IRL: Richmond: Scott Sharp preview

Sharp: Unfinished Business Beckons at Richmond Fresh off a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, Scott Sharp heads to one of his favorite circuits on the IndyCar Series calendar this weekend -- the fast, 0.75-mile Richmond ...

Sharp: Unfinished Business Beckons at Richmond

Fresh off a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, Scott Sharp heads to one of his favorite circuits on the IndyCar Series calendar this weekend -- the fast, 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway oval. Sharp has been a long-time fan of the non-stop, side-by-side racing action produced at the Richmond bullring with its hectic 16-second laps. He was a competitive force in last year's race, running second at the halfway mark and remaining solidly among the top four throughout until contact with a lapped car 49 laps from the finish.

Sharp and the Delphi Fernandez Racing team have been making steady gains with their new Dallara chassis, which turned its first laps in the season opener at Homestead. He is currently seventh in the championship standings as the series reaches the midpoint of the season this Saturday night with the SunTrust Indy™ Challenge.

Scott Sharp At-A-Glance:

* Will be making his sixth IndyCar Series career start at Richmond

* Recorded best result at Richmond in 2001, finishing fifth

* Set best starting position of sixth at Richmond in 2002

* Qualified 12th at Richmond last year and ran amongst the top four throughout the race until being eliminated by contact with a lapped car with just under 50 laps remaining

* Currently sits seventh in the championship standings

* Captured his best results to date this season at Texas two weeks ago, starting seventh and finishing fifth

* Recorded five top-10 finishes in six races held to date on the 2006 calendar

Scott Sharp - #8 Delphi Dallara /Honda/Firestone:
"I'm just thrilled to be heading back to Richmond this weekend. It is hard to really describe the type of racing you see here. Every lap is exciting - it's just non-stop action. Last year, we were in a great position in the race, running in the lead pack with the 50-lap sprint to the finish ahead of us. Unfortunately, contact with a lapped car put us out so we never had a shot at it. Hopefully, we will change that this year. I really feel that the last race in Texas was the turning point of our season, and I am pretty excited about the string of races we have coming up."