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INDYCAR SERIES NEWS AND NOTES – June 11, 2008

Today’s IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines

In Case You Missed It: Ed Carpenter and Will Power teleconference
Texas race garners record rating
Team E builds a winner

1. In Case You Missed It: Ed Carpenter and Will Power teleconference: IndyCar Series drivers Ed Carpenter and Will Power were guests on today’s Indy Racing League teleconference.

Background on Ed Carpenter: Ed Carpenter is in his fifth full season in the IndyCar Series, driving for Vision Racing.

· Age: 27 (Birthday is March 3, 1981)

· Career Starts / 2008: 72 / 7

· Career Victories/2008: 0

· Career Top-Five Finishes/2008: 3 / 2

· Career Top-10 Finishes/2008: 19 / 5

· Career Poles/2008: 0

· Career Highlights: Debuted in the IndyCar Series in 2003 while also competing in Firestone Indy Lights. Recorded his first top-five finish at Chicagoland in 2006.

· 2008 Highlights: Ranks ninth in points. Finished fifth at Homestead-Miami and Indianapolis. Led three laps at Indianapolis.

· Off the Track: Became a father for the first time during the offseason.

Background on Will Power: Will Power is a rookie in the IndyCar Series, driving for KV Racing Technology.

· Age: 27 (Birthday is March 1, 1981)

· Career Starts: 6

· Career Victories: 0

· Career Top-Five Finishes: 0

· Career Top-10 Finishes: 1

· Career Poles: 0

· Career Highlights: Finished fourth in Champ Car in 2007 with two victories, eight top-five finishes and five poles.

· 2008 Highlights: Ranks 11th in points. Qualified second and finished eighth at St. Petersburg. Won the Champ Car finale at Long Beach, leading 81 of 83 laps.

They said what...? Listed below are select quotes from today’s teleconference, with the approximate time code from the audio MP3 in parentheses.

*** Q. You've had some pretty good results so far this season. Are you happy with how things have gone?

ED CARPENTER (1:00): I'm happy with our performance of the race cars we've had on track. To be honest, we should have a couple more top‑five finishes than what we do. We've had some bad things happen to us so far this season. I’ve had good races going at Milwaukee and got caught up in an accident and could have had a better result than what we ended up with, in Kansas having someone stop in our pit.

We're having a great year. We’re really competitive on track. We just need to catch a break on some of these things and see if we can't find ourselves into victory lane or at least on the podium.

***Q. What do you expect at the places like Iowa and Richmond with 27 cars instead of 20 like we've seen in the past?

ED CARPENTER (5:15): Well, Iowa doesn’t really act like a short track, it's only an eighth of a mile, but at the same time, the only thing that's short track about it is we are running our short-track aero specifications. Other than that, it races more like the race we just had at Texas. It's going to be fast and a lot of two‑wide racing.

So there's probably going to be more opportunity for accidents at Iowa than what we just had at Milwaukee.

Then we go on to Richmond. Richmond has always been an exciting race. It's a racetrack where if you have a good car, you're going to work your way to the front and if you have a bad car, you're going to fall to the back.

The thing with short‑track racing in our series right now is there's 27 really good cars. You know, with all of the new teams and new drivers we have in the series, they are all great teams and great drivers and then you go to these short tracks, compared to a place like Texas, it puts everyone on a little bit more of a level playing ground, even with them not having as much time in the car. So I think you're going to see super‑competitive races at Iowa and especially Richmond.

***Q: Knowing where you are now and knowing what the second half has to bring, is there a goal on where you think you should be by the end?

WILL POWER (16:30): Well, I think coming into the season, I thought if I finished in the top 10 that's really good. But also, the Rookie of the Year would be a really big deal for me. I think that there's a couple of guys that are going to be really tough to beat, and obviously (Hideki) Mutoh is one of them, because he's on a very good team with a lot of experience on ovals and on the road courses.

So I think he's going to be the main competition there. And you've got some guys like Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson who are also right there.

So, you know, if I can win the Rookie of the Year I'll be really happy. If I finish in the top 10, that's really good, too. I'm just focusing on every single event, every individual event to get the best result possible and learn as much as I can.

*** Q. June is the month of short‑track racing for the Indy Car Series, first Milwaukee and then Iowa and Richmond. You had a strong qualifying run at Milwaukee, so what do you feel about the short ovals suits your driving style best?

WILL POWER (19:00): Well it's not only the driving style, it's also the fact that you're running maximum downforce. I think where these other guys have got us is all of the work they’ve done on wind tunnel and wheel bearings, coatings for the gear box and all of those little things that add up to the mile‑and‑a‑half or two mile‑an‑hour they have over us on the faster ovals.

But when you're running maximum downforce, that doesn't count. It’s more about the car balance, and that's the reason that we can run up front. And obviously shorter ovals helps me a little bit, too, because I raced in Milwaukee once in 2006, and I really enjoy running around short ovals, because when you have got full downforce, it's a lot like a road course and you go take a proper racing line, and it’s all about just holding it flat and just running the car as free as possible.

There’s more: The complete transcript and complete audio recording in MP3 format are available at www.indycar.com/media. Please contact Indy Racing League Public Relations for log-in information if necessary.

***

2. Texas race garners record rating: The Bombardier Learjet 550k, won by Scott Dixon on June 7, ranks as the highest-rated and most-viewed IndyCar Series race broadcast in ESPN2 history.

The broadcast earned a 1.0 rating and reached 939,160 households to make

it the most successful ever on ESPN2, surpassing the .85 rating for this year’s season-opening race at Homestead-Miami that previously occupied the top spot.

The Bombardier Learjet 550k also was the second most-viewed IndyCar Series race

in ESPN and ESPN2 history, trailing only the 2005 event at Kansas Speedway. That race

drew a 1.05 rating and attracted 970,450 households on ESPN.

The 1.0 rating for the Bombardier Learjet 550k represents a 44 percent increase over

last year’s race that drew a 0.7 rating and reached 639,952 households.

***

3. Team E builds a winner: On Dec. 10, 2007, Neil Enerson's Team E took delivery of its transporter. The next day, the team took delivery of its first Firestone Indy Lights Dallara chassis. Just seven month later, Enerson's team is already a race winner.

Enerson and driver Bobby Wilson celebrated their first victory together on June 1 when Wilson dominated the Milwaukee 100 at the Milwaukee Mile. They also took the lead in the chase for the $5,000 Mesco Building Products Building for the Future New Team Award.

"We had a rough start to the season," Enerson said. "For a new team to win a race means something, especially the way the series is today. There is unbelievable competition in this series and to beat the Andretti Greens and Sam Schmidt Motorsports is no small task."

Enerson met Wilson through his 10-year-old son, RC, a budding go-kart racer whose career has been guided by Wilson, a former national karting champion. The two formed a plan to build a race team around the Wisconsin native, who now lives in New Port Richey, Fla.

The result is more like a second family for Wilson. In fact when it came time to pick a number for the new team, they combined their numbers from 2007 (Wilson ran No. 1, the younger Enerson ran No. 7) and came up with 17.

"I'm glad to be part of Team E," Wilson said. "I'm not just a driver. I'm not just an arrive-and-drive guy. I'm not like everybody else. I'm part of that program for years to come whether I move up or not. It's a comfortable feeling sitting there and I'm always going to be part of it."

Wilson has been an integral part of the team. Team manager Doug Hoy worked with Wilson to assemble the team's crew, many of whom came from other teams because they believed in Wilson and wanted to continue to work with the driver.

"Bobby showed a lot of maturity," Enerson said. "The team has come together and we hope to keep it together for a long time."

***

The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues with the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer on June 22 at Iowa Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 1 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPNDeportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com. The 2008 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Jeld-Wen 100 June 21 at Iowa Speedway. The race will be telecast at 5:30 p.m. EDT June 26 on ESPN2.

INDYCAR SERIES NEWS AND NOTES – June 9, 2008

Today’s IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines

Dixon, Castroneves fight for every point
Perera joins Guthrie Racing
Public to vote for Firestone “Tire”-rific move of the race
Drivers reap post-race awards

1. Dixon, Castroneves fight for every point: The Bombardier Learjet 550k provided a perfect snapshot of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves started and finished 1-2 and battled throughout the race for not only the victory, but the three bonus points associated with leading the most laps.

Dixon earned the race victory, his third of the season, while Castroneves picked up the bonus points for the first time this season en route to his seventh consecutive top-five finish.

The fast start has allowed Dixon to increase his championship points lead from 28 to 35 over Castroneves heading into the June 22 event at Iowa Speedway to kick off a stint of six races in as many weekends. He's been the beneficiary of 12 bonus points for leading the most laps, which would have gone a long way in the 2007 championship race with Dario Franchitti.

"I was trying for it; those points are valuable," said Dixon, who engaged in an side-by-side duel with Castroneves for 13 laps in the first half of the 228-lap race. "If you can pick those up over the season, that can be 45 points at least. So it's something that we are definitely trying to go for, and I think probably what made both of us quite stubborn at that point of the race."

Castroneves said he had the car to win. He overcame a drive-thru penalty for speeding on pit lane during a Lap 104 green flag stop to put him in position.

"I'm kind of upset because we had a great chance," he said. "Second place is great, a lot of points for the championship and that's what we've got to focus on."

***

2. Perera joins Guthrie Racing: Frenchman Franck Perera, who began the season in the IndyCar Series, will return to the track in Firestone Indy Lights for the remainder of the 2008 season with Guthrie Racing, completing the team's four-car lineup.

The 23-year-old native of Montpellier, France will drive the No. 55 Guthrie Racing machine beginning at the June 10 Iowa Open Test as a teammate to current Guthrie Racing drivers Sean Guthrie, Logan Gomez and Micky Gilbert.

"I'm just excited to be back in the driver's seat," Perera said. "I'm very thankful to Guthrie Racing and my management company CJ Motorsport, and I am going to do the best I can for the team.

"I'm not really focusing on the title at this stage. I'm just looking at it race by race so I will not be holding back at any of the races. I hope to get some wins on the road courses since that's where my experience lies, but I plan on being right up there in the front on ovals as well after I get some more practice."

Perera began the season driving for Conquest Racing in the IndyCar Series. He finished 14^th at Homestead-Miami and 20^th at St. Petersburg. He also competed in the Champ Car finale at Long Beach, finishing sixth.

In 2007, Perera finished second in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship. He earned the Rookie of the Year title and narrowly missed out on the overall title to series returnee Raphael Matos.

"I have a lot to learn," Perera said. "Sean and Logan are great on ovals so I know they can teach me some techniques and hopefully I can help them on road courses in return. I think together we can make it beneficial for all of us so we can improve all season long."

Perera will join Guthrie Racing at Iowa on June 24 for his first race in the series.

"It's great to have the opportunity to work with a driver of Franck's caliber," said team owner Jim Guthrie. "I have high hopes for Franck and the Guthrie Racing team. One of our engineers, John Martin, has worked with Franck and is really excited about having him on our team. I expect once Franck gets comfortable on the ovals he will contend for many wins."

***

3. Public to vote for Firestone “Tire”-rific move of the race: Fans will have the ultimate say in who receives a $10,000 race bonus from Firestone. After each IndyCar Series race, Firestone executives pick three “Tire”-rific Moves of the Race, on-track moves where the drivers had to rely on their Firestone Firehawk tires. Fans can vote for the winner at www.indycar.com.

Oriol Servia won the fans’ vote from the race at Milwaukee by one vote and was awarded $10,000 during pre-race ceremonies at Texas.

From the Bombardier Learjet 550k, fans can choose from:

Marco Andretti for running the daring high line all race.
Ryan Hunter-Reay for going an extra stint on a set of Firehawks to move to the front.
Ryan Briscoe for charging from the back to finish third.

In past seasons, Firestone has awarded the bonus to the driver who led the lap that corresponded to the total number of races in IndyCar Series history.

***

4. Drivers reap post-race awards: Scott Dixon reaped the benefits from winning the Bombardier Learjet 550k. Dixon was presented an IndyCar Series 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 2008. He also collected $10,000 for winning the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts and $1,000 from Bosch.

Bruno Junqueira won the $2,000 Lincoln Welders Hard Charger Award for being the race leader who started furthest back and Vitor Meira collected the $2,000 XTrac Award.

***

DIXON CLAIMS BOMBARDIER LEARJET 550K FOR FIRST WIN AT TEXAS

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Scott Dixon claimed his first win at Texas Motor Speedway, winning the Bombardier Learjet 550k under caution after the cars driven by Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact while battling for second place with five laps remaining.

Helio Castroneves finished second and his Team Penske teammate, Ryan Briscoe, was third. Dan Wheldon, who started 11th in his backup car, finished fourth and Tony Kanaan improved eight positions to finish fifth.

As Andretti and Hunter-Reay were competing on the backstretch for second place, the left tires of Hunter-Reay's No. 17 Team Ethanol car got on the racetrack apron and slid up the track into Andretti's car.

Dixon, who passed Andretti for the lead with six laps remaining, claimed his third win of the season. He leads Castroneves by 35 points (284-249) after the race.

DAY 3 NOTEBOOK:

Venerable sportscaster Jim McKay, host of “ABC's Wide World of Sports” for more than 40 years, died June 7. He was 86.

McKay anchored ABC's broadcasts of the Indianapolis 500 from 1967-74 and 1976-85. He was the host of the broadcast in 1986-87.

“Jim McKay was an icon, a legend in broadcasting,” Indy Racing League and Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George said. “He helped build ABC Sports and the Indianapolis 500 through a true partnership and always remained a friend and a fan. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway family offers its condolences to his family.”

McKay won his 12th Emmy Award in 1988 for penning the openings of ABC's coverage of the 1987 Indianapolis 500, the British Open and the Kentucky Derby.

“He was one of the nicest, most down-to-earth and sincere sports guys I knew,” four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J Foyt said. “He was definitely the first big-time sports announcer that I ever met. From when he started doing the Indy 500 back in the 60s, he interviewed me many times and he was always a real gentleman. He did a super job for ABC Sports on TV and especially the Indy 500. They don’t make him like that anymore. I’m glad that I got to know him.”

BOMBARDIER LEARJET 550K POST-RACE NOTES:

This is Scott Dixon's third win of the season and the 13^th win of his career. He also won at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May. It is his first win at Texas Motor Speedway.
This is Target Chip Ganassi Racing's fourth win of the season. It previously won at Homestead-Miami and Indianapolis with Dixon and at Kansas with Dan Wheldon. This the team's second win at Texas. It also won with Jeff Ward in 2002.
Helio Castroneves finished second, his eighth consecutive top-five finish. He is the only driver to finish in the top-five in every race this season.

BOMBARDIER LEARJET 550K POST-RACE QUOTES:

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, Bombardier Learjet 550k race winner): "I can't believe it. It's great for the team and great for Target. We just want to win this championship. I'm sorry to see it end under caution, but it's a great way to get some points for this championship. Dan (Wheldon) did a great job coming from the back, and I saw him looming there for a little while. I don't know what to say. We finally won at Texas, and I'm pretty happy about that." (About accident between Andretti and Hunter-Reay): "I kind of caught it a little bit in my mirror. I saw it was getting a bit crowded back there. It gets a bit desparate in the last few laps. If it had played out to a fuel-strategy race, it would have been a nice, clean finish, but when you have eight laps to go and 20 guys going for second or first spot, you're going to have something happen. It 's unfortunate that it happened, but good for us." (About fuel late in the race): "Mike Hull and (engineers) Eric (Bretzman) and Brian (Welling) do a good job getting me to aim for a number. I had to be very close to the end, but so was everyone else. I think we would have been on the edge, but I think we would have been all right."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished second): (About drive-thru penalty) “For the car that I had, it was supposed to be a win. I’m upset about that; I let those guys down. Team Penske did an incredible job of putting me back on the lead lap and to finish second is great for the conditions.”

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished third): “I don’t know what I was thinking at the start when I missed my box. We went to the back but came through the field. The car was a missile. We had to change (front) wings and the car never felt quite as good in the second half of the race as the first, but it was a great recovery for the team and great for the points in the championship. (When lap down) The more time I spend with Team Penske you just never give up. We’ve been a lap down many times, even in the American Le Mans Series. But with Roger (Penske) on the box, he works like magic and we seem to always get that lap back and get in contention.”

DAN WHELDON (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished fourth): "Very good results for everybody at Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Obvisously, Scott (Dixon) is on a tear right now. Unfortunately I wasn't able to run the Polaroid car, but that's the way it goes. I want to say thank you to the (Delphi) Safety Team for the job the did this weekend. They were pretty busy. It was a little inconsistent for me, but that's part of racing. We came out with a top-five. It still didn't go my way, but we'll work on that."

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished fifth): "We struggled with the balance, then something broke on the last stop. I think it was the rear bar. I was all over the place. I was so dangerous. I had to apologize to Dan (Wheldon) and a bunch of guys. I couldn't keep on the track. I was hoping everybody would stay away from me. I was trying to let everyone by. It was a rough day, but having the worst day of the year and still finishing fifth, I don't think it's that bad."

HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished sixth): "It would have been great if the Formula Dream Team was able to finish in top five. If the last yellow didn’t come out I think we could’ve been able to finish in top three. I was trying to save fuel but I was sure that we could go without making another pit stop. It is little bit frustrating but that is the race. I learned so much this weekend, and I feel more comfortable in the traffic after this weekend. I enjoyed the race.”

VITOR MEIRA (No. 4 Delphi National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished seventh): "Our car was just awesome when we were running up front. The team made one fuel-only stop early in the race, so we were about 10 laps off-sequence. But otherwise we were really good. The car was skating on me a little bit in traffic, but everybody saw how good we were once we got to the front. I was pulling away. This is another good race for us and another step forward. The confidence level at Panther is really, really high right now."

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished ninth): "It was a tough race and I had a really good car early on, but then we put on a set of scuff tires. On that set, the car just got really out of control. That's really where we lost our race. We had to pit early as a result, then we lost a lap, and it all just really unraveled with that set of tires. I think we may have ended up okay in the points with Servia dropping out and Marco Andretti not finishing at the end. It was just a tough day for the No. 20 Menards/Johns Manville car. I feel like we had a lot better car than the ninth place we ended up with, but we just didn't get a chance to use it."

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished 10^th):“I am frustrated that we did not stay up front the entire race. My car was really loose most of the race, so that made it difficult to drive in traffic. The Motorola crew is working really hard and I appreciate their efforts.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Team Ethanol Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "Marco gave me the low line on the backstretch and all day that meant that he would give me the low line in the corner as well, but he came down on me, I went low to avoid him and got down on the white line. That upset both cars and took us out. We had a great car, we pushed really hard, the guys in the pits were flawless, and we really deserved a good finish tonight. This was going to be our breakout night and we didn't get it. I can't tell you how disappointed I am."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Blockbuster Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "I really feel bad for the whole Blockbuster crew. We were running so well, as was Ryan (Hunter-Reay). I feel kind of bad for both of us but the fact is, there are some guys you can run close with and some guys you can’t. He clearly hit the white line and that is that. We ran well today, but to me, that doesn’t matter. We need to bring home results. It’s very disappointing."

***

The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues with the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on June 22 at Iowa Speedway. The race will be telecast in High Definition at 1 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPNDeportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com. The 2008 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Jeld-Wen 100 June 21 at Iowa Speedway.

INDYCAR SERIES NEWS AND NOTES – June 4, 2008

Today’s IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines

In Case You Missed It: Vitor Meira and Ana Beatriz teleconference
Richmond, Nashville races moved to ESPN
One point separates leaders in Firestone Indy Lights

1. In Case You Missed It: Vitor Meira and Ana Beatriz teleconference: IndyCar Series driver Vitor Meira and Firestone Indy Lights driver Ana Beatriz were guests on today’s Indy Racing League teleconference.

Background on Vitor Meira: Vitor Meira is in his sixth full season in the IndyCar Series, driving for Panther Racing.

· Age: 31 (Birthday is March 27, 1977)

· Career Starts / 2008: 82 / 6

· Career Victories/2008: 0

· Career Top-Five Finishes/2008: 26 / 1

· Career Top-10 Finishes/2008: 51 / 2

· Career Poles/2008: 2 / 0

· Career Highlights: Finished in top 10 in points three times in the IndyCar Series. Has recorded eight second-place race finishes, including twice at Indianapolis.

· 2008 Highlights: Finished second at Indianapolis, leading 12 laps.

· Off the Track: Married his girlfriend this spring.

Background on Ana Beatriz: Ana Beatriz is a rookie in Firestone Indy Lights, driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

· Age: 23 (Birthday is March 18, 1985)

· Career Starts: 6

· Career Victories: 0

· Career Top-Five Finishes: 2

· Career Top-10 Finishes: 3

· Career Poles: 0

· Career Highlights: Competed for Team Brazil in A1GP in 2007. Competed in karts, Formula Renault and South American Formula 3.

· 2008 Highlights: Ranks eighth in points. Finished third at St. Petersburg 1 and led seven laps at St. Petersburg 2.

They said what...? Listed below are select quotes from today’s teleconference, with the approximate time code from the audio MP3 in parentheses.

*** Q. The next stop is Texas. You've done well there personally with a pole in the past and seven top-10 finishes, four top-fives in eight starts there. Panther has five wins at that track. Seems like a pretty good combination to put together. What will it take, do you think, to get to Victory Lane on Saturday night?

VITOR MEIRA (10:30): Texas is always kind of a complicated race a little bit. It's a track that is very fast and everybody runs really close. What it's going to take is, first, good pit stops. First, actually a fast car. Second, good pit stops. And, third, putting yourself in the best position possible until the end of the race.

It's a race that sometimes you'll get caught up in somebody else's mistakes just because everybody runs so close and so fast. But, those three items are the ones that are going to be vital to win the race in Texas.

***Q. What is it like to actually fly in an IndyCar? Was it at all fun? Dario (Franchitti) did it last year.

VITOR MEIRA (17:00): The flying part was actually pretty cool. The landing part was hard. It was actually funny. When we were flying here to Texas, we were joined by Gen. Umbarger from the Indianapolis National Guard. He gave me a set of the pins that he gives the pilots, the wings that the military uses. He gave me one that says I'm approved, now I can fly.

***Q:You mentioned a lack of experience on ovals. What has the learning process been like for you so far?

ANA BEATRIZ (2:00): It's hard. After Homestead, I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh, that's pretty good. I think I learned a lot of things.’ Then you go to an oval that is totally different so you have to learn a lot of things again.

I think that's it: the lack of experience. Every oval is a different oval. Then I think I just have to put it together. Right now I kind of know a lot of things, but I think I still have a lot of things to learn.

***

2. Richmond, Nashville races move to ESPN: The IndyCar Series races at Richmond International Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway will be telecast on ESPN instead of ESPN2 as originally scheduled.

The SunTrust Indy Challenge is scheduled for 8 p.m. (ET) June 28 at Richmond, and the Firestone Indy 200 is scheduled for 8 p.m. (ET) July 12 at Nashville.

***

3. One point separates leaders in Firestone Indy Lights: It was a tough race weekend at Milwaukee for Richard Antinucci and Dillon Battistini. They remain 1-2 in the Firestone Indy Lights championship standings through six rounds, but the difference is one point and they have company.

Antinucci, who had recorded a victory and three runner-up spots in the first five races, dropped five positions to finish a season-low 16th in the Milwaukee 100 on The Milwaukee Mile on June 1.

Battistini advanced six spots but still finished 14th. Eight days earlier, he won the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - his second victory of the season on an oval.

J.R. Hildebrand is 15 points back, AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing teammates Raphael Matos (-31) and Arie Luyendyk Jr. (-50) and Team Moore Racing's Jeff Simmons (-58) are in the hunt heading to Iowa Speedway.

Hildebrand, who started 14th, was the biggest mover of the race by finishing fifth.

"I wasn't looking forward to starting mid-pack here because it's easy to get caught up in something, but the RLR/Andersen team gave me a great car," he said. "I screwed up in practice and crashed, but they fixed the Allied Building Products car and it was great for the race. To be able to put it into the top 10, let alone the top five, shows that the guys really earned their pay here this weekend."

Matos recorded his best oval finish (third), following Simmons and race winner Bobby Wilson across the line at Milwaukee.

"I was happy for the team; they deserve better results than we've had in the past two races," said Matos, who finished 10th in the Firestone Freedom 100 and 19th at Kansas Speedway. "We improved quite a lot from qualifying (seventh). I think the car was quite good in the end.

"This place is so difficult in traffic. It's very difficult to pass. Once I was in third, I just wanted to finish and collect points, which is good for the championship. Now we just have to work harder and harder trying to maximize our car to the ovals and then we'll be there in the end fighting for the championship."

***

The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues with the Bombardier Learjet 550k on June 7 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast in High Definition at 10 p.m. (EDT) by ESPN2. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPNDeportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com. The 2008 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Jeld-Wen 100 June 21 at Iowa Speedway. The Milwaukee 100 will be telecast at 1 p.m. EDT June 5.

INDYCAR SERIES NEWS AND NOTES – June 2, 2008

Today’s IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines

Confidence-inspiring win for Briscoe
Drama ahead with 11 races in next 14 weeks
Public to vote for Firestone “Tire”-rific move of the race
Drivers reap post-race awards

(1. Confidence-inspiring win for Briscoe: While Ryan Briscoe celebrated his first career victory with Team Penske crew members, Roger Penske stood off to the side in Victory Circle at The Milwaukee Mile smiling.

Penske, who hired Briscoe in 2007 to drive the Porsche RS Spyder in ALMS, was happy for the young Aussie. Not only happy that Briscoe scored his first IndyCar Series victory and Team Penske’s first since last June at Texas Motor Speedway, but also genuinely happy for a race car driver who had limited success since debuting in the 2005 season. Three DNFs in the first six races of this season – including a pit lane incident with Danica Patrick a week earlier in the latter stages of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 – didn’t inspire confidence.

“I think first he really got the monkey off his back, and we knew how good a race driver he was when he ran for us in the Porsche program last year,” said Penske after Briscoe led Scott Dixon across the line under caution because of a late-race incident involving four cars.

“I think from the standpoint of his confidence, there's no question that this is exactly what he needed to break the ice. I think we are going to see a real new race driver come above now as we go forward.”

Briscoe broke into the series in ’05 with Target Chip Ganassi Racing as a teammate to Dixon.

“We saw him as a good driver; Chip had him earlier on and he got himself into trouble maybe without the experience and the bad accident,” said Penske, referring to a crash at Chicagoland Speedway. “We had him come back, had a good physical with him and he passed everything we needed. There was no issue from his accident and he seemed to be confident. So we said let's try him at Indy last year, and of course he finished fifth. That was a first test, and then we put him into the ALMS series last year, and they won two or three races in that car.

“To win that first race at any series is so important, because there's just inches between winning or losing.”

Penske has been on both ends over a distinguished career. He sported a cap with “300th win” on the front after the victory – 30 years after Rick Mears delivered his first open-wheel win for Penske also at The Mile – for the landmark victory in all forms of motorsport.

“It shows the amount of work that has been done by so many people on the team, so many good drivers, so many good pit crews,” Penske said. “I remember when we were sitting there for a long time trying to get our 100th win. Gil de Ferran gave it to us on a short track. To see Ryan be able to race clean with the 9 car with Dixon, it's a great day.

“This is a great thing not for me, but for everybody who has committed to us. There are so many people who have been with us for a long time -- 25, 30 years -- and that makes a difference.”

***

2. Drama ahead with 11 races in next 14 weeks: IndyCar Series fans might want to set their TiVos. On the cusp of 11 races in the next 14 weekends, the battle at racetracks across the United States and Canada could prove to be fiercer than last summer.

Already five drivers have claimed victories in the first six races, including three first-time winners. Graham Rahal, Danica Patrick and Ryan Briscoe have all added their names to the IndyCar Series history book. Scott Dixon, the only repeat winner in 2008, leads the point standings by 28 over winless Helio Castroneves.

What happens out of the cockpit could add to the drama. When 26 drivers race hard every weekend, tempers are bound to flare. There have already been incidents that have left drivers pointing fingers and laying blame. In the heat of the summer, there could be more.

Remember last year when: Danica Patrick confronted Dan Wheldon on pit lane at Milwaukee; Tomas Scheckter hurled his gloves at Marco Andretti at Texas; Six cars crashed in a single accident at Iowa; Sam Hornish confronted Tony Kanaan on pit lane at Watkins Glen; three Andretti Green cars had trouble on the first lap at Mid-Ohio; opponents accused AGR of team tactics at Infineon.

Summer 2008 promises to be full of drama. Stay tuned.

***

Vitor Meira won the fans’ vote from the race at Indianapolis and was awarded $10,000 during pre-race ceremonies at Milwaukee.

From the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225, fans can choose from:

Oriol Servia passing the leader on Lap 10 restart to get back on the lead lap.
Townsend Bell for advancing 11 spots in the first two laps.
Ryan Briscoe for holding off a charging Scott Dixon.

In past seasons, Firestone has awarded the bonus to the driver who led the lap that corresponded to the total number of races in IndyCar Series history.

***

4. Drivers reap post-race awards: Ryan Briscoe reaped the benefits from winning the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. Briscoe was presented an IndyCar Series 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 2008. He also collected the $2,000 Lincoln Welders Hard Charger Award for being the race leader who started furthest back and $1,000 from Bosch.

Marco Andretti earned $10,000 for winning the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award. Oriol Servia collected the $2,000 XTrac Award.

***

BRISCOE EARNS FIRST CAREER WIN; 300TH WIN FOR ROGER PENSKE

WEST ALLIS, Wis., Sunday, June 1, 2008 – Ryan Briscoe persevered through 225 laps on a crowded 1-mile oval at Milwaukee to earn his first career victory in the IndyCar Series and the 300^th victory in motorsports for team owner Roger Penske.

Briscoe started 11^th in the 26-car field. He doggedly made his way through the field, finally passing Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon for the lead on Lap 177.

Briscoe relinquished the lead on Lap 194 when he was the first car to cycle through a final round of green-flag pit stops. By the time everyone had made a stop, Briscoe was back in the lead for good on Lap 207. He took the checkered on Lap 225 under caution after pole sitter Marco Andretti and Ed Carpenter made contact on Lap 223 in an accident that also collected Indy 500 runner-up Vitor Meira.

“It feels so good to win, my first IndyCar (Series) win, and it feels so good to do it here in Milwaukee,” said Briscoe. “I’m really happy. Ever since Indianapolis, we had that get-together in pit lane, and it was really unfortunate. I was having a really good race and looking at a top-five (finish). We just had to put it behind us and move on to this race. It’s a long championship, and it’s just great. We were focused on this race. We knew we had a good car off of last year’s results of Helio (Castroneves) and (Sam) Hornish (Jr.). Just stayed focused in the race. It’s great to win my first race for Team Penske.”

“Really, it shows the amount of work that has been done by so many people on the team, so many good drivers, so many good pit crews, all the way back,” Penske said. “When we think about winning the first Trans-Am and Indianapolis, and you just go on and think of the drivers that have been with us. It's pretty exciting. And to see Ryan be able to race clean with the 9 car with Dixon, it's a great day.”

Dixon, who led 147 laps, finished second, while two-time defending race winner Tony Kanaan was third. Dan Wheldon was fourth and Helio Castroneves fifth.

Dixon retains the IndyCar Series points lead with a 234-206 advantage over Castroneves as the series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the June 7 Bombardier Learjet 550k.

Also on June 1, Bobby Wilson, a native of nearby Oconomowoc, Wis., led 88 of 100 laps to win the Milwaukee 100 Firestone Indy Lights race. Wilson became the third driver to win in three seasons. It was the first victory for Team E.

Jeff Simmons finished second, and Raphael Matos finished third. Richard Antinucci remains the series points leader 193-192 over Dillon Battistini after the two finished 16^th and 14^th, respectively.

***

Teams competing this weekend have combined for 21 Indy car wins at The Milwaukee Mile:

Newman Haas Lanigan Racing - 7 (Sebastien Bourdais-2006, Michael Andretti-1996, 1992, 1991; Paul Tracy-1995, Nigel Mansell-1993, Mario Andretti-1985)

Team Penske - 6 (Sam Hornish Jr.-2005, Al Unser Jr.-1994, Rick Mears-1989, 1988, 1978; Bobby Unser-1980)

Andretti Green Racing - 3 (Tony Kanaan 2006-2007, Dario Franchitti-2004)

Rahal Letterman Racing - 2 (Michel Jourdain Jr.-2003, Kenny Brack-2001)

Target Chip Ganassi Racing - 2 (Juan Pablo Montoya-2000, Jimmy Vasser-1998)

AJ Foyt Racing - 2 (A.J. Foyt-1979, 1975)

HVM Racing - 1 (Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2004)

***

A Rahal and an Andretti have started on the front row in 13 Indy car races. The first time that Bobby Rahal started on the front row with an Andretti was July 1, 1984 at the Meadowlands. Bobby started second to Mario Andretti that day. Bobby sat on the front row with Mario on seven other occasions. Only once was Bobby on the pole and Mario second. That was at Michigan in September 1985. Bobby also sat on the front row five times with Michael Andretti. Rahal only started on the pole one of those times - at New Hampshire in 1992.

***

In nine of last 10 Indy car races at The Milwaukee Mile, the race winner has dominated the race, leading a majority of laps.

2007 Tony Kanaan - 25 of 225 (IndyCar Series)

2006 Tony Kanaan - 127 of 225 (IndyCar Series)/Sebastien Bourdais-117 of 197

(Champ Car)

2005 Sam Hornish Jr.- 123 of 225 (IndyCar Series)/Paul Tracy - 195 of 221 (Champ Car)

2004 Dario Franchitti - 111 of 225 (IndyCar Series)/Ryan Hunter-Reay - 250 of 250 (Champ Car)

2003 Michel Jourdain Jr. - 234 of 250 (CART)

2002 Paul Tracy - 184 of 250 (CART)

2001 Kenny Brack - 130 of 225 (CART)

***

Bobby Wilson has led at least one lap in three consecutive seasons. Pablo Donoso led his first laps in Firestone Indy Lights.

***

FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS POST-RACE NOTES:

Bobby Wilson earns his third career victory in Firestone Indy Lights. It is his first win on an oval. His previous wins came at Watkins Glen in 2006 and the Indianapolis road course in 2007.
Wilson is the third driver to record victories in three seasons, joining Wade Cunningham and Jeff Simmons. Wilson and Cunningham are the only drivers to record wins in three consecutive seasons.
Wilson led 88 laps today, more than the 39 laps he had led in his previous 36 Firestone Indy Lights starts.
This is the first Firestone Indy Lights victory for first-year team Team E.
Jeff Simmons finished second, his best finish since St. Petersburg 1 in 2006.
Raphael Matos finished third, his best finish on an oval. His previous best was eighth at Homestead-Miami.
James Davison finished a career-best sixth. His previous best was 11^th at Kansas.
Pablo Donoso finished a career-best eighth. His previous best was 12^th at Kansas.

***

FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS POST-RACE QUOTES:

BOBBY WILSON (No. 17 Team E Patriot Bank, finished first): “The Team E guys put together a great car this weekend. Our first win together couldn’t have happened at a better place than The Milwaukee Mile. I’m just ecstatic for the team. They did such a good job and put together a good car. It was like a walk in the park for me. I just kept the tires under me the whole time and drove to victory.” (About winning at his home track): “Coming to The Milwaukee Mile as a kid, it was always a dream for me to race here one day. To win here is even better. Hats off to the guys; it’s their first win. Team E Racing and owner Neil Enerson put together a great program and gave us the tools we needed to be here.” (About the last lap): “There were cars fighting for position, and I was getting a lot of dirty air. I didn’t want to g et right in the middle of that with the potential for an accident to happen. I knew I was faster than (Jeff Simmons), and I knew the lap countdown and time intervals, so I only used as much of the car as I needed to stay up front. (Simmons) did get close at the end, but timing is everything. Jeff had a run on me, but I really wasn’t worried.”

JEFF SIMMONS (No 2. TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling, second): “We had a good car, especially on the long run. I had to work the tools to keep me good. We were quick. We had a shot of it there at the end. When our tires were cold, I was really, really loose. That hurt us on the first couple laps. We just came up a little bit short. I’m really happy. The guys on Team Moore Racing-Xtreme Coil Drilling do a great job. We just came up about 12 feet short.”

RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc., third) “It was good. I was happy for the team. They deserve better results than we’ve had in the past two races. We improved quite a lot from qualifying. I think the car was quite good in the end. This place is so difficult in traffic. It’s very difficult to pass. Once I was in third, I just wanted to finish and collect points, which is good for the championship. Now we just have to work harder and harder trying to maximize our car to the ovals, and then we’ll be there in the end fighting for the championship.”

ANDREW PRENDEVILLE (No. 5 Best Friends Animal Society, fourth): “The car was really good. I think we had a car capable of winning, but it’s still a good finish.”

J.R. HILDEBRAND (No. 25 Allied Building Products, fifth): “I definitely wasn’t looking forward to starting mid-pack for this race, but I screwed up in the first practice session and that put us behind. I owe everything to the guys for putting this car back together and being as good as it was. I had a good race car and was picking off guys one by one. It’s definitely tough to get by guys around here. You could be a couple of tenths of a second faster and never get by. I forced the issue a couple of times and made up a couple of spots late in the game. It feels good to complete another good drive.”

PABLO DONOSO (No. 22 TMR-Cristal-Xtreme Coil Drilling, seventh): “We were on the pole. We did an awesome job yesterday. The car today was a little bit hard to drive. It was a little bit loose, and I lost a couple positions. But then I had some slow guy bugging me for like 20 laps, and I lost more positions. Then I fought hard with some drivers. Anyway, we finished in the top 10. It was our first top-10 finish, and I'm looking forward to the next race to try to improve a bit more and try to pick up more points.” (About his post-race meeting with Tony Cotman): “It was fine. They tried to teach me about some of my mistakes. But there are some guys out there that made mistakes as well. I'm going to think about what I did bad this race so I can improve for the next one.”

***

The No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car driven by Tony Kanaan is carrying the Direct Supply logo on its front wing this weekend as a sign of goodwill toward Sarah Fisher.

Direct Supply is a major sponsor of Sarah Fisher Racing. Kanaan and Fisher, in her first year as an owner/driver, were involved in an accident during the Indianapolis 500 that ended an emotional month for Fisher.

Direct Supply is based in Milwaukee, and CEO Bob Hillis was at The Milwaukee Mile today. He thanked Kanaan and Andretti Green Racing co-owner Kevin Savoree for their support.

Andretti Green Racing also has given an underwing to Sarah Fisher Racing.

***

Briscoe leads his first lap on an oval. He has previously led laps at St. Petersburg in April and Infineon in 2005.

***

INDYCAR SERIES POST-RACE NOTES:

This is Ryan Briscoe’s first career victory in the IndyCar Series. His previous best finish was third at Watkins Glen in 2006.
This is Team Penske’s 26^th victory in the IndyCar Series and its first this season. The team’s last victory came at Texas last June.
This is Roger Penske’s 300^th victory in motorsports.
Scott Dixon finished second, his fifth top-three finish of the season. Dixon led 147 laps today and has led 508 of the last 825 laps. He has led 100 or more laps in four consecutive races.
Tony Kanaan finished third, his fourth top-five finish this season. This is his worst finish at Milwaukee in five races.
Dan Wheldon finished fourth, his fourth top-five finish of the season.
Helio Castroneves finished fifth. He is the only driver to record top-five finishes in every race this season.
Oriol Servia finished sixth, his best finish in the IndyCar Series. His previous best finish was seventh at St. Petersburg.
Justin Wilson finished seventh, his best finish in the IndyCar Series. His previous best finish was ninth at St. Petersburg and Kansas.
E.J. Viso finished eighth, his best finish on an oval. His previous best finish on an oval was 14^th at Kansas.

***

INDYCAR SERIES POST-RACE QUOTES:

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, finished first): “It feels so good to win, my first IndyCar (Series) win, and it feels so good to do it here in Milwaukee. I’m really happy.” (How will you celebrate): “We’ve got Texas next week, so there’s not too much time to enjoy it. I’m certainly going to enjoy it for the next few days.” (About bouncing back after incident last week at Indy): “Ever since Indianapolis, we had that get-together in pit lane, and it was really unfortunate. I was having a really good race and looking at a top-five (finish). We just had to put it behind us and move on to this race. It’s a long championship, and it’s just great. We were focused on this race. We knew we had a good car off of last year’s results of Helio (Castroneves) and (Sam) Hornish (Jr.). Just stayed focused in the race. It’s great to win my first race for Team Penske.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, second): “It was a pretty good day for Team Target. We were dominant early on, and the car was really good early on in the stint. I think where we struggled was towards the end of the stint. It didn’t seem to be a problem early on, because the other guys were falling off, too. Briscoe, you got to give him credit. He drove the wheels off that thing. He could really take advantage of the high line when I tried a couple of times and nearly ended up in the fence. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, to be honest. It was a hell of a race towards the end. I’m just glad it didn’t come down to traffic being the deciding factor, and it almost was with Briscoe almost being taken out by those guys crashing. It was a tough race. I’m a little disappointed we didn’t come up with the win, but it’s fantastic points for the championship.”

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven, third): “Ryan (Briscoe) was really strong, and I’m always in favor of the fast car winning the race. He deserved it from where he started. He earned every position. He passed everybody at the racetrack, so congratulations to him. We’re happy with third. When you don’t have a car to win, you have to understand what you have in your hands, and that’s what we had today. It’s good momentum for Team 7-Eleven and for the championship. To think championship, you have to finish in the top three. The way these guys are going, it’s how it has to be.” (How bad was traffic?): “The traffic was bad, but my car wasn’t behaving the way I wanted it today. I would say traffic was an issue, but it was an issue for everybody.”

DAN WHELDON (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, fourth): “I had a car that was just a little conservative, so that’s why it was difficult for me to run up high. For the most part, I think it was a pretty good race. (Racing) kind of swayed back and forth.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske, fifth): “Definitely, (Ryan Briscoe’s) car was much quicker than mine. It’s good to see that he’s coming. Now it’s going to get better and better. This place is amazing; there are so many things happening. I broke the curse. Every time we were here, I’ve never been able to finish. Finally I’ve been able to finish, and fifth place is good enough for points. Not good enough for a win, but we’ll keep working hard.”

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 5 KV Racing Technology, sixth): “I am very happy. I have no idea what is going on. It seems like the last five races something has happened at the start. Either I stall or crash. Then we came back through the field and it was tough, especially for the KV Racing Technology crew. For me, it was great fun, a great race, but a very tiring race. I was hoping for a podium finish here, but finishing sixth with this big field and this tough competition feels like a podium. The crew did a great job, and I am just very happy for the KVRT team. The whole team really stepped up this weekend. We are getting close to the established IndyCar teams, and that is encouraging, but we still have a way to go on the bigger ovals.”

JUSTIN WILSON (No. 02 McDonald’s Racing Team, seventh): “It was a very hectic race; I’m trying to remember everything that happened, because there was a lot. On the first lap, I had passed a load of cars, and I was coming out of the inside of Turn 4 because there was a bit of a stack-up on the outside, and (Oriol) Servia came from the outside across the front of me and into the pit lane. I had to hit the brakes and went to last, so I wasn’t too happy about that. We kept battling on, and the team did a great job; the McDonald’s car was much better in the race. I was very pleased with the progress. We got up to the front and were about seventh, and we were due to pit and had begun the countdown. That’s when Graham (Rahal) had his accident, and they closed the pits and we had to come in on a closed pit or run out of fuel. That put us last on the lead lap and at the back of the line. That got us lapped on the next stint even though we were moving forward again, because we were at the back of the line. After that, we kept pushing and trying to move forward. We did it and got back to seventh. It was a busy race, and I was expecting more yellows, but everybody did a good job.”

E.J. VISO (No. 33 PDVSA HVM Racing, eighth): “Today was a roller coaster of a race. We ran well early on, but the car started to go away in the third stint. It was difficult to maintain my position at the end, and I just got too close and hit the wall. Despite that, a top-10 finish is good for the team, and it’s our best so far on an oval. Now we have to face the challenge of Texas next week, and I’m definitely up for it.”

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Motorola, ninth): “We started the race today with a balanced Motorola car, and as the race went on I really struggled to keep it. We were able to make improvements, but they were not able to hold the entire stint of the run. I had some understreer issues all day, and this is where we as a team need to find out what the problem is and find a solution. On a good note, we finished the race which we have not been able to do in the last two races.”

BUDDY RICE (No. 15 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, 10th): “A pretty good day for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing. I have to thank Dennis (Reinbold), J.D. (John Dick), the Honda and Firestone guys, and all my crew guys for a great job. It was also cool to see Townsend’s (Bell) Emu car on the track for the first time. That and the William Rast car were some nice looking cars. In the race, I made a mistake coming into the pits for the first pit stop, and that cost us a bunch of track position. The crew kept working with me and the car with some small changes, and at the end, we were pretty good. We managed to keep our nose clean and pick up some spots as the race was ending. What was looking like a bad weekend turned out to be pretty good. I can’t thank my guys enough for their effort.”

***

The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues with the Bombardier Learjet 550k on June 7 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 10 p.m. (EDT) by ESPN2. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPNDeportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com. The 2008 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Jeld-Wen 100 June 21 at Iowa Speedway. The Milwaukee 100 will be telecast at 1 p.m. EDT June 5.

IndyCar Series

ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Indy 225

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - Results Sunday of the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Indy 225 IndyCar Series event June 1 at the 1-mile Milwaukee Mile, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (11) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 225, Running

2. (3) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 225, Running

3. (6) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 225, Running

4. (7) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 225, Running

5. (5) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 225, Running

6. (9) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 225, Running

7. (22) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 224, Running

8. (10) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 224, Running

9. (13) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 224, Running

10. (19) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 224, Running

11. (21) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 224, Running

12. (14) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 224, Running

13. (20) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 223, Running

14. (4) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 223, Running

15. (12) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 223, Running

16. (8) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 222, Running

17. (18) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 222, Running

18. (15) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 222, Running

19. (16) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 222, Running

20. (17) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 221, Contact

21. (1) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 221, Contact

22. (26) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 220, Contact

23. (23) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 218, Running

24. (24) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 218, Running

25. (2) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 129, Contact

26. (25) Mario Dominguez, Dallara-Honda, 107, Handling

27. (DNS) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 0, Did not start

Race Statistics

Winner's average speed: 133.428 mph

Time of race: 1:42:41.7387

Margin of victory: Under caution

Cautions: 4 caution flags for 29 laps

Lead changes: 5 among 4 drivers

Lap leaders: Andretti 1-40, Dixon 41-176, Briscoe 177-193,

Dixon 194-204, Castroneves 205-206, Briscoe 207-225.

Point standings: Dixon 234, Castroneves 206, Wheldon 185,

Kanaan 174, Patrick 144, Andretti 142, Servia 140, Briscoe

134, Carpenter 132, Mutoh 131

INDYCAR SERIES NEWS AND NOTES – May 29, 2008

Today’s IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines

Valuable gains result of Indy track time
Battistini eyes third victory, Firestone Indy Lights points lead

1. Valuable gains result of Indy track time: For the drivers and teams competing in the IndyCar Series for their first season, the month of May at Indianapolis represented a chance for them to catch their breath – a little – and log their first significant miles in the Honda-powered Dallara.

Drivers for the six new full-season teams logged more than 5,700 laps and 14,300 miles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, giving them valuable time to learn the car, oval racing, and in some instances more time to gel as a team.

“As a transition team, it was really good for us to have so many miles on an oval and start to understand the car a little bit more, and if anything get a little bit of time to catch up on development,” said Will Power, who logged more miles, 1,927, in the No. 8 Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia entry for KV Racing Technology than any other driver during the month. “As a driver, I gained confidence and experience on an oval. That’s what we really need at this point.”

Power completed all 200 laps during the 92^nd Indianapolis 500 and finished 13^th, second only to teammate Oriol Servia’s 11^th-place finish among the new group of drivers.

Understanding the Dallara chassis is a key to the ability to be competitive throughout the season.

“The additional track time was invaluable,” said HVM Racing team manager Vince Kremer, who worked his 16^th Indianapolis 500. “It not only allowed (driver E.J. Viso) the time to get acquainted with the track but also allowed him, his engineers and crew significant time to work through many of the options that are available on the Dallara chassis. Unlike a ‘normal’ race weekend where you unload from the trailer and only have a couple of practice sessions prior to qualifying, working at the Speedway affords you the time to make back-to-back changes and see how they perform on the track.”

For Jaime Camara and Conquest Racing, the month afforded the driver and team a chance to get to know one another. Camara debuted in the IndyCar Series with the team in late April at Kansas Speedway.

“It was a good month for me,” said Camara. “We had a lot of track time, and that helps you get more comfortable in the car. The more comfortable you get in the car, the more you can free it up, because you know what the car will do. I gained a lot of experience. Even though I only did (79) laps in the race, it was good experience racing.

“And the team and I were able to find a rhythm. With all the time in the car, I know their rhythm, they know my rhythm. That’s going to help us as we go on.”

The practice time also was valuable for Mario Dominguez and Pacific Coast Motorsports, which will makes its IndyCar Series debut at Milwaukee. Dominguez recorded 459 practice laps at Indianapolis before his last-minute qualifying attempt on Bump Day resulted in a crash.

“As a brand new team with no IndyCar Series experience and starting with the biggest and fastest oval on the circuit, it was invaluable to get as much practice time as possible,” said PCM team manager Michael Harvey. “The rain hampered that a bit, but we did a significant amount of laps. They certainly (have a lot of value) for Mario and reacquainting himself with the oval again.”

The extra time and miles in the car should begin to pay dividends in the 12 remaining races, seven of which are on ovals, including the June 1 ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile.

Driver	Practice Laps	Race Laps	Total Laps	Miles
Will Power (KV Racing Technology)	571	200	771	1,927.5
Oriol Servia (KV Racing Technology)	558	200	758	1,895
Justin Wilson (Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing)	476	132	608	1,520
Enrique Bernoldi (Conquest Racing)	405	200	605	1,512.5
Mario Moraes (Dale Coyne Racing)	394	194	588	1,470
E.J. Viso (HVM Racing)	412	139	551	1,377.5
Graham Rahal (Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing)	485	36	521	1,302.5
Bruno Junqueira (Dale Coyne Racing)	275	184	459	1,147.5
Mario Dominguez (Pacific Coast Motorsports)	447		447