2010 IRL Rd.14--PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300

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Race - Peak Antifreeze Indy 300

--Location - Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, IL
--Date - Saturday, August 28th
--Time & TV Schedule - 7:00PM Eastern -Green Flag -7:50PM Eastern -Versus
--Course Type - 1.5 Mile Oval
--Distance - 200 Laps / 300 Miles
--Practice Sessions - Friday, August 27th -10:15AM -11:15AM & 6:00PM -6:30PM Eastern
--Qualifications - Friday, August 27th - 2:00PM - 3:30PM Eastern
--2009 Pole Sitter - Ryan Briscoe -Lap Time - 25.4033 / Speed - 215.405 (4 lap average)
--2009 Winner - Ryan Briscoe


Past Race Winners at Chicagoland
Jaques Lazier(1): 2001
Sam Hornish, Jr.(2): 2002, 2003
Adrian Fernandez(1): 2004
Dan Wheldon(2): 2005, 2006
Dario Franchitti(1): 2007
Helio Castroneves(1): 2008
Ryan Briscoe(1): 2009

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TrackMap, Chicagoland Speedway


Chicagoland Speedway Track Facts...
Banking - 18 degrees in corners
Frontstretch Length - 3,100 Ft.
Backstretch Length - 1,700 Ft.
Track Width - 55 Ft.
Seating Capacity - 75,000

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----Will Power engaged in some playful banter regarding his name that fits a race car driver like, well, a driving glove during the news conference following his victory in the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Aug. 22.

The fifth win of the IZOD IndyCar Series season, which provided a 59-point margin in the championship standings, lifted some weight off his shoulders. But while he could briefly revel in the victory from the pole on the 2.303-mile Infineon Raceway course, William Steven Power hasn’t altered his mind-set entering the final four-race stretch in pursuit of his first championship.

“I don't think this championship is almost mine,” he said. “There's a lot of racing to go. Four races, a lot can happen. Really, whatever the buffer is, you can lose a lot of that in just one race. I'm going to race those ovals like I want to win the championship. The IZOD IndyCar Series “final four” will be contested on 1.5-mile ovals – each that possess a unique characteristic or two. Power has competed on all but the egg-shaped Twin Ring Motegi (Sept. 19) track, and his best finish in two races at Chicagoland Speedway [Aug. 28], Kentucky Speedway (Sept. 4) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 2) is fifth at the track in Joliet, Ill., in 2008.

Power started from the pole – one of his series-record eight – and finished fifth at Iowa Speedway for a high-water mark in the four-oval set earlier this season. He might not have as much experience on the ovals as his closest pursuers – Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon; both two-time series champions – but the 59-point spread is a comfortable cushion.

“It's a fairly large deficit, but it's four tracks we've run well on,” said Franchitti, who has won or finished second at three of the four (best finish at Kentucky was sixth in 2004 and ’09) tracks. “There are places we can do very well at. I don't underestimate the challenge at all. Will is going to be quite strong. People are writing him off because of his lack of experience on the ovals, but he'll be right up there. We have to do a better job. We'll be pushing 100 percent.”

Dixon, runner-up to Power’s No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car at Infineon, has finished second at Chicagoland each of the past four years (and five overall). He’s won at the three other tracks in the past two seasons. Dixon has been in a similar position as Power with four races left – 65 points ahead of Helio Castroneves in 2008. He won the title after the 17 races by 17 points.

“I think it's exciting for our team,” Dixon said of the hunt. “We’ll try and just keep Will back in the pack and take some points off him. “Obviously, my job is going to be to try to help Dario and myself close the gap as much as possible, apply as much pressure as possible, and hopefully put them under enough that they make mistakes. I think that's really the only options left for us. We have to work together as a team, obviously finish 1-2 to try to overcome the points deficit at the moment,” Dixon said.

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----Competing in her first half-marathon Aug. 22 in Rio de Janeiro presented Ana Beatriz with a new challenge and a different perspective in dealing with traffic. It’ll translate in some form to a crowded racetrack this weekend. Beatriz will make her third IZOD IndyCar Series start of the season, driving the No. 24 Dad’s Root Beer car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

The inclusion of Beatriz in the 29-car lineup for the Aug. 28 race marks the second time this season that a series-record five females will compete in the same event. Sarah Fisher (Sarah Fisher Racing), Simona de Silvestro (Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing), Danica Patrick (Andretti Autosport) and Milka Duno (Dale Coyne Racing) also are entered. The 29 cars are the most for a race outside of the indy 500 since 1997.

Beatriz, a two-time oval race winner in Firestone Indy Lights, competed in a Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car for the season-opening Sao Paulo Indy 300 in her native Brazil (advanced nine positions to finish 13th) and in the Indianapolis 500 (finished 21st). “Ana really showed us her talent when we ran her back in March and May,” team co-owner Dennis Reinbold said. “We look forward to running her as she competes at Chicagoland Speedway.

In two Firestone Indy Lights races at the 1.5-mile racetrack, Beatriz was runner-up in 2008. “During the past three months, my agents, Andre Ribeiro, Augusto Cesario, and I, have been working on establishing a full-season program for 2011,” Beatriz said. “In order to stay fit, I have been karting and I have added a new challenge to my calendar like the Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon.

“I hope my past experience at Chicago pays off with a good finish. I am very excited to be back with the Dreyer & Reinbold team. I wish to thank Dennis Reinbold, Robbie Buhl and Larry Curry for their confidence in me.”

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----The Indy Racing League has revised its qualifications procedure for the four IZOD IndyCar Series oval events to close the 2010 season in response to accommodating expanded entrant lists. The second sentence of Rule 8.2(F)(1) is amended and reads as “A qualifications attempt is the total of two consecutively timed laps.” The remainder of the oval qualifying rules remains unchanged.

Previously, the average speed of four timed laps was used to set the starting grid. The average speed of two consecutively timed laps, following two warm-up laps on the 1.5-mile racetracks, will be implemented Aug. 27 (1 p.m. local time) at Chicagoland Speedway in the run for the PEAK Performance Pole Award.

A season-high 29 cars (outside of the traditional 33 for the Indianapolis 500) are entered for the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on Aug. 28 at Chicagoland Speedway (the high-water mark for the series at the track since its 2001 debut). In the three oval events this season outside of the Indy 500, an average of 26 cars was entered.The 29 cars are the most for a race outside of the indy 500 since 1997. Races at Kentucky Speedway (Sept. 4), Twin Ring Motegi (Sept. 19) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 2) follow.

“The number of cars we’re having at our events – 27 cars at Mid-Ohio and 29 at Chicagoland and maybe Homestead-Miami – and the length of time it takes to qualify these cars when you’re conducting two-day shows, it becomes a non-productive use of track time,” Indy Racing League president of competition and racing operations Brian Barnhart said. “By going to an average of two timed laps instead of four, it reduces our qualifying time by 33 percent. We’re rather make sure the drivers are getting ample track time in practice conditions with all cars on track at the same time to be better-prepared for the race.”

The four-lap qualifying procedure was instituted for the 2008 season.

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PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 Entry List
Raphael Matos, #2 HP-McAfee
Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske
Dan Wheldon, #4 National Guard
(R)Takuma Sato, #5 Lotus-KV Racing
Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske
Danica Patrick, #7 GoDaddy.com
E.J. Viso, #8 PDVSA
Scott Dixon, #9 Target
Dario Franchitti, #10 Breathe Right
Tony Kanaan, #11 Planters
Will Power, #12 Verizon Wireless
Vitor Meira, #14 ABC Supply Co.
Milka Duno, #18 CITGO
(R)Alex Lloyd, #19 Boy Scouts of America
Ed Carpenter, #20 Fuzzy's Vodka
Davey Hamilton, #21 HP-McAfee
Justin Wilson, #22 Z-Line Designs
Ana Beatriz, #24 Dad's Root Beer
Marco Andretti, #26 Venom Energy
Mario Moraes, #32 KV Racing
(R)Bertrand Baguette, #34 RAC Belgium
Tomas Scheckter, #36 Mona Vie
Ryan Hunter-Reay, #37 Ethanol USA
Jay Howard, #66 Service Central
Sarah Fisher, #67 Dollar General
Alex Tagliani, #77 Bowers & Wilkins
(R)Simona de Silvestro, #78 Team Stargate: Resistance
Graham Rahal, #02 QuickTrim
Hideki Mutoh, #06 Formula Dream-Panasonic

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----Conquest Racing is welcoming a seasoned IZOD IndyCar Series veteran this weekend to its team with Tomas Scheckter signing on to pilot its #36 Dallara at Chicagoland Speedway for the Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300. The South African brings with him tons of experience gained over the course of his 100 plus starts in the open-wheel racing series. Since his first Indy car race in 2002, he has gone on to claim 43 top-tens including a couple of wins and has led over 1300 laps.

“I’m very happy to be joining Conquest Racing,” expressed Scheckter, who has made four starts this season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “Eric (Bachelart) and I have been talking for quite a while and when this opportunity to drive for them came up, I immediately took advantage of it.

“I know some of the guys on the team for having worked with them in the past and I am really looking forward to working with them again as well as with everyone else. We’re coming together a little bit at the last minute but I am confident that we can come out with a good result, there are a lot of good people on this team.” The 29-year-old driver has seven starts at Chicagoland Speedway with a best finish of fourth and 118 laps led on the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

“I’m pretty excited to be getting back into an Indy car at Chicagoland. I really like that track. I’ve led laps there and last season I had the quickest lap of the race. There’s a lot of side-by-side racing and it’s always fun to be racing at night. I can’t wait.”

Team owner Eric Bachelart was thrilled to announce that Scheckter was joining his Indianapolis-based team.

“Tomas and I have been in contact for quite some time and it is great to finally be able to put a deal together. He brings so much experience to the team. We’re really excited to have the chance to work with him. He will also be a good pairing for Bertrand and will be able to help him develop his oval racing skills,” added Bachelart. “I’m looking forward to a good weekend from both drivers.”

For the first time this season, Conquest Racing’s rookie Bertrand Baguette will have a veteran driver as a teammate. The young Belgian plans to absorb as much oval racing knowledge as possible from the driver who has made over 90 starts on ovals. “It will be great to have a driver with a lot of experience on ovals like Tomas on the team this weekend,” said Baguette. “It hasn’t always been easy this season because we were two rookies but having Tomas will be a great help. I look forward to learning from him.”

Baguette who has constantly been improving week in and week out will be making only his fifth oval start of his career this weekend. While he would rather be going back to a road course where he has been putting in strong performances lately, he’s looking forward to returning to ovals.

“I have to be honest and say that I am a little disappointed to not be going to a road course this weekend because we have been doing so well on them and another couple of them on the schedule would have been great, but I’m confident heading back to ovals. On my first four ovals, I did quite well in the race despite some bad luck. The team has been doing really well lately and I think I can continue my progression on this type of track and finish off the season on a good note starting this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.”

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Chicagoland Friday Morning Practice Session Times
1. 6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 25.1154 217.874
2. 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 25.2650 0.1496 0.1496 216.584
3. 12 Will Power Team Penske 25.2716 0.0066 0.1562 216.528
4. 26 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport 25.2801 0.0085 0.1647 216.455
5. 7 Danica Patrick Andretti Autosport 25.2812 0.0011 0.1658 216.445
6. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport 25.2902 0.0090 0.1748 216.368
7. 11 Tony Kanaan Andretti Autosport 25.3075 0.0173 0.1921 216.220
8. 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 25.3084 0.0009 0.1930 216.213
9. 8 E.J. Viso KV Racing Technology 25.3100 0.0016 0.1946 216.199
10. 10 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing 25.3106 0.0006 0.1952 216.194
11. 02 Graham Rahal Newman/Haas Racing 25.3471 0.0365 0.2317 215.883
12. 4 Dan Wheldon Panther Racing 25.3768 0.0297 0.2614 215.630
13. 19 Alex Lloyd* Dale Coyne Racing 25.3893 0.0125 0.2739 215.524
14. 14 Vitor Meira A.J. Foyt Enterprises 25.4334 0.0441 0.3180 215.150
15. 34 Bertrand Baguette* Conquest Racing 25.4653 0.0319 0.3499 214.881
16. 06 Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas Racing 25.4892 0.0239 0.3738 214.679
17. 36 Tomas Scheckter Conquest Racing 25.4952 0.0060 0.3798 214.629
18. 22 Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 25.5017 0.0065 0.3863 214.574
19. 5 Takuma Sato* KV Racing Technology 25.5017 0.0000 0.3863 214.574
20. 32 Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology 25.5076 0.0059 0.3922 214.524
21. 2 Raphael Matos de Ferran Luczo Dragon Racing 25.5308 0.0232 0.4154 214.329
22. 24 Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 25.5323 0.0015 0.4169 214.317
23. 78 Simona De Silvestro* Team Stargate Worlds/HVM 25.5528 0.0205 0.4374 214.145
24. 77 Alex Tagliani FAZZT Race Team 25.5573 0.0045 0.4419 214.107
25. 66 Jay Howard Sarah Fisher Racing 25.5854 0.0281 0.4700 213.872
26. 67 Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing 25.6063 0.0209 0.4909 213.697
27. 21 Davey Hamilton de Ferran Dragon Racing 25.6302 0.0239 0.5148 213.498
28. 18 Milka Duno Dale Coyne Racing 25.8269 0.1967 0.7115 211.872
29. 20 Ed Carpenter Panther Racing/Vision 29.3971 3.5702 4.2817 186.141

* Series rookie

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Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe leads a P1-P4 dominance of tomorrow's starting grid by both Team Penske and Target/Ganassi Racing

-----JOLIET, Ill. – The Mario Andretti Road Championship Trophy has been settled, which leaves two titles up for grabs in the final four IZOD IndyCar Series races. That’s double the motivation for Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti, who will start on the front row for the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300.

Briscoe earned the PEAK Performance Pole Award for the third consecutive year at Chicagoland Speedway with a two-lap average of 216.346 mph (50.5857 seconds) for the 200-lap race under the lights Aug. 28. The Team Penske driver outpaced Scott Dixon by 0.0077 of a second to win in ’09 – the fourth-closest margin of victory in IZOD IndyCar Series history. In fact, five of the top 10 closest finishes have occurred at the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval.

Briscoe, who posted his third pole start of the season (all on 1.5-mile tracks), is 14 points behind Dixon in the A.J. Foyt Oval Championship standings. Though there’s a chasm between the fourth-place Briscoe and teammate Will Power, the overall championship points leader, he’s confident of making a move in the final four.

“The car today was just spot on,” said Briscoe, who won from the pole at Texas Motor Speedway in early June. “I didn’t want to be overconfident, but I was thinking after that run, ‘Man, that has to be hard to beat.’ I knew we were fully trimmed out and the car felt really solid.

“It was a great qualifying run and I’m just really hoping that we can follow through tomorrow and have another good race. We’ve been strong here the last couple of years and I really enjoy racing around here. It’s always exciting. It’s a completely wide track that’s really smooth. It really promotes good racing so I always get excited to come back here.”

Franchitti, also seeking to close the championship points gap on Power, recorded his 10th consecutive top-five start with an average of 215.593 mph in the No. 10 Breathe Right car for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Power, entering the race with a 59-point cushion over Franchitti, recorded an average of 215.521 mph and will join Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves (215.475) on the second row. The 29-car field is separated by one second.

“Qualifying is a like an engineering exercise,” said Franchitti, who won at Chicagoland in 2007. “It’s getting all of those pieces into place. Then, if you miss one of them, or in Ryan’s case if you get them all just right, then you see the result. We’d like to have that extra point (for the pole) but we’re starting up front and I think we have a pretty good car in race trim.

“One of the things we realize about these one-and-half mile races is really that anything can happen. It can just go completely bad at anytime. It would be nice to stay up front all night, but we’re prepared for almost anything.”

Initially, Franchitti will be missing his wingmate. Dixon, who has finished second at this oval the past four years in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, will start a season-low 15th (214.269 mph). That ended his series-record streak of 45 consecutive top-10 starts.

Dixon is the A.J. Foyt Oval Championship leader by four over Franchitti. “Hopefully, he’ll be up there to help me out or I’ll feel like I’m being ganged up on,” Franchitti said.

Power notched his 12th top-five start of the season, though the third starting position ended his streak of six consecutive races starting from the front row. “Our car is fast in race trim and this track is all about the racing,” Power said. “I am looking forward to tomorrow night. We have been knocking on the door on some of the earlier oval races and we are due for our first oval win."

So is Marco Andretti, who will start fifth (215.321 mph) in the No. 26 Team Venom Energy entry for Andretti Autosport. Graham Rahal starts a season-high sixth in the No. 02 Quick Trim car (215.314) for Newman/Haas Racing. Dan Wheldon recovered from the incident at Infineon Raceway earlier in the week for a season-best seventh starting position (215.099). He’ll join him Hideki Mutoh, driver of the No. 06 Formula Dream/Panasonic car for Newman/Haas Racing (215.055) on Row 4.

"I think the team has done a really, really good job,” said Wheldon, who won at Chicagoland in 2004 and ‘05. “We didn’t run as much as we perhaps we would have liked in the practice session, but the National Guard Panther Racing team worked hard and we had a good, solid qualification run. Tomorrow we just want to drive to the front of the field as quick as we can and stay there.”

Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay (214.979) and Takuma Sato (214.945) of KV Racing Technology will be on the fifth row. Ed Carpenter, competing in his second race for Panther Racing/Vision Racing, will start 11th (214.831). Danica Patrick (214.750) was the highest qualifier of the record-tying five females in the field (12th in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com car for Andretti Autosport).

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PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 Starting Grid
Row 1
#6 Ryan Briscoe - 216.346
#10 Dario Franchitti - 215.593

Row 2
#12 Will Power - 215.521
#3 Helio Castroneves - 215.475

Row 3
#26 Marco Andretti - 215.321
#02 Graham Rahal - 215.314

Row 4
#4 Dan Wheldon - 215.099
#06 Hideki Mutoh - 215.055

Row 5
#37 Ryan Hunter-Reay - 214.979
(R)#5 Takuma Sato - 214.945

Row 6
#20 Ed Carpenter - 214.831
#7 Danica Patrick - 214.750

Row 7
#11 Tony Kanaan - 214.632
(R)#19 Alex Lloyd - 214.468

Row 8
#9 Scott Dixon - 214.269
#8 EJ Viso - 214.210

Row 9
#36 Tomas Scheckter - 214.093
#2 Raphael Matos - 213.975

Row 10
#77 Alex Tagliani - 213.910
(R)#34 Bertrand Baguette - 213.682

Row 11
#32 Mario Moraes - 213.458
#24 Ana Beatriz - 213.429

Row 12
#22 Justin Wilson - 213.385
#14 Vitor Meira - 213.106

Row 13
#67 Sarah Fisher - 213.095
#18 Milka Duno - 212.777

Row 14
(R)#78 Simona De Silvestro - 212.660
#21 Davey Hamilton - 212.484

Row 15
#66 Jay Howard - 212.097

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JOLIET, Ill. – Dario Franchitti was seven spots behind championship points and race leader Will Power entering the final round of pit stops under caution for ethanol and tires. Well, almost everyone took fresh rubber. Target Chip Ganassi engineer Chris Simmons made the call not to change the Firestone Firehawks. Race strategist Chip Ganassi quickly agreed and “Dario did the rest.”

The move vaulted Franchitti into the lead on the restart on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval with 23 laps left and he held off Dan Wheldon by 0.0423 of a second to win the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300. It wasn’t as cut and dry, however, as Power and Wheldon traded second place over the next 15 laps – never more than one-tenth of a second behind the No. 10 Breathe Right car. But on Lap 196, Franchitti got his second break when Power (running fourth) ducked onto pit lane for a splash of fuel as an equipment issue on the previous stop prevented a full 22 gallons to be dispensed. Power finished a season-low 16th.

Franchitti picked up the lead out of the final pit stop on Lap 173 -- relying on a double stint of the Firestone Firehawks (62 laps) while most others changed tires -- and held off Dan Wheldon by 0.0423 of a second for his third win of the season. “That was our only shot,” Ganassi said of going the extra mile (93 miles actually) on the Firehawks. “We put him out front and Dario did the rest.”

Adding up the breaks brought Franchitti back from the precipice of the championship standings cliff; he climbed from 59 points behind Power to 23 back with three oval races remaining. It was Franchitti’s 26th Indy car racing victory, tying Rodger Ward for 11th on the all-time list (USAC, CART, Indy Racing League sanction). Next up is Johnny Rutherford. Franchitti also took the lead in the A.J. Foyt Oval Championship over teammate Scott Dixon, who finished eighth.

"We were struggling tonight with the Breathe Right car really in traffic as we got a little further back there," Franchitti said. "That last stop was the key to this race. (Engineer) Chris Simmons, turns out he was the one that made the call. We had a lot of faith in the Firestone tires. He said leave the tires on and got us out front. Dan Wheldon, he was just pushing me all the time, just helping me. I was giving him room at the bottom. We were working together very, very well there."

Power, who started third, led 17 laps (among the season-high 11 different leaders) and was 0.0942 of a second behind the front-running Franchitti on Lap 190. But the blistering 217 mph-plus pace to remain in the lead pack (in a race that had a season-high 25 lead changes and with the top 13 cars within one second of each other on that lap) was quickly soaking up the ethanol.

“These things happen," said Power, who was seeking his first victory on an oval. “That was just a mistake that we couldn’t afford. This obviously makes things tougher for the championship, but we’re still in front and we proved how competitive we can be on the ovals. We’ll move on and we will work harder next week at Kentucky.”

Marco Andretti led an Andretti Autosport trio in the top five with a season-tying-best third place. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan followed. Helio Castroneves finished sixth and Justin Wilson advanced 16 positions to place seventh. Vitor Meira scored his third top 10 with a ninth-place finish and Graham Rahal was 10th.

The top 10 were separated by 0.9841 of a second. The top three cars were the same order of finish as the Indianapolis 500 on May 30. “To be honest, at the end the reason I worked so hard with Dario and just tried to stay with him was because he was so clean and professional,” said Wheldon, whose race six days earlier at Infineon Raceway ended before it began as he landed on his roll hoop in an incident heading to the green flag. “Our guys did an excellent job and it was a strong performance. I have to thank my team and the fans, who were definitely on their feet at the end of the night. It was an exciting race.”


Top-10 from a frenetic Chicagoland...............
1} #10 Dario Franchitti, 200 laps
2} #4 Dan Wheldon, -0.043 sec
3} #26 Marco Andretti, -0.105 sec
4} #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay, -0.163 sec
5} #11 Tony Kanaan, -0.341 sec
6} #3 Helio Castroneves, -0.487 sec
7} #22 Justin Wilson, -0.596 sec
8} #9 Scott Dixon, -0.914 sec
9} #14 Vitor Meira, -0.959 sec
10} #02 Graham Rahal, -0.984 sec