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INDYCAR (RICHMOND) - PRE-RACE FACTS


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SCHEDULE (All times local; subject to change): Friday, June 29 8 a.m. IndyCar Series garage opens 11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. IndyCar Series practice #1 (two groups) 3:15 – 5:15 p.m. IndyCar Series practice #2 (two groups) 5:45 – 6:45 p.m. IndyCar Series autograph session 7:30 p.m. AAMCO Transmissions Pole Qualifying

Saturday, June 24 1 p.m. IndyCar Series garage opens 7:30 p.m. SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM (250 laps/187.5 miles), ESPN (Live)

THE TRACK: .75-mile paved D-shaped oval Frontstretch: 1,290 feet banked at 8 degrees Backstretch: 860 feet banked at 2 degrees Width: 60 feet Turns are banked at 14 degrees

• Richmond International Raceway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation. One of the most historic tracks in racing, Richmond is also one of the most popular among drivers and fans as it hosts two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races, two NASCAR Busch Series races, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series event, a USAC Silver Crown Series event and a USAC National Sprint Car Series race. Richmond International Raceway is the only track to hold all of its major events "under the lights."

INDY-STYLE RACING IN RICHMOND: Open-wheel racing made its debut in Richmond, Va., two years before NASCAR was founded. On Oct. 12, 1946, Ted Horn drove an open wheel Champ Car to victory on a dirt circuit which would later become Richmond International Raceway. Fifty-five years later, open-wheel cars returned to the current version of Richmond International Raceway, which had become one of the most popular stock car racing venues in the Southeast. Buddy Lazier captured the first SunTrust Indy Challenge at the .75-mile oval, the first IndyCar Series race held at a track shorter than one mile. Other race winners at Richmond include Sam Hornish Jr., Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Helio Castroneves.

INDYCAR SERIES NOTES: • Five Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in the SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005), Sam Hornish Jr. (2006) and Dario Franchitti (2007).

• Five IndyCar Series champions are scheduled to participate in the SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM: 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 SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM have combined for 80 IndyCar Series victories, 76 IndyCar Series pole positions and 1,167 IndyCar Series starts.

• SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM is the last of three short-oval races this season. Andretti Green Racing has won the previous two short-oval events. Tony Kanaan won on the 1-mile oval at The Milwaukee Mile and Dario Franchitti won on the .875-mile Iowa Speedway earlier this month.

• In eight races thus far in 2007, there have been five winners. Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon are the only multiple winners. Wheldon won Homestead-Miami and Kansas, Kanaan won at Twin Ring Motegi and Milwaukee and Franchitti won at Indianapolis and Iowa. Other winners in 2007: Helio Castroneves at St. Petersburg and Sam Hornish Jr. at Texas. In those eight races, 14 drivers have finished in the top five in at least one event.

INDYCAR SERIES STORY IDEAS: • Who’s the short-oval master?: Over the last three seasons, Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. have dominated the short ovals on the IndyCar Series schedule, garnering four wins (including the last two Richmond races), four poles and seven top-five finishes between them. However, Andretti Green Racing teammates Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti have won the last three short-oval events and Franchitti has finished in the top-three in the last two Richmond races. Can AGR continue its short-oval streak or will Penske regain its winning form?

• Franchitti in front: Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti leads the IndyCar Series point standings for the first time in his career, but with five drivers within 64 points of his lead, and four-straight races looming, the championship race could turn at any moment. Franchitti’s Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan trails by 51 points, while Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon are 52 and 54 points back, respectively. Team Penske’s Sam Hornish Jr (64 points back) and Helio Castroneves (80 back) remain in the mix.

• Meira searching for breakthrough win at Richmond: Panther Racing’s Vitor Meira could be the darkhorse driver at Richmond. Meira has scored two of his seven second-place finishes at Richmond International Raceway (2004 and 2006). If he wins at Richmond, Meira will follow in the footsteps of NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne by scoring a breakthrough win at Richmond International Raceway.

• The return of Sarah Fisher: After a stint in stock cars and only running three IndyCar Series races in the past three years, Sarah Fisher returns this season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. In 2002, Fisher became the first woman in North American motorsports to win the pole position for a major-league open-wheel race, earning the pole for the Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Fisher has competed three times at Richmond International Raceway, and qualified second twice. Find out how Fisher is handling her return to open-wheel racing.

• Ethanol Power: The 2007 IndyCar Series season marks the first year where the full field will be fueled by ethanol. All IndyCar Series competitors 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.

MILESTONES: • Dario Franchitti won his sixth IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway, tying Scott Dixon for seventh on IndyCar Series all-time victory list. • Dario Franchitti’s win at Iowa Speedway was Andretti Green Racing’s 27th IndyCar Series victory, extending its IndyCar Series record for most wins by an entrant. • Dan Wheldon has led 573 of 1,569 laps this season or 36.5 percent of all laps. Tony Kanaan holds the IndyCar Series record for most-laps led with 889 during the 2004 season. • Scott Dixon has been running at the finish of every IndyCar Series race since Chicagoland in September 2005, a span of 24 races – second most in IndyCar Series history. Tony Kanaan holds the record with 25 consecutive race finishes from 2004-2005. • Helio Castroneves has qualified in the top-10 in 24 consecutive races. Sam Hornish Jr. holds the record with 25 consecutive top-10 starts from 2001-2003. • Helio Castroneves became the third IndyCar Series driver to surpass $10,000,000 in career earnings following the Indianapolis 500. • Scott Sharp needs one win to earn his 10th IndyCar Series victory. • Scott Sharp can extend his series record for consecutive starts to 131 straight races at Richmond International Raceway • Scott Sharp needs to earn $129,588 to surpass $10,000,000 in career earnings. • Vitor Meira has gone 67 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.