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One Race, Two Drivers The Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 Preview

Big Bend, WI (September 29, 2010) – With two drivers eligible to win the IZOD IndyCar Series Championship it should not be surprising that it includes one driver each from Team Penske and the Target-Chip Ganassi team. Team Penske upstart, Will Power leads wily veteran Dario Franchitti, a two-time series champion who is seeking his second consecutive title, by 12 points entering the season-ending Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 on Saturday (Oct. 2) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Obviously, Franchiiti has one goal Saturday as he mentioned earlier this week, “We know how to get the job done. The guys at Team Target know how to win it too. We’re not going to go out and change our game plan. We’re going to go out to win the race. We’ve got to make up the points. We’ve got to get a 13-point advantage, which is not going to be easy, but we think we’ve got — we’ve got the equipment to do it. We know how to do it. So we’ve been talking about a lot this week about the ins and outs and the championships and the points.” He added, “At this point we just want to get on the track and fight out there.”

What about Power? The street circuit ace proved he could win on the tight street courses on the old Champ Car circuit. However coming back from a serious back injury he received at Sonoma in 2009 to be one of dominant drivers in the series in 2010 has surprised a few. Tim Cindric was asked about signing Power last year to substitute for Helio and then brought him back in after his back injury at the start of the season, did you think he’d have this kind of season?

Cindric responded, “It’s interesting, Will — from the minute we sat down and talked to him about filling in for Helio, back the beginning of 2009, he was adamant that he felt like he could win this championship.

He continued to say, “I know I can compete for this championship. I know I can get there, I just need the chance,” and that’s continued to be really the thing that he’s been very consistent in his belief. And it wasn’t as much as I can win races or I’m fast enough. In his head, it’s always been about trying to be a champion. And to see it I guess so early in our relationship, I can’t say that I would have expected him to be in this position. In his first full season with us, would I have said that? I guess I would have probably said I wouldn’t have expected him to be leading the championship, but obviously I think we felt like he was a championship contender or we wouldn’t have had much interest in fielding a third car.”

Power added, “Yeah, I mean, it’s been my best season to date, my entire career. And going into this season I guess a few months, I wasn’t even sure I would be full time. So it was a great start. And it continued through the whole season. And I think this is the first time I’ve been in the position in my career where I’ve got all the tools to win races. A fantastic team that has all the engineering and all the personnel to give you the best possible chance of winning, the best equipment. So the only thing that I saw coming this season that would be tough for me is really getting up to speed on ovals, which I have. And I feel as though I’ve learned a lot and I feel I’m in a position to win on ovals now. So, yeah, it’s been a great season.”

Regarding Homestead Speedway, A.J Foyt’s driver, Vitor Meira had an interesting take on the track, “Of all the 1.5 mile ovals, Homestead is definitely the toughest one. Mechanically, the car has to be really sorted in the corners. The track is not like the other 1.5 mile ovals which are tri-ovals, this track is shaped like a paper clip. The corners are much more severe and longer and that makes a big difference. Not only that, it has progressive banking too. To run on the bottom where it’s faster, you have less banking so it takes a lot of car so it’s a very tricky, track. You need the car to turn, it’s not all about having the car freed up and fast, it demands a lot of mechanical setup which is grip without adding drag. Every driver is going to tell you it’s the toughest 1.5 mile oval. From my experience, turn 3 and 4 is where it’s at. Even if the car’s not so good in 1 and 2, it’s really not good in 3 and 4. Always 3 and 4 are where it gets complicated. I don’t know why, it seems like the asphalt there has much less grip.”

Popular Brazilian, Ana Beatriz will be in the No. 24 Dreyer-Reinbold entry at Homestead. Beatriz previously raced at the opener at Sao Paulo and in the Indianapolis 500 with DRR. This weekend she will be subbing for injured Mike Conway again, whom she sat in for at Chicagoland. Conway was hoping to return to the No. 24 before the end of the year however was persuaded to think of his long-range goals after his horrific “500” crash.

Mario Moraes – who was had an apparent back injury after crashing in the Motegi race was released from hospital the next day after being given a clean bill of health. Moraes will be able to race at Homestead for KV Racing. It has been a tough year for the KV group as the team with drivers, Moraes, Takuma Sato and E.J. Viso has had thirty expensive on-track incidents and many long hours for the crew.

Many in the paddock thought we had seen the last of Sebastien Saavedra who threw his Firestone Indy Lights Bryan Herta Autosport team under the bus in a pre-race interview after quitting the team at Kentucky. Saavedra will return to the series for his second IndyCar appearance since his rookie run at Indianapolis with the Herta team. The 20-year-old Colombian will drive for Conquest Racing, their sixth driver of the season.

Sam Schmidt Motorsports announced Sept. 28 that Wade Cunningham will return to the cockpit of the #77 IZOD/Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry for the Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka 100, the season finale of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The trio of IZOD, Cunningham, and Sam Schmidt Motorsports had a successful debut in May where the New Zealander scored his third Firestone Freedom 100 win at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“We’re excited to have IZOD on board with us for the season finale, and I have to thank them for affording us the opportunity to put Wade in the car,” team owner, Sam Schmidt, said. “This was a strong combination of sponsor and driver in May, and we’re confident that we can produce a similar performance this weekend in Miami.”

Cunningham, who hasn’t competed in Firestone Indy Lights since his Indianapolis win, is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel. Cunningham’s best finish at Homestead was a fourth as a rookie in 2005.

The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season concludes with the Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 on Oct. 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race, which will decide the IZOD IndyCar Series championship, will be telecast live in High Definition at 6 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 212. The race also will be carried on www.indycar.com. The 2010 Firestone Indy Lights season concludes with the Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka 100 on Oct. 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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