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Indy 500 News & Notes

A familiar duo has reunited for the 92nd Indianapolis 500. Ron Hemelgarn and Buddy Lazier will team-up and compete in the 92nd Indianapolis 500. Lazier, the 1996 winner of the 500-Mile Race and the 2000 IndyCar Series champion, will drive the accustomed #91 Hemelgarn Johnson entry as he attempts to qualify for his 16th Indianapolis 500.

Lazier made his Indy 500 debut in 1991 and won ?The Greatest Spectacle in Racing? on his fourth attempt, leading 43 laps after starting fifth. Last year, he improved three positions to finish 19th in a Sam Schmidt Motorsports car.

?I love the Indianapolis 500 and everything about the IndyCar Series,? said Lazier, who finished second in the 500 in 1998 and 2000 and fifth in 2005. ?I lie awake at night because I want to be part of it. Ron has given me an opportunity to be part of it. We?ve struggled and we?ve had success together in the past. The two of us have experienced what it?s like to finish 33rd and have a horrible day, and we?ve experienced winning. It?s nice to be back together. It?s a last-minute program, but we?re going to make the best of it. I think we?ll have a strong race car and we?ll be a factor on race day.?

For Hemelgarn, this year marks the 30th year he has participated in the Indianapolis 500 as either a sponsor or team owner.

?Buddy and I go back to 1989,? Hemelgarn said. ?We?ve had great success together winning races, winning a championship and winning the Indianapolis 500. We?re assembling a team again to run the 500. We?re all very excited about it. We have the same crew chief as our championship year, Lee Kunzman is still there. We?re looking forward to it. It?s an exciting time, and hopefully we?ll do well.?

What looks to be the largest rookie class since 1997, thirteen rookies are entered in the Indianapolis 500. This may be the most since 1997 when the 13-member rookie class included Kenny Brack, Greg Ray and Sam Schmidt. Eight rookies have won the Indianapolis 500, including Helio Castroneves in 2001.

The big names look to be back in the Indy 500 as the next generation of Andrettis, Foyts and Rahals will share the track for the first time since 1992 when Jeff, John, Mario and Michael Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Bobby Rahal were on the track together. That year, Rahal, Foyt and John Andretti all finished in the top 10. This year, Marco Andretti, A.J. Foyt IV, Larry Foyt and Graham Rahal will compete. Marco is the 21-year-old grandson of Mario and son of Michael. A.J. IV, who will turn 24 on Race Day, is the grandson of A.J. Foyt, and Graham is the 19-year-old son of Bobby.

Several names and teams will compete in Indianapolis 500 which will be the first under the unified IndyCar Series banner. Look for teams like Team Penske, Dale Coyne Racing, Andretti Green Racing and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing to compete against each other in ?The Greatest Spectacle in Racing? for the first time since 1995.

So far 2008 has been ultra-competitive with four winners in four races. This is the first time since 2004 that a season has started with four different winners. The top four drivers are separated by only 15 points. The last time five different drivers won the first five races was in 2003 when Scott Dixon opened the season with a victory at Homestead-Miami and went on to win the championship. Team Penske?s Gil de Ferran won the Indianapolis 500 that season (the fourth race).

Helio Castroneves leads the IndyCar Series standing on the strength of four top-five finishes. However, he has yet to record a victory in 2008. Can the ?Dancing with the Stars? champion find his way to Victory Lane at Indianapolis, where he won in 2001 and 2002, and become the ninth driver with three or more victories in the Indianapolis 500?

Eight graduates of Firestone Indy Lights, the Indy Racing League?s development series founded in 2002, are entered in the Indianapolis 500, including 2007 champion Alex Lloyd and 2006 champion Jay Howard. In addition, Freedom 100 winners Ed Carpenter (2003) and Jaime Camara (2005) are entered.

The Indianapolis 500 will be the 13th IndyCar Series event conducted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Four past winners during the IndyCar Series era are entered – Dan Wheldon (2005), Buddy Rice (2004), Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002) and Buddy Lazier (1996). Who knows, maybe another former winner will be in the #77 Team Penske entry?

Four drivers entered have won the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by AutoZone at Indianapolis: Helio Castroneves (2003, 2007), Tony Kanaan (2005), Buddy Rice (2004) and Bruno Junqueira (2002).

Eleven drivers entered in the Indianapolis 500 have combined to lead 996 laps at the Speedway (Dan Wheldon 204, Tony Kanaan 202, Helio Castroneves 162, Tomas Scheckter 148, Buddy Rice 91, Buddy Lazier 70, Bruno Juqueira 50, Scott Dixon 32, Danica Patrick 19, Marco Andretti 15 and Vitor Meira 3).

Four IndyCar Series champions are scheduled to participate in the Indianapolis 500: Buddy Lazier (2000), Scott Dixon (2003), Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005).

Graham Rahal would become the fifth-youngest starter in Indianapolis 500 history (19 year, 142 days) if he qualifies for the race. A.J. Foyt IV (19 years, 0 days) is the youngest ever starter in the 500 while Marco Andretti (19, 76) is third. Sarah Fisher (19, 237) is currently fifth.

Enrique Bernoldi and Justin Wilson may be rookies in the Indianapolis 500, but that doesn?t mean they haven?t competed at the Speedway before. Both drivers competed in Formula One events on the road course. Wilson finished eighth in 2003 while Bernoldi finished 13th in 2001.

This is the second consecutive season that three women (Milka Duno, Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick) are entered in the Indianapolis 500.

Tony Kanaan has qualified in the top five in all six of his Indianapolis 500 starts. Other notable streaks include: Helio Castroneves, four consecutive top-10 starts; Danica Patrick, three consecutive top-10 starts; Marco Andretti and Scott Dixon, two consecutive top-10 starts.

Vitor Meira has four consecutive top-10 finishes in the Indianapolis 500. Vitor Meira has gone 80 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver. Buddy Lazier is the only driver to start every Indianapolis 500 since 1995.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is offering a General Admission Season Ticket for all three of its world-class events in 2008, the 92nd Indianapolis 500, 15th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP.

The season ticket provides gate admission for a combined nine days over the three events, including all three race days, for just $150:

?Indianapolis 500: Friday, May 23 (Miller Lite Carb Day, Firestone Freedom 100); Saturday, May 24 (Drivers? Meeting), Sunday, May 25 (Race Day)

?Allstate 400 at the Brickyard: Friday, July 25 (Chevy Day at the Brickyard, Practice); Saturday, July 26 (Qualifying, Practice), Sunday, July 27 (Race Day)

?Red Bull Indianapolis GP: Friday, Sept. 12 (Practice), Saturday, Sept. 13 (Qualifying, Practice), Sunday, Sept. 14 (Race Day)

?We?re pleased to offer a season ticket as a great value to our loyal fans,? said Joie Chitwood, IMS president and chief operating officer. ?The season ticket provides a savings of $25 and also offers a variety of other bonuses for fans.?

An IMS Season Ticket provides the only way for fans to obtain general admission Race Day access to the popular Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the annual stop of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on the historic 2.5-mile oval. All other Race Day tickets are reserved for this event.

Other perks for General Admission Season Ticket buyers include a free IMS gift and automatic registration to receive the ?Wing and Wheel? e-mail newsletter, which provides IMS news, and information about tickets and other special offers.

Fans have three easy methods to buy IMS General Admission Season Tickets: Online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time; on the phone by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office on the first floor of the IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16th St. in Indianapolis from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Here is the schedule for the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
Schedule (local time):
May 4-5
Noon-5 p.m. ? Rookie Orientation Program

May 6-9
Noon-6 p.m. ? IndyCar Series practice

May 10
9-10 a.m. ? IndyCar Series practice (two groups)
10-11 a.m. ? IndyCar Series practice
Noon-6 p.m. ? PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by AutoZone qualifying

May 11
10:15-11:15 a.m. ? IndyCar Series practice
Noon-6 p.m. ? IndyCar Series qualifying

May 14-16
Noon-6 p.m. ? IndyCar Series practice

May 17-18
10:15-11:15 a.m. ? IndyCar Series practice
Noon-6 p.m. ? IndyCar Series qualifying

May 22
9-9:45 a.m. ? Firestone Indy Lights practice
11-11:45 a.m. ? Firestone Indy Lights practice
1:15 p.m. ? SWE Pole Qualifying

May 23
11 a.m. ? Noon ? IndyCar Series practice
Noon ? Firestone Freedom 100 pre-race
12:30 p.m. ? Firestone Freedom 100 (40 laps/100 miles)
1:30-3 p.m. ? Checkers/Rally?s Pit Stop Competition
3:30 p.m. ? Carb Day Concert

May 25
1 p.m. ? 92nd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race (200 laps/500 miles)

The IndyCar Series and the IMS media services contributed to the report.

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