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DIXON CLOSING IN ON 2008 CHAMPIONSHIP FAST FACTS PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County Date / Time Sunday, Aug. 24 5:30 p.m. (EDT) Track Infineon Raceway Distance 80 laps / 180 miles TV ESPN2 ...

Published: Aug 20, 2008, 7:18 PM

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DIXON CLOSING IN ON 2008 CHAMPIONSHIP

FAST FACTS

PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County

Date / Time
Sunday, Aug. 24 5:30 p.m. (EDT)

Track
Infineon Raceway

Distance
80 laps / 180 miles

TV
ESPN2 (Live)

Radio
IMS Radio Network / XM Satellite Radio (Live)

2007 Winner
Scott Dixon

2007 Polesitter
Dario Franchitti

Infineon Raceway
12-turn, 2.245-mile natural terrain road course

First IndyCar Series race in 2005

PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County Race Notes:

The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County will be the fourth IndyCar Series event conducted at Infineon Raceway. All three past winners are entered in the event: Tony Kanaan (2005), Marco Andretti (2006) and Scott Dixon (2007). Two past pole winners are entered: Ryan Briscoe (2005) and Dixon (2006).

Fourteen drivers entered in the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County have raced in previous IndyCar Series events at the track. Five of those drivers have led laps (Scott Dixon 55, Tony Kanaan 34, Marco Andretti 32, Ryan Briscoe 16 and Dan Wheldon 11).

The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County will be the fifth race on a road/street course in 2008. The first three races featured first time winners (Graham Rahal at St. Petersburg, Ryan Hunter-Reay at Watkins Glen and Ryan Briscoe at Mid-Ohio). Scott Dixon won at Edmonton. Team Penske has dominated the Firestone Fast Six qualifying with Briscoe winning poles at Watkins Glen and Edmonton and Helio Castroneves winning the pole at Mid-Ohio. Tony Kanaan won the pole at St. Petersburg.

Season-to-Date:

* Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon are the only drivers to finish in the top five in 12 of the 14 races this season.

* Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan are the only drivers with 12 top-10 finishes.

* Helio Castroneves is the only driver running at the finish of every race in 2008.

* Seven drivers have won races in 2008. The IndyCar Series record is nine drivers in 1996/97, 2002, 2003 and 2005.

* Scott Dixon has six victories this season, tying Dan Wheldon's record set in 2005.

* Scott Dixon has established a new IndyCar Series record by winning from the pole four times this season. The past record was two, which had been done six times.

* Ryan Briscoe needs one more victory in 2008 to become the 13th driver to win three or more races in a season. That has happened 18 times in IndyCar Series history.

* A.J. Foyt Racing has its most top-10 finishes (6) since Eliseo Salazar had seven for the team in 2001.

* Teammates have started 1-2 in five races this season, the fifth time that has occurred in IndyCar Series history. The record is six in 2005.

* Helio Castroneves has finished second in three consecutive races, tying Scott Dixon's and Sam Hornish Jr.'s record of three consecutive second-place finishes.

Milestones & Records:

* Helio Castroneves will attempt to make his 112th career IndyCar Series start. It would also be his 110th consecutive start, which will tie Sam Hornish Jr. for the second-longest streak all time.

* Helio Castroneves can establish an IndyCar Series record for most consecutive seasons with at least one win should he win the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County. Castroneves is tied with Scott Sharp with victories in seven consecutive seasons.

* Helio Castroneves extended his IndyCar Series record for consecutive seasons with a pole to seven when he won the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award at Nashville. His pole at Mid-Ohio was the 25th of his career.

* Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves have 63 career top-five finishes, tied for first all time in IndyCar Series history.

* Helio Castroneves has passed Scott Sharp as the all-time leader in top-10 finishes. Castroneves has 85. Sharp has 82.

* Scott Dixon has led 867 laps this season. The record for most laps led in a season is 889 by Tony Kanaan in 2004.

* Scott Dixon has become the fifth driver to lead more than 2,000 laps in his career (2,149). The others to lead at least 2,000 laps are Sam Hornish Jr. (3,428), Helio Castroneves (2,873), Dan Wheldon (2,735) and Tony Kanaan (2,487).

* Helio Castroneves has led laps in 68 IndyCar Series races, passing Sam Hornish Jr. (67) for the all-time record.

* Vitor Meira has gone 90 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.

* Helio Castroneves has gone 29 starts without a victory, the longest drought of his IndyCar Series career.

* Marco Andretti recorded the 20th top-10 finish of his career at Kentucky.

* Scott Dixon won his 12th career pole at Kentucky and needs one more to tie Greg Ray for second all time with 13.

* Scott Dixon has tied Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. with six career wins from the pole.

* Scott Dixon has moved into second place with 16 career victories. Sam Hornish Jr. holds the record with 19.

* Helio Castroneves holds the record for most career second-place finishes (19).

Schedule (local time):

Aug. 21
12:45-4:30 p.m. - Firestone Indy Lights Open Test

Aug. 22
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - IndyCar Series practice
2:45-3:45 p.m. - IndyCar Series practice

Aug. 23
9:30-10:30 a.m. - IndyCar Series practice (two groups)
1:15 p.m. - PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award Qualifying presented by Pep Boys

Aug. 24
9:45-10:15 a.m. - IndyCar Series warm-up
1:05 p.m. - PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County pre-race
2:30 p.m. - PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County (80 laps/180 miles)

-credit: irl

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