The IndyCar Series field – including Brisbane-born Kiwi and Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon, Queensland’s Will Power and Sydney’s Ryan Briscoe - will back-up from a mammoth Month of May to head to the Milwaukee Mile this weekend for the ABC Supply/A. J. Foyt 225.

Dixon, who became the first ever New Zealand citizen to win the iconic ‘500’ and 2006-2007 Milwaukee Mile winner Tony Kanaan will be two drivers in particular to watch as they look to make it further into the history books of the IndyCar Series – of which Australia’s own Gold Coast Indy 300 is a part.

Kanaan is looking for his third consecutive race win at Milwaukee, and if successful will become only the third driver to have ever won three consecutive races at one track, while Dixon will be hoping to claim the elusive Indy 500-Milwaukee Double.

Eight drivers have been able to pull the Indianapolis-Milwaukee double, including four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, for whom this weekend’s race is named. The last driver to win Indianapolis and Milwaukee in the same year was Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000.

Power will head to Milwaukee fresh from his 13th place finish on debut in the Indy 500, while Briscoe will be hunting for better results at the site of his first test with Team Penske after a pit lane incident with Danica Patrick ended both of their races last weekend.

Australian fans can catch the ABC Supply/A. J. Foyt 225 action at the Milwaukee Mile live by tuning into ESPN at 6.00am Australian Eastern Standard Time this Monday, with a re-run scheduled for 10.30pm that same day - fans should check local guides for more information.

Following the ABC Supply/A. J. Foyt 225 the unified series continues on a schedule that is the most diverse in world motorsports.

The 2008 schedule will take the teams and drivers to short ovals, superspeedways, and road and street courses including the Gold Coast Indy 300 which is regarded as a ‘crown jewel’ in international motorsport.

Now regarded as one of the world’s iconic motorsport events, the Gold Coast Indy 300 will now continue until and including 2013 with major plans already underway for a massive 20th anniversary celebration in 2010.

With 96 hours of non-stop excitement over October 23-26 as the Gold Coast 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 Gold Coast Indy 300 with ticket options to suit 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 our Sales Team on (07) 5588 6800.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY…

Scott Dixon - #9 Target Chip Ganassi Honda/Dallara/Firestone
“We definitely knew that (tradition) because of last season,” said Dixon on the morning after the biggest victory of his career.

“We were definitely trying to stop that tradition. Unfortunately, we came up short. This year, we won the 500, and it sounds like a pretty good tradition. We’re going to try and carry that on, come away with the championship.

“We had the dominance of winning three races in a row and going for four and trying to chase down Dario for the championship.

“I think that's when it started. Everything that everybody was doing was just falling into the right place. Everybody was working well together, and we've carried on that confidence level and the success we had at the end of last year even though we didn't come away with the championship. I think that combination, with more determination after what happened, has been what's helped us this season.”

Tony Kanaan - #11 Andretti Green Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone
"That would mean a lot (to win the three races) especially to put myself in a category of those guys. I'm definitely going for it,” said Kanaan.

“Traffic is going to be the challenge. Whoever is going to be able to manage the traffic better is going to probably come out of the race in good shape. I feel it's going to be a lot of lead changes because of that. So it's going to be an exciting race for the fans and a very difficult one for us, for sure.”

Will Power - #8 Aussie Vineyards – Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone
“I’ve definitely been looking forward to Milwaukee for lots of reasons,” said Power.

“It’s the only oval on the schedule that I’ve been to before and I ran reasonably well there in the Champ Car.

“My aim is that the Aussie Vineyards car will be a bit more competitive at Milwaukee than the other ovals.

“Because Milwaukee is quite a flat oval, you run a lot of downforce and the set-up almost resembles a road course package. So our team will not be quite as far behind the top teams with all their oval experience as would usually be the case.

“We hung on there in the end to get a solid result at Indy despite a problem with the right rear wheel towards the end. This year is going to be tough on the ovals but our goal is to be continually improving so that we keep getting closer and closer to having a consistently fast package.”

Ryan Briscoe - #6 Team Penske Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone
“We haven’t had much luck competing at Milwaukee, but last year’s test really gave me a lot of confidence,” said Briscoe.

“This was the site of my first test with Team Penske, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was great to turn some laps around the track with a car that felt so comfortable, so I’m really looking forward to getting back there under race conditions.”


ENTRY LIST: IndyCar® Series - ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 At The Milwaukee Mile
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
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
24 - Jay Howard (R) - Roth 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 - Enrique Bernoldi (R) - Conquest Racing
96 - Mario Dominguez (R) - Pacific Coast Motorsports
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: 5/27/08


RACE NOTES
- The ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 will be the fifth IndyCar Series event conducted at The Milwaukee Mile. Tony Kanaan (2006-07) is a two-time winner of the event. Ryan Hunter-Reay won a Champ Car event at the track in 2004.
- Two drivers entered have won the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award at Milwaukee: Helio Castroneves (2006, 2007) and Vitor Meira (2004). Ryan Hunter-Reay won the pole for the Champ Car event in 2004.
- Twelve drivers entered in the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 have raced in previous IndyCar Series events at the track. Five of those drivers have led laps (Helio Castroneves 183, Tony Kanaan 168, Dan Wheldon 95, Marco Andretti 39 and Buddy Rice 37).
- Four Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005) and Scott Dixon (2008).
- Three IndyCar Series champions are scheduled to participate in the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225: Scott Dixon (2003), Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005).
- Tony Kanaan has finished fourth or better in all four IndyCar Series races at Milwaukee.
- Helio Castroneves has won the last two PEAK Motor Oil Poles at Milwaukee.
- Andretti Green Racing has won three of the four IndyCar Series races at Milwaukee.
- A.J. Foyt Enterprises won IndyCar races at Milwaukee in 1975 and 1979. Team owner A.J. Foyt was the driver.
- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing won seven CART/Champ Car races at Milwaukee between 1985 and 2006.


SEASON-T0-DATE
- Helio Castroneves is the only driver to finish in the top five in all five races this season. Ed Carpenter, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan are the only other driver to finish in the top 10 in four races.
- Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon are the only drivers to complete all 883 laps in 2008.


MILESTONES AND RECORDS
- Helio Castroneves will attempt to make his 103rd career IndyCar Series start. It would also be his 101st consecutive start.
- Helio Castroneves can establish an IndyCar Series record for most consecutive seasons with at least one win should he win the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. Castroneves is tied with Scott Sharp with victories in seven consecutive seasons.
- Helio Castroneves can extend his IndyCar Series record for consecutive seasons with a pole to seven if he can win the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award.
- Vitor Meira has gone 81 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.


2008 IndyCar Series Points Standings - After Race 5
1. #9 Scott Dixon 188
2. #3 Helio Castroneves 176
3. #10 Dan Wheldon 156
4. #11 Tony Kanaan 139
5. #26 Marco Andretti 110
6. #7 Danica Patrick 122
7. #20 Ed Carpenter 120
8. #8 Will Power 114
9. #27 Hideki Mutoh 113
10. #5 Oriol Servia 112

2008 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Standings - After Race 5
1. #8 Will Power 114
2. #27 Hideki Mutoh 113
3. #36 Enrique Bernoldi 99
4. #06 Graham Rahal 98
5. #33 EJ Viso 93
6. #02 Justin Wilson 81
7. #19 Mario Moraes 65
8. #24 Jay Howard 62
9. #34 Franck Perera 56
10. #96 Mario Dominguez 35

VIDEO NEWS FEED INFORMATION FOR NEWS BROADCASTERS

The Indy Racing League will provide Video News Feeds featuring material from the IndyCar Series at the Milwaukee Mile. The video news feeds will preview and recap the Milwaukee 100 Firestone Indy Lights race and the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 IndyCar Series race.

The weekend feeds will include b-roll of on-track activity and sound from various drivers following PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying, SWE Pole Qualifying, the Firestone Indy Lights Milwaukee 100 and the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225.

The AEST dates, times and coordinates are:

Sunday June 1 (PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying and SWE Pole
Qualifying)
Time: 9.45am-10.00am (AEST)
Coordinates: AMC 16 K22 (Note: AMC 16 was formerly AMC 2)
Downlink Frequency: 12140 MHz Horizontal
Position: 85 Degrees West
Audio: 6.2/6.8
Uplink phone: (414) 443-0917

Monday June 2 (Firestone Indy Lights Milwaukee 100 and ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225)
Time: 10.30am – 11.00am (AEST)
Coordinates: AMC 16 K22 (Note: AMC 16 was formerly AMC 2)
Downlink Frequency: 12140 MHz Horizontal
Position: 85 Degrees West
Audio: 6.2/6.8
Uplink phone: (414) 443-0917



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