Dixon dominant
Scott Dixon will attempt to win his third consecutive race at Nashville. If he wins, it will be the third time an IndyCar Series driver has won three consecutive races at one track. Dan Wheldon won three consecutive races at Homestead-Miami, and Dixon won three straight at Watkins Glen. Can Dixon recover from his spin at The Glen and return to Victory Lane at Nashville where he has led 194 laps in five starts?
Changing of the guard
Drivers from five teams have won races this season. At Watkins Glen, Ryan Hunter-Reay put Rahal Letterman Racing into Victory Lane for the first time since 2004. Darren Manning finished second, the best finish for A.J. Foyt Racing since 2002. Buddy Rice, with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, finished fourth. RLR drivers started on the front row at Nashville in 2004. Can these teams continue their surge to the front of the grid on Nashville’s tricky 1.33-mile concrete surface?
Diverse, compact schedule puts teams to the test
Not only are IndyCar Series teams in the middle of a stretch of six consecutive races, but the next several races will have teams switching from oval setups to road-course setups and back again. Beginning with the race at Richmond June 28 and continuing through the race at Infineon Aug. 28, the schedule alternates between ovals and road courses. How are teams keeping up with the grueling schedule?
First-time winner at Nashville?
With nine rookies in the IndyCar Series field and several other drivers competing at Nashville for the first time, a driver could win his or her first IndyCar Series race at Nashville. Already this season, Graham Rahal, Danica Patrick, Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay have won their first career races.
Race Notes:
The Firestone Indy 200 will be the eighth IndyCar Series event conducted at Nashville Superspeedway. Past winners Scott Dixon (2006, 2007) and Tony Kanaan (2004) are entered in the event.
Three drivers entered in the Firestone Indy 200 have won PEAK Motor Oil Pole Awards at Nashville: Scott Dixon (2003, 2007), Buddy Rice (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2006).
Twelve drivers entered in the Firestone Indy 200 have competed in previous IndyCar Series events at the track. Six of those drivers led laps (Scott Dixon 194, Tony Kanaan 149, Dan Wheldon 135, Vitor Meira 117, Buddy Rice 52 and Danica Patrick 7.
While Jay Howard, Hideki Mutoh and Jamie Camara are making their first IndyCar Series start at Nashville all three have Firestone Indy Lights experience at the track. Camara and Howard both won at the track. Camara in 2005 and Howard in 2006.
Milestones & Records:
Helio Castroneves will attempt to make his 108th career IndyCar Series start. It would also be his 106th consecutive start.
Helio Castroneves can establish an IndyCar Series record for most consecutive seasons with at least one win should he win the Firestone Indy 200. 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 at Nashville.
Scott Dixon needs to lead 85 more laps to become the fifth driver to lead 2,000 laps in his career. The others to lead at least 2,000 laps are Sam Hornish Jr. (3,428), Helio Castroneves (2,774), Dan Wheldon (2,735) and Tony Kanaan (2,419).
Scott Dixon has led 633 laps this season. The record for most laps led in a season is 899 by Tony Kanaan in 2004.
Helio Castroneves has led laps in 64 IndyCar Series races, second only to Sam Hornish Jr., who led laps in 67 races.
Vitor Meira has gone 86 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.
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