The unified IndyCar Series will not only bring competitors such as Helio Castroneves, Bruno Junqueira, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal to the streets of the Gold Coast – it will also see the Australian flavour amplified with Queensland star Will Power joining Sydney’s Ryan Briscoe and Brisbane-born Kiwi Scott Dixon in the new series.

With Power having raced on the Surfers Paradise circuit for the last three years, taking two pole positions in 2006 and 2007, the Toowoomba star has brought out the Green and Gold on his home-track year after year as the only Australian competing in what was then the Champ Car World Series.

With the unification of American open-wheel racing now in place, come October, the people of Australia will have three local heroes to wave the Green and Gold for, with Power set to be joined on the grid by Sydney’s Ryan Briscoe and Brisbane-born Kiwi Scott Dixon. See below for a quick run-down of your Aussie heroes to watch during the 2008 season.

WILL POWER
#8 Aussie Vineyards – Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone
Birthday: March 1, 1981
Hometown: Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Residence: Aston Clinton, Bucks, Australia/Indianapolis

ROAD TO INDYCAR SERIES
2007
• Finished fourth in the Champ Car World Series for Team Australia with wins at Las Vegas and Toronto.
• Earned pole positions at Las Vegas, Edmonton, Surfers Paradise and Mexico City.
• Recorded eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
2006
• Named Champ Car Rookie of the Year Award after finishing sixth in standings for Team Australia.
• Earned three top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes.
• Won pole position at Surfers Paradise.
2005
• Competed in two Champ Car World Series races with Team Australia with best finish of 10th at Mexico City.
• Finished seventh in the World Series powered by Renault for Carlin Motorsport with wins at Le Mans and Bilbao.
• Finished fourth (sprint) and second (feature) for Australia in A1GP event at Brands Hatch.
2004
• Finished ninth for Alan Docking Racing in British F3 with five podium finishes.
• Earned tests with Minardi Formula 1, European F3000 and World Series Powered by Renault teams.
2003
• Competed in British F3 Championship with Diamond Racing, finishing 14th in standings.
• Recorded four top-five finishes topped by second place at Thurxton.
2002
• Won the Formula Holden Championship in Australia and was second in the Australian F3 series.
• Competed in the Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar event.

EARLY CAREER
• Finished second in the Formula Ford National Championship in Australia in 2001.
• Was invited to the Honda Indy Young Guns event at Surfers Paradise and finished second in that event.
• Won Queensland state championship in Formula Ford and finished seventh in Formula Ford National Championship in 2000.



RYAN BRISCOE
#6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Birthday: Sept. 24, 1981
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Residence: Cornelius, N.C.

INDYCAR SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
First start: March 6, 2005 (Homestead-Miami Speedway)
First pole start: Aug. 28, 2005 (Infineon Raceway)
2007
• Started seventh and finished fifth in 92nd Indianapolis 500 for Luczo Dragon Racing.
2006
• Finished 21st in IndyCar Series standings driving a limited schedule with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
2005
• Finished 19th in IndyCar Series standings for Target Chip Ganassi Racing with a best finish of eighth (Nashville).
• Captured first career pole at Infineon Raceway.

ROAD TO INDYCAR SERIES
2007
• Finished second in American Le Mans Series' LMP2 Class for Penske Racing. Teamed with Sascha Maassen to score two overall wins (Utah and Lime Rock) and one overall pole (Belle Isle). Also scored class win at St. Petersburg.
2006
• Competed for Team Australia in A1GP championship with best finish of third (China and Holland).
• Made two starts in Champ Car for RuSPORT.
2004
• Served as test driver for Panasonic Toyota Racing in Formula 1.
2003
• Won Formula 3 Euroseries Championship for Prema Powerteam with eight victories (Hockenheim 1, 2 and 4, Adria 2, Pau 1, A-1 Ring 1 and 2 and Zandvoort 2).
2002
• Competed in Formula 3000 International Championship for Nordic Racing with best finish of 12th (Interlagos, Barcelona and Silverstone).
2001
• Won Italian Formula Renault 2000 Championship for Prema Powerteam with five wins and six pole positions.
• Finished fourth in Formula Renault Eurocup for Prema Powerteam with two wins despite missing four races.
• Signed as Toyota Drivers Academy driver and earned Formula 1 test with Panasonic Toyota Racing.
2000
• Competed in Italian Formula Renault 2000 Winter Series with one win and three pole positions.

EARLY CAREER
• Competed in kart racing in Australia and Italy, winning the Italian Formula A, Australian state championship, three Australian championships and one Oceania championship. Twice named C.A.M.S. Junior Karter of the Year.




SCOTT DIXON
#9 Target Chip Ganassi Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Birthday: July 22, 1980
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand Born: Brisbane, Australia
Residence: Indianapolis

INDYCAR SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
First start: March 2, 2003 (Homestead-Miami Speedway)
First victory: March 2, 2003 (Homestead-Miami Speedway)
First pole: April 13, 2003 (Twin Ring Motegi)
2007
• Finished second in IndyCar Series standings for Target Chip Ganassi Racing with victories at Watkins Glen, Nashville, Mid-Ohio and Infineon.
• Became third IndyCar Series driver to win three consecutive races with victories at Watkins Glen, Nashville and Mid-Ohio.
• Joined Dan Wheldon as only drivers to win three consecutive races at one track when he won at Watkins Glen.
• Recorded a series-best 13 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. Led a series-best 13 of 17 races.
• Finished first or second in 10 of the 17 races.
2006
• Won at Watkins Glen International for the second year in a row and at the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway.
• Finished fourth in IndyCar Series standings for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, 15 points behind champion Sam Hornish Jr.
• Was only IndyCar Series driver to be running at the finish in all 14 events.
• Completed a series-high 2,504 of a possible 2,510 laps. Led nine races.
2005
• Finished 13th in IndyCar Series standings with one victory (Watkins Glen) four other top-10 finishes.
• Started 13th and finished 24th at 89th Indianapolis 500.
2004
• Finished 10th in IndyCar Series standings with best finish of second at Phoenix. Scored two top-five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes in 15 starts.
• Earned two Formula 1 tests with Williams-BMW.
2003
• Clinched the IndyCar Series championship for Target Chip Ganassi Racing with three victories (Homestead-Miami Speedway, his first IndyCar Series start, Pikes Peak and Richmond).
• Earned five pole positions (Japan, Richmond, Kansas, Nashville, Nazareth).
• Became the first driver in IndyCar Series history to lead consecutive laps over the course of three races.Led the final 84 laps en route to a victory at Pikes Peak and led all 206 laps of the rain-shortened event Richmond. Led the first 53 laps at Kansas for a total of 343 consecutive laps led.

ROAD TO INDYCAR SERIES
2002
• Finished 13th in CART standings, scoring three top-five finishes, including a second place at Denver.
2001
• Won CART Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year Award and finished eighth in CART point standings with victory at Nazareth.
• Youngest driver to win in any major open-wheel series with victory in 2001 at Nazareth at age 20 years, 9 months, 14 days.
2000
• Won Dayton Indy Lights championship, winning six of 12 races driving for PacWest Lights team.
1999
• Competed in first season of North American competition with Johansson Motorsports in Dayton Indy Lights series, winning at Chicago, where he led every lap from the pole.

EARLY CAREER
• Competed in Formula Vee, Formula Ford and Formula Holden in New Zealand and Australia.Won Australian-based Formula Holden championship for Formula 3000, New Zealand Formula Ford Class I championship, New Zealand Formula Ford Class II championship and New Zealand Formula Vee championship (age 13).