INDYCAR (INDIANAPOLIS) - SERIES NOTES

IndyCar Series announces fall test at Iowa Speedway Rice to race for A1 Team USA at Zandvoort

1. IndyCar Series announces fall test at Iowa Speedway: IndyCar® Series officials announced the series will conduct a technical test at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on Oct. 3-4. Drivers from Andretti Green Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske will work with series officials to refine the aerodynamic package currently used at the .875-mile oval. The IndyCar Series held its inaugural race at Iowa Speedway in June with eventual series champion Dario Franchitti claiming victory by .0681 of a second over teammate Marco Andretti. “While we are quite pleased with the results from our first visit to Iowa, we want to take time this off-season to look at our current areo-package for this track,” said Brian Barnhart, president of the competition and operations division of the Indy Racing League, sanctioning body of the IndyCar Series. “Iowa Speedway is like nothing else currently on our circuit. It combines the characteristics of a short oval with those of a banked superspeedway. We want to make sure we’re providing the best possible on-track product for our drivers and our fans when we return to Iowa Speedway next season.” The IndyCar Series is scheduled to return to Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 June 22, 2008. Iowa Speedway President Stan Clement said the partnership with the Indy Racing League and the Iowa Corn Growers Association is a natural. “Anyone who watched this year’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway – and people all over the world did – saw a world-class race at a world-class facility,” he said. “If you live in Iowa, or the Midwest, you already have a very good idea of how corn, agriculture and auto racing fit together. Now, you also know why the Indy Racing League, Iowa Speedway and Iowa Corn are teaming up to race again. It’s a perfect fit and, based on this year’s event, racing fans in Iowa and around the country seem to agree.”

2. Rice to race for A1 Team USA at Zandvoort: 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice will take the wheel of the A1 Team USA car for the opening round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Zandvoort in Holland. It will be the first A1GP race for Rice, who has tested for a total of 2˝ days at Silverstone in England. “We’ve developed some good, reliable information on what the ‘We The People’ car likes in our tests, and the challenge we face at Zandvoort is finding the optimum performance during a race weekend,” Rice said. “I haven’t raced there before, but we have a strong engineering staff with experience in A1GP and at Zandvoort and that will be a short cut to my learning curve. “There is very tough competition in A1GP. I’ve been impressed by the drivers in our tests, and some of them have raced at Zandvoort before. We’ll have to bring our A game, and I’m confident we will.” Rice, who finished ninth in the IndyCar Series in 2007, said he is looking forward to representing the U.S. in the series, which features teams from 22 nations vying for points in events in 10 countries. “I’m very excited to have this opportunity to drive for A1 TEAM USA and represent my country in the World Cup of Motorsport,” Rice said. “It is an honor and carries a new type of responsibility. You always want to do well for your team and yourself and, now in A1GP, for my country.” *** The 2008 IndyCar Series season begins under the lights on March 29 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 16-race schedule, one of the most diverse in all of motorsports, features races on 11 ovals, three permanent road courses and two temporary street circuits, all broadcast worldwide through a comprehensive, long-term agreement with ABC Sports/ ESPN.