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IndyCar Series News And Notes

Today’s IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series headlines:

1. Big one doesn’t change point race

2. Treasure to trash: Franchitti’s Indy 500 winning car totaled in crash

3. Indy Pro Series readies for first night race

4. Further check up needed

1. Big one doesn’t change point race: You’ll have to excuse IndyCar
Series title contenders Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon if they refer
to the Firestone Indy 400 as a mulligan.

The top two drivers in the point standings were among the seven
drivers involved in a multi-car accident on Lap 143 at Michigan
International Speedway on Aug. 5 and resulted in both drivers first DNF
of the season.

But despite their early exit from the race, which was won by Tony
Kanaan, the gap from Franchitti to Dixon remains at 24 points.

Franchitti finished 13th, but earned the three-point bonus for leading
the most laps. Dixon’s Target Chip Ganassi Racing team kept pace by
repairing his battered race car, and he returned to the race nearly 45
minutes after the crash to improve to 10th position.

“I tried to get past Dario (Franchitti), he just ended up on top
of me,” Dixon said. “The Target team did a great job getting the car
back together so we could get back out there and finish ahead of Dario.
It keeps the points the same as it was coming in, so it’s like this race
never happened.”

2. Treasure to trash: Franchitti’s Indy 500 winning car totaled in
crash: Michael Andretti showed quick wit following a tense situation.

“You can have it now,” the Andretti Green Racing co-owner told driver
Dario Franchitti. The reference was to Franchitti’s Indianapolis
500-winning No. 27 Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone, which
Franchitti had requested of the team to place center stage in the racing
memorabilia room of the Scottish farmhouse he recently renovated.

For the immediate future, it’s moot after the car’s airborne escapade on
Lap 143 on the 2-mile oval. Franchitti was uninjured in the incident
that caught up seven cars.

“I’m devastated to see my ‘500’ car torn up like that,” Franchitti said.
“I have to say though that it did it’s job; it really saved me. I guess
I owe that car a lot. Hopefully, now Michael will drop the price on it
for me. I hope we can eventually get it repaired and to Scotland
sometime.”

3. Indy Pro Series readies for first night race: When the Indy Pro
Series opened the 2007 season with qualifying under the lights at
Homestead-Miami Speedway, it was the precursor for the series’ first
race under the lights. That will occur Aug. 11 at Kentucky Speedway when
the 67-lap race is scheduled to begin at 9:10 p.m. (EDT).

Drivers are looking forward to showcasing the series in prime time at a
track that has featured multiple laps of side-by-side racing. Last
year’s Kentucky 100 was the second-closest in series history with a
margin of victory of 0.0190 of a second.

“I think the night race will be great fun,” said series points leader
Alex Lloyd, who will be vying for his record eighth victory of the
season in the No. 7 Lucas Oil/Isilon Systems entry for Sam Schmidt
Motorsports. “I have never raced a night race before. The biggest thing
for us will be the fact that we run after the IndyCar Series. The track
will have a lot of marbles on it and therefore the second and third
grooves will be slippery. This puts more of an emphasis on qualifying,
but even if the high line is harder to use effectively I am sure our
race will be as exciting as always.”

“I think the concept to race at night is good because it is just another
way in which this series tries to emulate the IndyCar Series,” added
2005 series champion Wade Cunningham, who has two top-three finishes in
as many starts at Kentucky. “If anything, the cooler temperature should
mean more efficient downforce and better racing.”

Most of the drivers in the 21-car field entered in the Kentucky 100 have
some experience driving at night.

“I have raced more times at night than in the day,” said Sean Guthrie,
who finished fifth in last year’s race on the 1.5-mile oval. “I used to
race on a dirt oval in Albuquerque in go-karts and have won more races
at night than I have raced in the day. I believe I have won over 50 main
events at night. I really enjoy racing at night as it just adds another
element to driving.

“When we qualified at night at Homestead, I truly enjoyed it. The track
looks a lot different, and ensuring you drive the same line as during
the day is critical. While the track is going to change substantially
from day to night, I don’t believe it will affect the cars that greatly
as the cars are very aero-dependent on the large tracks. The engines
will be making more power due to the substantially better air, and the
added power should even the field up.”

The Kentucky 100 also marks the first time the Indy Pro Series race has
been scheduled for after the IndyCar Series event – although rain forced
just that scenario at California in 2005.

“I like the idea of racing after the IndyCar Series,” Guthrie said. “I
think that it will allow for one of our largest turnouts, and I feel
like we can put on as good of if not better show than the IndyCar
Series.”

The Kentucky 100 is the 13th of 16 races on the 2007 schedule. Practice
and qualifying are scheduled for Aug. 10.

4. Further check up needed: Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves and
AAMCO/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Sarah Fisher will need clearance from
Indy Racing League director of medical services Dr. Michael Olinger at
Kentucky after separate accidents at Michigan International Speedway.

Castroneves injured his right knee in a two-car accident on Lap 58,
while Fisher strained her neck in a one-car accident on Lap 83 after her
car suffered a mechanical failure.

***

The next IndyCar Series event is the Meijer Indy 300 presented by
Coca-Cola and Edy’s at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on Aug. 11 at Kentucky Speedway.
The race will be televised live by ESPN2 and broadcast by the IMS Radio
Network. The next Indy Pro Series event is the Kentucky 100 on Aug.11 at
Kentucky Speedway. The race will be broadcast at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 16 by
ESPN2.

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