IndyCar Series aero options debut at Kentucky
Starting this weekend at Kentucky Speedway, IndyCar Series teams will have aerodynamic options at their disposal that potentially will accentuate side-by-side racing and increase overtaking on ovals. Teams can add tire ramps, sidepod extensions and wheel in-fills – as a package or in any combination in qualifying and/or the race—to the cars for the remaining four 1.5-mile oval racetracks this season.
Last lap, last turn, last corner
Last year, Scott Dixon passed Helio Castroneves exiting the final turn of the 200-lap race at Kentucky Speedway to steal the victory. Dixon, who led 151 laps after starting from the pole, found himself running third for most of the final 30 laps. When he exited pit lane after a splash of 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol on Lap 194, Dixon was more than 6 seconds behind Castroneves, who had last pitted on Lap 143. Castroneves ran out of fuel on the final lap and couldn’t hold off the charging Dixon. It was Castroneves’ seventh runner-up finish.
Newman/Haas/Lanigan aims for another 1-2 start
Now in its second year of IndyCar Series competition, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing continues to build on its oval package. Earlier this season, the cars of Graham Rahal and Robert Doornbos swept the front row at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway. Can the team find similar success in qualifying at Kentucky Speedway, another tri-oval with similar banking?
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No repeat pole winner at Kentucky
In the nine previous years that Kentucky Speedway has hosted an IndyCar Series event, not a single driver has been able to amass more than one pole start. Five previous polesitters are entered: Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2007), Helio Castroneves (2006), Danica Patrick (2005) and Sarah Fisher (2002). Will one of these drivers be the first to repeat or will someone else top the charts in PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying?
Teams return to oval racing
After a month of natural-terrain road courses and bumpy temporary street circuits, the IndyCar Series prepares to tackle a 1.5-mile oval. How will teams adjust to the return of high-speed oval racing after a month of turning both left and right?
Wheldon aims to add another 1.5-mile win to his roster
Of the six 1.5-mile ovals on the schedule, Dan Wheldon has yet to win at two – Kentucky Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. The pairing of Wheldon with the team that gave him his IndyCar Series start, Panther Racing, could do the trick this weekend. Wheldon has earned nine wins on 1.5-mile ovals while Panther Racing has 10 wins with drivers Scott Goodyear, Sam Hornish Jr. and Tomas Scheckter. Can Wheldon and Panther Racing find the winning combination at Kentucky?
Race Notes:
The Meijer Indy 300 will be the 10th IndyCar Series event conducted at Kentucky Speedway. Previous race winners entered are: Scott Dixon (2008) and Tony Kanaan (2007).
Previous pole winners entered are: Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2007), Helio Castroneves (2006), Danica Patrick (2005) and Sarah Fisher (2002).
Twenty drivers entered in the event have competed in previous IndyCar Series races at Kentucky. Nine of those drivers have led laps: Tony Kanaan (285), Scott Dixon (177), Dan Wheldon (176), Dario Franchitti (52), Marco Andretti (40), Helio Castroneves (40), Sarah Fisher (35), Tomas Scheckter (9) and Danica Patrick (1).
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Three drivers will make their first IndyCar Series start at Kentucky: Mike Conway, Robert Doornbos and Raphael Matos.
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