Dixon, who became the first ever New Zealand citizen to win the iconic ‘500’ and
2006-2007 Milwaukee Mile winner Tony Kanaan will be two drivers in particular to
watch as they look to make it further into the history books of the IndyCar
Series – of which Australia’s own Gold Coast Indy 300 is a part.
Kanaan
is looking for his third consecutive race win at Milwaukee, and if successful
will become only the third driver to have ever won three consecutive races at
one track, while Dixon will be hoping to claim the elusive Indy 500-Milwaukee
Double.
Eight drivers have been able to pull the Indianapolis-Milwaukee
double, including four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, for whom this
weekend’s race is named. The last driver to win Indianapolis and Milwaukee in
the same year was Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000.
Power will head to
Milwaukee fresh from his 13th place finish on debut in the Indy 500, while
Briscoe will be hunting for better results at the site of his first test with
Team Penske after a pit lane incident with Danica Patrick ended both of their
races last weekend.
Australian fans can catch the ABC Supply/A. J. Foyt
225 action at the Milwaukee Mile live by tuning into ESPN at 6.00am Australian
Eastern Standard Time this Monday, with a re-run scheduled for 10.30pm that same
day - fans should check local guides for more information.
Following the
ABC Supply/A. J. Foyt 225 the unified series continues on a schedule that is the
most diverse in world motorsports.
The 2008 schedule will take the teams
and drivers to short ovals, superspeedways, and road and street courses
including the Gold Coast Indy 300 which is regarded as a ‘crown jewel’ in
international motorsport.
Now regarded as one of the world’s iconic
motorsport events, the Gold Coast Indy 300 will now continue until and including
2013 with major plans already underway for a massive 20th anniversary
celebration in 2010.
With 96 hours of non-stop excitement over October
23-26 as the Gold Coast comes alive to the sound of the IndyCars burning up the
track and Australia’s own V8 Supercars scorching around one of the most famous
beach-side cities in the world, the event is the hottest ticket in town.
Tickets are now on sale for the Gold Coast Indy 300 with ticket options
to suit everyone's needs. Four day Grandstand passes are available for those who
prefer to watch the racing from the comfort of their own reserved seat or for
those who prefer to wander around and soak up the atmosphere then a four day,
weekend or single day General Admission pass might be more their style. For more
information on ticket options go to indy.com.au. For information on Corporate
Hospitality packages please call our Sales Team on (07) 5588 6800.
WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY…
Scott Dixon - #9 Target Chip
Ganassi Honda/Dallara/Firestone
“We definitely knew that (tradition)
because of last season,” said Dixon on the morning after the biggest victory of
his career.
“We were definitely trying to stop that tradition.
Unfortunately, we came up short. This year, we won the 500, and it sounds like a
pretty good tradition. We’re going to try and carry that on, come away with the
championship.
“We had the dominance of winning three races in a row and
going for four and trying to chase down Dario for the championship.
“I
think that's when it started. Everything that everybody was doing was just
falling into the right place. Everybody was working well together, and we've
carried on that confidence level and the success we had at the end of last year
even though we didn't come away with the championship. I think that combination,
with more determination after what happened, has been what's helped us this
season.”
Tony Kanaan - #11 Andretti Green Racing
Honda/Dallara/Firestone
"That would mean a lot (to win the three races)
especially to put myself in a category of those guys. I'm definitely going for
it,” said Kanaan.
“Traffic is going to be the challenge. Whoever is
going to be able to manage the traffic better is going to probably come out of
the race in good shape. I feel it's going to be a lot of lead changes because of
that. So it's going to be an exciting race for the fans and a very difficult one
for us, for sure.”
Will Power - #8 Aussie Vineyards – Team Australia
Honda/Dallara/Firestone
“I’ve definitely been looking forward to
Milwaukee for lots of reasons,” said Power.
“It’s the only oval on the
schedule that I’ve been to before and I ran reasonably well there in the Champ
Car.
“My aim is that the Aussie Vineyards car will be a bit more
competitive at Milwaukee than the other ovals.
“Because Milwaukee is
quite a flat oval, you run a lot of downforce and the set-up almost resembles a
road course package. So our team will not be quite as far behind the top teams
with all their oval experience as would usually be the case.
“We hung on
there in the end to get a solid result at Indy despite a problem with the right
rear wheel towards the end. This year is going to be tough on the ovals but our
goal is to be continually improving so that we keep getting closer and closer to
having a consistently fast package.”
Ryan Briscoe - #6 Team Penske
Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone
“We haven’t had much luck competing at
Milwaukee, but last year’s test really gave me a lot of confidence,” said
Briscoe.
“This was the site of my first test with Team Penske, and I
enjoyed it quite a bit. It was great to turn some laps around the track with a
car that felt so comfortable, so I’m really looking forward to getting back
there under race conditions.”
ENTRY LIST: IndyCar® Series - ABC
Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 At The Milwaukee Mile
Car - Driver - Entrant
2 - A.J. Foyt IV - Vision Racing
3 - Helio Castroneves - Team Penske
4 - Vitor Meira - Panther Racing
5 - Oriol Servia - KV Racing Technology
6 - Ryan Briscoe - Team Penske
7 - Danica Patrick - Andretti Green
Racing
8 - Will Power (R) - KV Racing Technology
9 - Scott Dixon -
Target Chip Ganassi Racing
10 - Dan Wheldon - Target Chip Ganassi Racing
11 - Tony Kanaan - Andretti Green Racing
14 - Darren Manning - A.J. Foyt
Enterprises
15 - Buddy Rice - Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
17 - Ryan
Hunter-Reay - Rahal Letterman Racing
18 - Bruno Junqueira - Dale Coyne
Racing
19 - Mario Moraes (R) - Dale Coyne Racing
20 - Ed Carpenter -
Vision Racing
23 - Milka Duno - Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
24 - Jay
Howard (R) - Roth Racing
25 - M! arty Roth - Roth Racing
26 - Marco
Andretti - Andretti Green Racing
27 - Hideki Mutoh (R) - Andretti Green
Racing
33 - E.J. Viso (R) - HVM Racing
34 - Jaime Camara (R) - Conquest
Racing
36 - Enrique Bernoldi (R) - Conquest Racing
96 - Mario Dominguez
(R) - Pacific Coast Motorsports
02 - Justin Wilson (R) - Newman/Haas/Lanigan
Racing
06 - Graham Rahal (R) - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
All cars
use Dallara chassis, Honda engines and Firestone tires.
Issued: 5/27/08
RACE NOTES
- The ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 will be the
fifth IndyCar Series event conducted at The Milwaukee Mile. Tony Kanaan
(2006-07) is a two-time winner of the event. Ryan Hunter-Reay won a Champ Car
event at the track in 2004.
- Two drivers entered have won the PEAK Motor
Oil Pole Award at Milwaukee: Helio Castroneves (2006, 2007) and Vitor Meira
(2004). Ryan Hunter-Reay won the pole for the Champ Car event in 2004.
-
Twelve drivers entered in the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 have raced in previous
IndyCar Series events at the track. Five of those drivers have led laps (Helio
Castroneves 183, Tony Kanaan 168, Dan Wheldon 95, Marco Andretti 39 and Buddy
Rice 37).
- Four Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in
the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004),
Dan Wheldon (2005) and Scott Dixon (2008).
- Three IndyCar Series champions
are scheduled to participate in the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225: Scott Dixon
(2003), Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005).
- Tony Kanaan has
finished fourth or better in all four IndyCar Series races at Milwaukee.
-
Helio Castroneves has won the last two PEAK Motor Oil Poles at Milwaukee.
-
Andretti Green Racing has won three of the four IndyCar Series races at
Milwaukee.
- A.J. Foyt Enterprises won IndyCar races at Milwaukee in 1975
and 1979. Team owner A.J. Foyt was the driver.
- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
won seven CART/Champ Car races at Milwaukee between 1985 and 2006.
SEASON-T0-DATE
- Helio Castroneves is the only driver to
finish in the top five in all five races this season. Ed Carpenter, Scott Dixon
and Tony Kanaan are the only other driver to finish in the top 10 in four races.
- Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon are the only drivers to complete all 883
laps in 2008.
MILESTONES AND RECORDS
- Helio Castroneves
will attempt to make his 103rd career IndyCar Series start. It would also be his
101st consecutive start.
- Helio Castroneves can establish an IndyCar Series
record for most consecutive seasons with at least one win should he win the ABC
Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. Castroneves is tied with Scott Sharp with victories in
seven consecutive seasons.
- Helio Castroneves can extend his IndyCar Series
record for consecutive seasons with a pole to seven if he can win the PEAK Motor
Oil Pole Award.
- Vitor Meira has gone 81 starts without a victory in the
IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.
2008 IndyCar Series Points Standings - After Race 5
1. #9
Scott Dixon 188
2. #3 Helio Castroneves 176
3. #10 Dan Wheldon 156
4. #11 Tony Kanaan 139
5. #26 Marco Andretti 110
6. #7 Danica
Patrick 122
7. #20 Ed Carpenter 120
8. #8 Will Power 114
9. #27
Hideki Mutoh 113
10. #5 Oriol Servia 112
2008 Bombardier Rookie
of the Year Standings - After Race 5
1. #8 Will Power 114
2. #27
Hideki Mutoh 113
3. #36 Enrique Bernoldi 99
4. #06 Graham Rahal 98
5. #33 EJ Viso 93
6. #02 Justin Wilson 81
7. #19 Mario Moraes 65
8. #24 Jay Howard 62
9. #34 Franck Perera 56
10. #96 Mario Dominguez
35
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Dixon celebrated in the Indy 500
victory lane just last weekend, now he will be looking to claim the double
(Credit - IndyCar Series Media)
Tony Kanaan will be looking to make
it three in a row this weekend (Credit - IndyCar Series Media)
Queensland's Will Power will be
looking to continue the strong form which saw him finish 13th in his debut Indy
500 (Credit - LAT)
Sydney's Ryan Briscoe (Credit -
IndyCar Series Media)
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