The Indy Japan 300 has special meaning for IndyCar Series drivers Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick.
Briscoe can wrap up his first championship in the race on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi course. The Team Penske driver has a 25-point lead over Dario Franchitti going into the next-to-last event of the 2009 season.
Patrick made history in this race last year — when it was run earlier in the season — when she won and became the first woman to win an IndyCar event. She’d like to win her second this week.
Briscoe hiked his lead in the point totals by edging 2008 champ Scott Dixon in the last race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Dixon trails Briscoe by 33 points; he and Franchitti are the only drivers that have a mathematical chance of catching or passing Briscoe.
Briscoe has won three times and is the 13th leader in point totals this season and being on the pole or starting up front could help him move close to the title.
In the first 15 races, the winner has started first five times, second three times, third twice and fourth five times.
Briscoe has won twice on 1.5-mile ovals and has led 321 laps. Dixon has led 290 laps on similar courses and has won once.
“We have seen how the championship can turn around this year. I just have to stay focused and try to beat those guys,” Briscoe says of is Target Chip Ganassi challengers.
Dixon has raced at the track in Japan since 2001, doing it with CART before joining the Indy Racing League.
“It is definitely one of [our] toughest tracks. It is shaped like an egg. Turns 3 and 4 are very difficult,” says Dixon.
Helio Castroneves has won at the track and agrees with Dixon.
“It is a very challenging oval with two different ends. It is difficult to get the setup right to handle well at times,” he said.
“Obviously, we are still in the fight for the championship but Ryan did another great job [in the last race]. We are going to have to make something happen in the last two races,” says Franchitti.
Patrick says she was fortunate to win at the track last year. “The characteristics that I like in a car work well there. That is all I can really pinpoint,” she said.
“I am not picky … I will take a win anywhere,” she added.
The 2009 season ends Oct. 10 at Homestead-Miami.
• • •
Pit stops — Nine drivers will be making their first start in the race at Twin Ring Motegi.
• Kosuke Matsuura will be in his first IRL race since 2007, driving for Conquest Racing. Stanton Barrett will be in his first race since the third race at Kansas in April.
• Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon are the former race winners in the field.
• Fans can view the race free on www.indycar.com
Auto Racing
Next IRL race has deep meaning for two drivers
Patrick returning to site of first victory, Briscoe nearing title
- Auto Racing
-
-
Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
And the crowd went wild.
Not only did Ed Carpenter win the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, he is the hometown son. Carpenter, the stepson of Tony George, completed his rookie orientation in 2004 and has spent the last several years, proving he deserved to be the IZOD IndyCar Series. There is no questioning his credentials now. -
Carpenter wins Indy 500 pole
Ed Carpenter is on the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The native of Marshall, Ill., earned the No. 1 spot for the May 26 race with a strong run in the Fast Nine competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. He is the first American driver on the pole since 2006. -
TRACKSIDE: Rain still a pain for Wabash Valley racing organizers
Soggy weather conditions, which have rightfully drawn the ire of Wabash Valley race fans and crews in recent days, continue to plague promoters where it hurts the most — their pocketbooks.
-
TRACKSIDE: Tough to rise from sprint-car racing, especially in challenging financial times
Open-wheel sprint-car racing, whether it be at the national or local level, has earned a reputation over the years of generating its share of thrills and excitement for its fans and a valuable training ground for drivers seeking to hone their skills that someday might elevate them to the “major leagues” of their sport.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball wins another thriller
Rose-Hulman earned its third victory in its last at-bat in the last five days with a 6-5 win over Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
-
East gets jump at SUMAR Classic
In his relatively brief but successful racing career, young Bobby East has at times unfairly been labeled as a driver who could master the pavement ovals but one who was still a work in progress on the dirt.
-
Hurtubise, Sumar races on Action Track slate this weekend
Championship racing is scheduled this weekend at the Terre Haute Action Track with U.S. Auto Club features set for today and Saturday.
One USAC championship will be decided and the spread in the other division could widen or tighten up as a result of the races.
The Jim Hurtubise Classic for sprint cars is today. Only 26 points separate three drivers in the point totals. -
TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
Momentum, an element that can be as elusive to a race driver as that perfect setup, can spell the difference in winning or running at the rear of the pack.
It’s a force difficult to achieve and maybe even harder to maintain. One learns quickly to make the most of the opportunity when it comes his way.
It’s something Chase Stockon will carry with him coming into today’s Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Only days following the biggest victory of his young and promising career, the $10,000-to-win USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Stockon followed that up with another rich payday this past weekend at Tri-State Speedway. -
IndyCar celebrates return to Pocono
IndyCar driver Ed Carpenter had the chance to take a drive around Pocono Raceway, and promptly handed the car keys to racing great Mario Andretti.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: Rain forces postponement of Jim Hurtubise Classic
Rain and the chance of inclement weather forced postponement of the Jim Hurtubise Classic scheduled for Saturday evening at the Terre Haute Action Track.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: USAC points leader Levi Jones out for season
Levi Jones, the five-time and reigning United States Auto Club (USAC) National Sprint Car champion, will undergo season-ending surgery on Tuesday to repair two herniated discs in his neck. While a full recovery is expected, the 12-week rehabilitation period will not allow for Jones to finish out the 2012 season, where he has competed in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car and TRAXXAS Silver Crown divisions for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR).
-
TRACKSIDE: Stockon takes giant step forward in USAC
One of the more impressive and welcomed storylines of the recently completed Indiana Sprint Week was the emergence of area driver Chase Stockon on the national sprint car scene.
-
JJ joins hero Mears among four-time winners of Brickyard
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Jimmie Johnson is a master at the Brickyard.
-
Hamlin wins Brickyard 400 pole position
Denny Hamlin captured his first ever pole for the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
-
Keselowski gives Penske first stock-car win at IMS
Brad Keselowski made history Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he took the checkered flag at the inaugural Indy 250 NASCAR Nationwide race.
-
Bordais, Popow take checkered flag after downpour
While it never rained a drop during the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Super Weekend at the Brickyard certainly saw its share Friday as both the inaugural Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Rolex Sports Car Series met with the wet stuff.
-
TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
The 25th annual version of Indiana Sprint Week is now officially in the record books and the latest chapter will go down as one of the most successful in recent years.
-
Red-hot Hunter-Reay goes for fourth straight at Edmonton
Ryan Hunter-Reay goes for his fourth straight victory Sunday in IZOD IndyCar Series action in Canada.
-
Clayton wins at Don Smith Classic
They call Daron Clayton, “The Modern Day Cowboy.”
-
The King of Speed
Born in Terre Haute, Roger Curtis grew up on Franklin Street, moved to Riley with his family when he was in sixth grade and attended Thornton Elementary School and Honey Creek Junior High before graduating from Terre Haute South High School in 1985.
-
Jones occupies driver’s seat: Six-time THAT winner leads Sprint Week series
When you think of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week, thoughts of Levi Jones shouldn’t be far behind.
-
TRACKSIDE: Late models may have no long-term future in Indiana
Reflecting on what was billed as the biggest week of the summer for dirt-track stock-car racing … while preparing to shift gears for the busiest week of the year for non-wing sprint-car racing in the Wabash Valley.
-
Kenny Wallace realizes Action Track dream
Kenny Wallace won the UMP modified feature, leading flag-to-flag for the victory on Thursday night at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Wallace, a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver from 1990-2008, couldn’t have more thrilled to become part of a racing revival at the venerable dirt oval. -
TRACKSIDE: Summer heat has made this ‘The Hell Tour’
It is fittingly billed as “The Hell Tour” for many of the Midwest’s leading late model stock car drivers and their crews.
-
Franchitti mired in post-Indy 500 slump
Dario Franchitti hopes to get back on track in IndyCar Series action Sunday in Canada.
-
TRACKSIDE: Retired driver LaJoie spreads the word of safety
In his roles as past driving champion and television analyst, Randy LaJoie has rightfully earned the reputation as a major contributor to the sport of auto racing.
-
Trackside: Stanbrough on track at midseason
When veteran driver Jon Stanbrough ushered in a new season in Florida back in February, he found himself facing a pair of unfamiliar challenges.
-
Atchison, Virgilio win weekend races at Crossroads Dragway
Troy Atchison and Tony Virgilio won feature races in weekend racing at Crossroads Dragway.
-
TRACKSIDE: Clauson bucks the IndyCar trend
On the surface, the distance from the dirt oval at Lincoln Park Speedway to the massive, paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway may appear only a few miles apart.
-
Stewart Racing driver hangs on in final laps
Tony Stewart Racing’s Levi Jones passed Robert Ballou with 11 laps to go and held off a charging Jon Stanbrough to take the Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series’ 25-lap feature Tuesday at the Terre Haute Action Track.
- More Auto Racing Headlines
-
Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
Raw: Tornadoes Spotted in Kansas
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Obama Exhorts Good Deeds by Morehouse Graduates
Winning Powerball Ticket Sold in Florida
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Music Therapy Bonds Parents and Preemies
Today in History for May 19th
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Twiggy, the Water Skiing Squirrel
Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony
Official: ‘Amazing’ No One Was Killed In CT Train Crash
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Beyonce Is Pregnant!
SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
Woman tricked into taking abortion pill
Emma Watson Goes Pantless
IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes
Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety
Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos
Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths
