INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPION TO BE CROWNED THIS WEEKEND

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The race for the 2008 IndyCar Series championship will come down to two of the league's top heavyweights at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend: Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves.

After 16 races and 2,660 laps of intense competition, the 2003 IndyCar=Series Champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Dixon leads two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves by 30 points (606 to 576) entering the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 ˜ the final points-paying race of the season.

Neither have won at the 1.5-mile oval before.

From five Chicago starts Dixon has finished second three times, includ=ng last year when he ran out of fuel on the final turn. His average finish in five starts is 6.4.

While he has not won in Chicago, three of the Brisbane-born Kiwi's rec=rd-tying six victories this season have come from the pole at 1.5-mile ovals (Homestead-Miami, Texas and Kentucky). He also finished third on the 1.5-mile ovals at Motegi and Kansas.

While Dixon has had the outright results with six wins and a dominance=of laps led (867), Castroneves has dogged him all season and cut 48 points from his deficit in the past two races alone.

The Brazilian has three consecutive top-four finishes at Chicagoland, =ncluding a second in 2005. His average finish in six starts is 7.3, and he has a record eight runner-up finishes and one victory this season.

The Team Penske driver is also the only driver with 14 top-five finish=s in the season's first 16 races, and he took a win at Infineon. Of his eight second places, three of them along with two fourths come from 1.5-mile ovals this season and he has led laps in each race (189).

While the championship battle rages for outright victory, the race for=the Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year honours will be alive and well this weekend, with Hideki Mutoh currently leading last weekend's winner Justin Wilson by 12 points, with Queensland's Will Power and his Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia entry 33 points behind.

While Power's hunt for the Rookie prize will be worth watching, his =ellow Australian Ryan Briscoe will also be one for fans to keep an eye on this weekend ˜ as he makes his first appearance at the Chicago track since his now-famous crash there in 2005.

While Briscoe was uninjured, it was his final race for Target Chip Gan=ssi Racing, and he went on to make four starts in 2006 for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and one start in 2007 with Luczo Dragon Racing before landing his ride with Team Penske in 2008 ˜ a season which has seen him lock up fifth place in the standings already on the strength of two victories and 10 top-10 finishes.

Following the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Spee=way, the IndyCar Series will head ‏down under' for the 2008 Nikon Indy 300 on October 23-26.

The 2008 schedule has taken the teams and drivers to short ovals, supe=speedways, and road and street courses on its way to the Nikon Indy 300 which is regarded as a ‏crown jewel' in international motorsport.

With 96 hours of non-stop excitement over October 23-26 as the Gold Co=st comes alive to the sound of the IndyCars burning up the track and Australia's own V8 Supercars scorching around one of the most famous beach-side cities in the world, the event is the hottest ticket in town.

Tickets are now on sale for the Nikon Indy 300 with ticket options to =uit everyone's needs. Four day Grandstand passes are available for those who prefer to watch the racing from the comfort of their own reserved seat or for those who prefer to wander around and soak up the atmosphere then a four day, weekend or single day General Admission pass might be more their style. For more information on ticket options go to indy.com.au. For information on Corporate Hospitality packages please call the Nikon Indy 300 Sales Team on (07) 5588 6800.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY…
Scott Dixon - #9 Target Chip Ganassi Honda/Dallara/Firestone: ‘I think Chicago's going to be very tough. It's a tough circuit.=It's one of those ones that provides great racing and definitely nailbiting for a championship race, which is exactly what the fans want and everybody that's watching. I guess they'll definitely get that,’ said Dixon.

‘I think for me it's been a mixed bag in the way of how we've done t=ere and things like that. To never have won there is definitely frustrating. We're hoping that we can definitely turn that around this weekend. But there's a lot of other people that are going to be trying to do the same thing.

‘The mile-and-a-half ovals I think throughout this year have been ve=y tough. Almost 10 more cars on the track than we had last year. If you make any little mistake, it makes it that much worse. We still definitely have to finish extremely well. But I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to get there.’

Helio Castroneves - #3 Team Penske Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone=
’We've had rather mixed results on the 1.5-mile ovals over the p=st several seasons, so we're going to make sure we stay focused and work hard to be competitive this weekend,’ said Castroneves.

‘Despite these struggles, we've done fairly well at Chicagoland Sp=edway, as I've earned four top-four results since 2002, so hopefully this will be my year to climb the fence in Illinois.

‘I'm definitely pumped for this weekend. We've had a very cons=stent, successful season and I think we're in a great position to win the championship. All year I've been saying that consistency is the way to a title, and with eight second-place finishes we're still in the hunt going into the final race.

"Team Penske has performed solidly all year, and I know that my guys w=ll do everything in their power to make sure we come away with the 2008 IndyCar Series championship.’

Ryan Briscoe - #6 Team Penske Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone:
‘This will be my first trip back to Chicagoland Speedway since the a=cident in 2005," said Briscoe.

"Despite this, I plan on treating it no differently than any other rac=. The Team was quick at this track last year, so hopefully with the experience I've gained on ovals this year, we'll be able to put together a good run to finish the season on a high note.’

Will Power - #8 Aussie Vineyards ˜ Team Australia Honda/Dallara=Firestone:
‘This will be my last points paying race this year for KVRT Aussie V=neyards ˜ Team Australia, so hopefully we can have a reasonable finish.,’ said Power.

‘I am looking forward to getting back on an oval. The team has im=roved throughout the year on the ovals and a top-10 result for us would be great.’

ENTRY LIST: PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland S=eedway:
Car - Driver - Entrant
2 - A.J. Foyt IV - Vision Racing
3 - Helio Castroneves - Team Penske
4 - Vitor Meira - Panther Racing
5 - Oriol Servia - KV Racing Technology
6 - Ryan Briscoe - Team Penske
7 - Danica Patrick - Andretti Green Racing
8 - Will Power (R) - KV Racing Technology
9 - Scott Dixon - Target Chip Ganassi Racing
10 - Dan Wheldon - Target Chip Ganassi Racing
11 - Tony Kanaan - Andretti Green Racing
12 - Tomas Scheckter - Luczo Dragon Racing
14 - Darren Manning - A.J. Foyt Enterprises
15 - Buddy Rice - Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
17 - Ryan Hunter-Reay - Rahal Letterman Racing
18 - Bruno Junqueira - Dale Coyne Racing
19 - Mario Moraes (R) - Dale Coyne Racing
20 - Ed Carpenter - Vision Racing
23 - Milka Duno - Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
25 - Marty Roth - Roth Racing
26 - Marco Andretti - Andretti Green Racing
27 - Hideki Mutoh (R) - Andretti Green Racing
33 - E.J. Viso (R) - HVM Racing
34 - Jaime Camara (R) - Conquest Racing
36 - TBA - Conquest Racing
41 - TBA - A.J. Foyt Enterprises
67 - Sarah Fisher - Sarah Fisher Racing
02 - Justin Wilson (R) - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
06 - Graham Rahal (R) - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
All cars use Dallara chassis, Honda engines and Firestone tires.= Issued: 9/2/08

RACE NOTES:
- The PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 will be the eighth IndyCar =eries event conducted at Chicagoland Speedway. Two-time winner Dan Wheldon (2005-06) is the only past winner entered in the event. Past pole winners Helio Castroneves (2004) and Danica Patrick (2005) are entered.
- Eighteen drivers entered in the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300=have competed in previous races at Chicagoland Speedway. Nine of those drivers led laps (Dan Wheldon 307, Tomas Scheckter 114, Tony Kanaan 90, Helio Castroneves 75, Buddy Rice 66, Scott Dixon 65, A.J. Foyt IV 3, Vitor Meira 1 and Danica Patrick 1).
- The PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 will be the sixth race on a=1.5-mile oval this season. Target Chip Ganassi Racing has dominated on those tracks, winning four poles and four races. Scott Dixon won the pole at Homestead-Miami, Kansas, Texas and Kentucky and won the races at Homestead-Miami, Texas and Kentucky. Teammate Dan Wheldon won the race at Kansas. Andretti Green Racing's Danica Patrick earned her first career victory at Motegi.

SEASON TO DATE:
- Helio Castroneves is the only driver to finish in the top five in 14=of the 16 races this season.
- Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan are the only drivers with 14 top-1= finishes.
- Helio Castroneves is the only driver running at the finish of every =ace in 2008.
- Nine drivers have won races in 2008, tying the IndyCar Series record=set in 1996/97, 2002, 2003 and 2005. This year's winners are: Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Graham Rahal, Dan Wheldon and Justin Wilson.
- Scott Dixon has six victories this season, tying Dan Wheldon's rec=rd set in 2005.
- Scott Dixon has established a new IndyCar Series record by winning =rom 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 drive= 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 S=lazar had seven for the team in 2001.
- Teammates have started 1-2 in six races this season, tying the recor= set in 2005.

MILESTONES AND RECORDS:
- Helio Castroneves will attempt to make his 114th career IndyCar Seri=s start. It would also be his 112th consecutive start, which is the second-longest streak all time.
- Helio Castroneves established an IndyCar Series record for most cons=cutive seasons with at least one win with his win at Infineon. Castroneves has victories in eight 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 Infineon was the 26th of his career.
- Scott Dixon has moved into second with 14 career poles.
- Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves have 65 career top-five finishes, =ied for first all time in IndyCar Series history.
- Helio Castroneves has passed Scott Sharp as the all-time leader in t=p-10 finishes. Castroneves has 87. Sharp has 82.
- Scott Dixon has led 885 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 (2,167). The others to lead at least 2,000 laps are Sam Hornish Jr. (3,428), Helio Castroneves (2,977), Dan Wheldon (2,735) and Tony Kanaan (2,488).
- Helio Castroneves has led laps in 70 IndyCar Series races, passing S=m Hornish Jr. (67) for the all-time record.
- Vitor Meira has gone 92 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Seri=s, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.
- Helio Castroneves has won a record seven races from the pole.
- Scott Dixon has moved into second place with 16 career victories. =am Hornish Jr. holds the record with 19.
- Helio Castroneves holds the record for most career second-place fini=hes (20).

INDYCAR SERIES POINTS STANDINGS ˜ POST RACE 16 ˜ TOP TEN
1 - Scott Dixon - 606 points
2 - Helio Castroneves - 576
3 - Tony Kanaan - 481
4 - Dan Wheldon - 464
5 - Ryan Briscoe - 412
6 - Danica Patrick - 359
7 - Oriol Servia - 345
8 - Marco Andretti - 339
9 - Ryan Hunter-Reay - 338
10 - Hideki Mutoh - 334
14 - Will Power - 301

BOMBARDIER ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POINTS STANDINGS ˜ POST RACE 16 <=b>
1 - Hideki Mutoh - 334 points
2 - Justin Wilson - 321
3 - Will Power - 301
4 - Graham Rahal - 276
5 - E.J. Viso - 274
6 - Mario Moraes - 232
7 - Enrique Bernoldi - 220
8 - Jaime Camara - 162
9 - Mario Dominguez - 112