at a 1.527-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Houston. Dario Franchitti won the first race. Paul Tracy (1999), Jimmy Vasser (2000) and Gil de Ferran (2001) won the other races. Oriol Servia is the only driver entered who raced at both circuits.• Firestone tires for Houston: Street course primary and alternate specifications previously used this season at St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Detroit, Toronto and Baltimore. Each entry receives nine sets of primary (black-sidewall) Firehawks and three sets of alternate (red-sidewall) Firehawks for the race weekend.• The primary tires for all four Andretti Autosport entries will feature pink sidewalls to help the team in its breast cancer awareness initiative.

Championship Facts:• Helio Castroneves leads the IZOD IndyCar Series championship with three races to go for the third time in his career. Castroneves - who led with three to go in 2003 and 2006 - has been in contention for the series title in four of the last five years.• Castroneves leads Scott Dixon by 49 points - his largest lead of the season. • There are 10 drivers eligible for the IZOD IndyCar Series championship. Any driver who trails the leader by 49 points or more following the Houston doubleheader will be eliminated from contention.• Three drivers were eliminated from championship contention at Baltimore - including 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan.Season to Date:• Simon Pagenaud won for the second time in his Indy car career when he won the Grand Prix of Baltimore.• 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 earned the 20th pole position of his Indy car career when he won the Verizon P1 Award at Baltimore. Dixon tied Gordon Johncock for 14th all-time.• 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 213th consecutive start extending his all-time record. Scott Dixon with 154 straight starts (sixth all-time), Marco Andretti with 130 straight starts (tied for 12th all-time) and Ryan Hunter-Reay with 105 straight starts (21st all-time) are the only other active driver with a streak of 100 consecutive starts or more.• Helio Castroneves is the active leader in starts with 274, which is eighth on the all-time list.• Tony Kanaan has 273 starts, which is ninth on the all-time list.• Dario Franchitti will tie Bobby Rahal for 10th all-time should he start Race 1 in Houston. Franchitti has 263 starts.• Will Power led 31 laps at Baltimore to surpass 1,800 laps led in his Indy car career. Power has led 1,815 laps in his career.

At-Track Schedule (all times local):Friday, Oct. 410:30 a.m. - Noon - IZOD IndyCar Series practice 1 (all cars)3:05 - 4:15 p.m. - Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston qualifying for Verizon P1 Award (Race 1). (Knockout qualifying/Firestone Fast Six), NBCSN (Taped, 7 p.m. ET)

Saturday, Oct. 510:45-11:15 a.m. - Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston qualifying for Verizon P1 Award (Race 2). (Two Groups).2:33 p.m. - Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Race 1 (90 laps/153 miles), NBCSN (Live).

Sunday, Oct. 68:45- 9:15 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series warmup12:33 p.m. - Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Race 2 (90 laps/153 miles), NBCSN (Live)