INDYCAR (INDIANAPOLIS) - SERIES NEWS AND NOTES (April 23)

1. Kansas Lottery Indy 300 Fast Facts

2. Kanaan, AGR back in the game

3. Kansas Citians can fill up with ethanol-enriched gasoline for $2.14 on Thursday

4. Drivers reap rewards from Indy Japan 300

1. Kansas Lottery Indy 300 Fast Facts:

WHAT: Kansas Lottery Indy 300, fourth race in 17-race 2007 season

WHERE: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile asphalt tri-oval

WHEN: 4:30 p.m. (ET), Sunday, April 29

DISTANCE: 200 laps/300 miles

POSTED AWARDS: More than $1 million

CARS: Dallara chassis; Honda Indy V-8; Firestone tires; 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol

PAST RACE WINNERS: Sam Hornish Jr. (2006), Tony Kanaan (2005), Buddy Rice (2004), Bryan Herta (2003), Airton Dare (2002), Eddie Cheever (2001)

2006 SERIES CHAMPION: Sam Hornish Jr.

TV: Race: ESPN2 (live), 4:30 p.m. (EDT), April 29 Talent: Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, (announcers); Jack Arute, Brienne Pedigo and Vince Welch (pit reporters)

RADIO: Qualifying webcast: 4 p.m. (EDT), April 28, www.indycar.com Qualifying wrapup: IMS Radio Network, 5:30 p.m. (EDT), April 28 Pre-race: IMS Radio Network (live), 4 p.m. (EDT), April 29 Race: IMS Radio Network (live), 4:30 p.m. (EDT), April 29 Talent: Mike King (host); Davey Hamilton (analyst); Dave Wilson (color commentary); Mark Jaynes (turns); Bob Jenkins, Kevin Lee (pit reporters); Kevin Olson (special assignments) Live coverage of the race also will be available at www.indycar.com. The race broadcast is also available on XM Satellite Radio channel 144 “XM Sports Nation” and XM Radio Channel 145 “IndyCar Racing.”

SCHEDULE (All times local; subject to change):

Saturday, April 28 7 a.m. IndyCar Series garage opens 9 – 11 a.m. IndyCar Series practice (two groups) 11:20 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. IndyCar Series practice (two groups) 3:15 p.m. IndyCar Series Pole Qualifying

Sunday, April 29 8 a.m. IndyCar Series garage opens 3:30 p.m. Kansas Lottery Indy 300 (200 laps/300 miles), ESPN2 (Live)

THE TRACK: 1.5-mile tri-oval Frontstretch: 2,685 feet banked at 10.4 degrees Backstretch: 2,207 feet banked at 5 degrees Width: 55 feet Turns are banked at 15 degrees

Kansas Speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation. Ground was broken on Kansas Speedway on May 25, 1999, five days before the 83rd Indianapolis 500. The speedway is the largest tourist attraction in the state of Kansas with 80,187 grandstand seats and 68 luxury suites. About 11 million cubic yards of dirt were moved during construction. That is equal to 1 million dump truck loads or enough to fill an NFL stadium five times. To equal the amount of storm pipe used in the speedway, the Sears Tower in Chicago would be laid end to end 45 times.

INDY-STYLE RACING IN KANSAS:

The Kansas City area boasts a racing history which dates to the end of World War II, when military personnel trained in building war planes incorporated their skills into building race cars. Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion A.J. Foyt claimed his first USAC racing victory at a midget race in Kansas City, Mo., in 1957. Major-league open-wheel racing made its debut in the Kansas City area with the opening of Kansas Speedway in 2001. The track played host to its first IndyCar Series event in July 2001 with Eddie Cheever Jr. claiming victory in the inaugural event.

INDYCAR SERIES NOTES: •Four Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in the Kansas Lottery Indy 300: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005) and Sam Hornish Jr. (2006).

•Five IndyCar Series champions are scheduled to participate in the Kansas Lottery Indy 300: Scott Sharp (1996 co-champion), Sam Hornish Jr. (2001, 2002, 2006), Scott Dixon (2003), Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005).

•Drivers entered in the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 as of April 23 have combined for 75 IndyCar Series victories, 70 pole positions and 1,063 starts.

•The Kansas Lottery Indy 300 will be the seventh IndyCar Series event conducted at Kansas Speedway. Eddie Cheever Jr. was the inaugural winner in 2001. Three of the six previous winners at Kansas are expected to compete in the Kansas Lottery Indy 300: Buddy Rice (2004), Tony Kanaan (2005) and Sam Hornish Jr (2006).

•The Kansas Lottery Indy 300 will be the fourth of six events in 2006 contested on a 1.5-mile track. Winners in 2007 on 1.5-mile tracks: Dan Wheldon (Homestead-Miami Speedway), Helio Castroneves (Twin Ring Motegi and Texas Motor Speedway). Other events on 1.5-mile tracks in 2007 include: Kentucky Speedway (Aug. 13) and Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 10).

INDYCAR SERIES STORY IDEAS: Kansas Serves as a Warm Up for the Indianapolis 500 This season, the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 will serve as the lead-in event to the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500. Find out what teams will learn at Kansas Speedway to prepare for the Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Three races, three winners 2007 could be one of the most competitive IndyCar Series seasons to date with three winners in as many events heading into Kansas. Dan Wheldon, who won the season opening-race, leads Motegi winner Tony Kanaan by three points, with Scott Dixon six points back. St. Petersburg winner Helio Castroneves is 17 points behind Wheldon.

100 Percent Fuel-Grade Ethanol During the Kansas Lottery Indy 300, all IndyCar Series competitors will employ the 3.5-liter Honda Indy V-8 engine fueled by 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. The IndyCar Series is the first in motorsports to embrace a renewable fuel source. Ethanol is an environmentally-friendly fuel, distilled from high-starch crops (primarily corn) grown in the United States. During his State of the Union address in January, President Bush emphasized the need for a significant increase in ethanol production to secure America’s energy security. The transition to 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in the 650 horsepower Honda engines has been seamless. Learn about the changes and how the IndyCar Series is helping promote the message of renewable fuels.

AJ Foyt’s 50th Anniversary in Indy Car Racing The 2007 IndyCar Series season marks four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt’s 50th year of participation in Indy car racing. Foyt made his Indy car racing debut in 1957 and retired in 1993. During that time, Foyt collected seven national championships, 67 wins and 53 pole positions. Foyt currently owns A.J. Foyt Racing, which has captured two IndyCar Series championships and one Indy 500 win. Foyt scored his first USAC victory at Olympic Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

The Return of Sarah Fisher After a two-year absence to pursue other forms of racing, Sarah Fisher returns to IndyCar Series competition driving the No. 5 Honda-powered Dallara for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Fisher was the first woman in North American motorsports history to win the pole position for a major-league open-wheel race. She also has scored the highest finishing position of any woman in IndyCar Series history by finishing second at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2001. Fisher is a teammate to Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indianapolis 500 and Kansas Indy 300 winner, and her fiancé Andy O’Gara serves as her chief mechanic.

Darren Manning Rebounds With Foyt Racing After leaving Target Chip Ganassi Racing during the middle of the 2005 season, Englishman Darren Manning became somewhat of a journeyman racer. Now it appears Manning has found a home at A.J. Foyt Racing. The unique pairing has produced the team’s best results in several years, with Manning qualifying fifth on the streets of St. Petersburg and holding his own in the top five for a majority of the race. The performance has won praise from his peers. After the race, 2004 IndyCar Series champion and third-place finisher Tony Kanaan remarked: “I got to tell you, he needs a trophy (for the race he drove). He should've won a trophy."

Continuity Leads Vision Racing’s Charge Vision Racing expanded its lineup to a three-car team with drivers Ed Carpenter, A.J. Foyt IV and Tomas Scheckter. Vision Racing engineer David Cripps pinpoints a reason – maybe the reason -- the third-year IndyCar Series team is poised to consistently join the front-runners: Continuity. During the season opener on the oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Carpenter finished sixth, Scheckter finished eighth while Foyt was relegated to an 18th-place finish after an incident with Jeff Simmons. "We have a great team going here," said Carpenter. "Toward the end of last season we started coming on, but over the course of the season we needed a little more consistency. That's what we're starting to see out of us now.” Scheckter won the pole position for the 2002 race at Kansas Speedway – one of three in his rookie season.

MILESTONES: • Tony Kanaan won his eighth IndyCar Series race at Twin Ring Motegi, tying him with Buddy Lazier for fourth on the series’ all-time victory list. With one more victory he will tie Scott Sharp for third. • Kanaan’s win was Andretti Green Racing’s 24th in the IndyCar Series – tying Team Penske for the most of any IndyCar Series team. • Helio Castroneves extended his record for career pole positions (18) with his IndyCar Series Pole Award at St. Petersburg. • Sam Hornish Jr. can tie the record that Helio Castroneves and Scott Sharp share for most consecutive seasons with at least one win should he win the Kansas Lottery Indy 300. Sharp claimed at least one win from 1997-2003 while Castroneves has won in every season since 2001. • Scott Sharp needs one win to earn his 10th IndyCar Series victory and Sharp will attempt to extend his series record for consecutive starts to 125 straight races. • Vitor Meira has gone 62 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver. • Three women, Milka Duno, Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick, will attempt to qualify for the Kansas Lottery Indy 300, the first time that more than two women have entered an IndyCar Series event.

*** 2. Kanaan, AGR back in the game: Tony Kanaan emerged from the Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi satisfied with his contributions to the engine manufacturer’s IndyCar Series program.

The longtime Andretti Green Racing driver gave Honda its initial series victory (2003 at Phoenix), pole (’03 season opener at Homestead), series championship (’04) and Indianapolis 500 pole (’05).

So as Kanaan toured the eclectic displays of racing history interspersed with lawn mowers, he was drawn to the Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone that resides directly across a Formula One car driven by his idol Ayrton Senna.

“I sat there for a little bit and I kept looking at it. I looked his car, I looked my car. I’m like, ‘Yeah,’ ’’ Kanaan said.

Maybe there was a measure of inspiration derived from the visit, or at least a resolve to fill the gap in his Honda resume – winning the Indy Japan 300. Whatever, the veteran’s fuel strategy proved decisive in winning the fifth annual race on the challenging 1.5-mile oval.

“It definitely feels very good,” said Kanaan, who flew past the finish line 0.4828 of a second in front of Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dan Wheldon. “The best way to thank Honda, the Honda family, is winning. That’s all they want to do.”

Kanaan’s victory was the first for any of the four Andretti Green Racing cars on a 1.5-mile oval since he took the checkers at Kansas Speedway in 2005. Results on the six 1.5-mile tracks last season didn’t set well with the team, which – like Honda – only wants to win. The four drivers combined for four top-five finishes, with Kanaan the pacesetter with three.

So there was a period of off-season soul-searching among the competitors, engineers and respective crews looking at what was missing on those handling tracks. Answers began to appear during the Open Test on the Homestead oval in February, which elevated the mood of the entire operation.

In two oval events this season, Kanaan and Dario Franchitti have combined for four top-10 results. Franchitti finished third at Twin Ring Motegi. Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick haven’t caught up yet, but the mood of the team remains optimistic.

“This was a very important win for the entire Andretti Green Racing team,” said Kanaan, who has won at least one race in five consecutive seasons and sits three points behind Wheldon, the leader in the championship standings. “Ganassi and Penske have been so strong on the one-and-a-half-mile tracks for the past year or so, while it was an area were we had to make some improvements. Our team worked very hard over the winter to improve our performance on the big tracks like Motegi, and that makes this win very sweet for us.”

Now it’s on to another 1.5-mile track – Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 on April 29. AGR will be ready. ***

3. Kansas Citians can fill up with ethanol-enriched gasoline for $2.14 on Thursday: Kansas City consumers can follow in the footsteps of the IndyCar Series and make a choice at the pump for energy independence and cleaner air. E10, a blend of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol, will be available for $2.14, the pole qualifying speed (mph) for last year’s Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway, on Thursday, April 26 at two Snappy Store locations in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.

E10 is warranted for use in any vehicle built after 1980. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline and can only be used in Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV’s). There are more than 6 million FFV’s on the road today.

No. 17 Team Ethanol driver Jeff Simmons will sign autographs and be available for interviews from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. at 1509 W. 12th St. in Kansas City. Photo opportunities are also available with the IndyCar Series show car at the event.

The discounted fuel also will be available from 3-4 p.m. at the Snappy Store at 9715 Kaw Drive in Edwardsville, Kansas.

The Kansas Lottery Indy 300 is April 29 at Kansas Speedway. All the race vehicles in the IndyCar Series are fueled with 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. ***

4. Drivers reap rewards from Indy Japan 300: Tony Kanaan reaped the benefits from winning an IndyCar Series event.

As the Indy Japan 300 race winner, Kanaan was presented a Forum timepiece from Ritmo Mundo, the official timepiece of the IndyCar Series. Ritmo Mundo presents a timepiece to the winner of each IndyCar Series event in 2007 and a $100,000 timepiece to the IndyCar Series champion.

Helio Castroneves collected the IndyCar Series Pole Award and its $10,000 prize for the second straight event, while Dan Wheldon won the Firestone Performance Award and its $10,000 prize for leading Lap 137 of the race. Scott Dixon claimed the Lincoln Electric Hard Charger Award and its $2,000 prize for being the race leader who started furthest back. ***

The 2007 IndyCar Series season continues with the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on April 29. The race will be telecast live by ESPN2 and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPN Deportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com. The sixth season of Indy Pro Series competition continues with the Freedom 100 on May 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast as part of ESPN2’s coverage of Carb Day at 4 p.m. on May 25.