For the first time in many years Australian and New Zealand motorsport fans will have three reasons to follow this weekend's 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 with no less than three drivers hailing from our shores on the grid, two of which are starting from the front row.

Leading the charge for the Trans-Tasman brigade will be Kiwi Scott Dixon and Sydney's Ryan Briscoe, who will start the cornerstone event of the IndyCar® Series - of which Australia's own Gold Coast Indy 300 is a part - from first and third respectively as America celebrates its Memorial Day holiday, the US equivalent of Australia's ANZAC day.

The Memorial Day weekend traditionally caps off the Month of May festivities, and as it draws to a close will hopefully see one of our own 'ANZAC' pilots drinking celebratory milk in Victory Lane - a tradition set by the first three-time Indy 500 winner Louis Meyer (1928, 1933, 1936) when he requested a cold glass of milk in Victory Lane after his 1933 win.

While Dixon and Briscoe lead the field, Queensland's Will Power will start his debut Indy 500 from the eighth row after surviving a frantic three days of qualifying, including a heavy crash, to secure 23rd on the third day whilst turning the most laps of any driver during the race preparation.

Upon taking the pole position during the first day of qualifying on May 10, where positions one through 11 were set Dixon, the 2003 IndyCar Series Champion and 2007 runner-up, was taking his time in coming to grips with his achievement.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," said Dixon, who is currently second in the championship standings after standing on the podium from three of his four races, and finished the 2007 Indy 500 second after starting fourth.

"It means a lot - it's not just for me, though - a lot of it (is) the hard work (by the team) that goes into it."

Briscoe, whose third position is his best Indy 500 start in three attempts at the Brickyard, was excited to have clinched third despite having for a moment held the pole position.
" I had a really good run (in qualifying)," said Briscoe following his result.

"The car was balanced really well for the downforce level we trimmed out to, and it was a solid gain, for sure."

"We were on the edge, and it was exciting. I'm really happy to be in the thick of it. This is unbelievable."

For Power - set to compete in his his fourth ever oval race and his debut on a Superspeedway Oval - his 23rd starting position is even more powerful given the heavy crash he sustained in practice ahead of the third day of qualifying, which saw his KVRT team work through the night to have him qualifying-ready.

"We were able to do plenty of miles and the Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia car felt good over the whole run, so the KVRT team has done a really good job with the #8 car," said Power, the fifth Australian to qualify for the Indy 500 race.

"I'm really proud of the crew, they worked all night and I can't thank them enough. We definitely have a good race pace, but it is just unfortunate we are going to be starting a little bit further back than where we need to be."

Australian fans can catch all the Indy500 action live on ESPN on Monday May 26, 2.50am AEST (4.50am for New Zealand - please check local guides).

INDY 500 AT INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDWAY STARTING LINE-UP
Starting Line-up/Qualifying Results for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine and speed (mph):

1. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 226.366
2. (10) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 226.110
3. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 226.080
4. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 225.733
5. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 225.197
6. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 224.794
7. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 224.417
8. (4T) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 224.346
9. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 223.887
10. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 223.835
11. (12) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 223.496
12. (99) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 222.539
13. (06) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 222.531
14. (14) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 222.430
15. (18) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 222.330
16. (02) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 222.267
17. (15) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 222.101
18. (22) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 222.017
19. (16) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 221.788
20. (17T) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 221.579
21. (24) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 221.550
22. (67) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 221.246
23. (8) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 221.136
24. (41) Jeff Simmons, Dallara-Honda, 221.103
25. (5) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 220.767
26. (33) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 220.356
27. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 220.305
28. (19) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 219.716
29. (36) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 219.422
30. (34) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 219.345
31. (2) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 219.184
32. (91) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Honda, 219.015
33. (25) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 218.965

2008 IndyCar Series Points Standings - After Race 4
1. #3 Helio Castroneves 144
2. #9 Scott Dixon 138
3. #10 Dan Wheldon 135
4. #11 Tony Kanaan 129
5. #7 Danica Patrick 110
6. #8 Will Power 97
7. #26 Marco Andretti 95
8. #5 Oriol Servia 93
9. #20 Ed Carpenter 90
10. #06 Graham Rahal 88

2008 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Standings - After Race 4
1. #8 Will Power 97
2. #06 Graham Rahal 88
3. #27 Hideki Mutoh 87
4. #36 Enrique Bernoldi 84
5. #33 EJ Viso 83
6. #02 Justin Wilson 71
7. #24 Jay Howard 62
8. #34 Franck Perera 56
9. #19 Mario Moraes 53
10. #96 Mario Dominguez 35

92nd INDIANAPOLIS 500 - Month of May - SCHEDULE
92nd Indianapolis 500
Sunday 25 May 2008
1:00pm US Eastern

AUSTRALIAN TV SCHEDULE
92nd Indianapolis 500
Monday 26 May 2008 LIVE
ESPN
2:50am AEST

92nd Indianapolis 500 Race Replay
Monday 26 May 2008
ESPN
7:30pm AEST

ABOUT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
92nd Indianapolis 500
Venue: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Type: 2.5 mile oval - 9 degree banking
Distance: 200 laps - 500 miles/804.67km