INDYCARNATION

SPARTA, Ky. – The sidepods of Ryan Briscoe's No. 6 Team Penske car and Ed Carpenter's No. 20 Vision Racing car appeared to be glued together in the closing laps of the IZOD IndyCar Series race last August at Kentucky Speedway.

Briscoe inched ahead on the last of 200 laps to win by 0.0162 of a second -- the closest margin at the 1.5-mile oval -- while Carpenter settled for his best finish in seven years in the series.

"Last year was really exciting; any one of the top eight or 10 drivers could have won that race," Briscoe said. "I was lucky to get track position when we needed it and hold off Ed Carpenter. Our cars worked really strong.”

Both drivers return this weekend for the Kentucky Indy 300, where they'll join 25 other entries for 200 laps under the lights. Carpenter tested the No. 20 Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka Panther/Vision Racing car in mid-August at Kentucky Speedway and is coming off a strong run last week at Chicagoland Speedway.

"Last year at Kentucky was a big point in my career and my best finish, but I'm not trying to live in the past, I live in the now and I'm focused on this year," Carpenter said. "We had a good test there a couple weeks ago; the track might be a little more bumpy, but it didn't feel like it had changed much. The series is so competitive it's hard to think that because I was good here last year that I'll be good again. But as a team, if we're able to work together and have a good car like we did at Indianapolis and Chicago, then we'll be good."

Panther Racing has had a strong record since the IZOD IndyCar Series began competing at Kentucky Speedway since 2000. It earned the pole with Scott Goodyear in the first event and finished on the podium in each of its first four starts. Sam Hornish Jr. captured the team’s only victory at the track in 2003, when he started from the pole, led 181 of 200 laps and lapped every car in the field except runner-up Scott Dixon.

More recently, Vitor Meira started on the front row in 2008 and led five laps before finishing fourth. National Guard Panther Racing driver Dan Wheldon, who was runner-up at Chicagoland Speedway, twice has finished third in the race.

"We were very quick last year at Kentucky, and obviously Ed had a great finish, so combining that information and working together as a unit, which we do very well, will be great for the team," Wheldon said. "All the boys from Panther and Vision have come together very well and we're going to have very competitive racecars. The Kentucky track is one that bodes for great racing for the fans and it's challenging for the drivers."

Mears is grand marshal for race

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Firestone Indy Lights driver coach Rick Mears will be the grand marshal and give 27 drivers the command to start their engines.

Mears will add a unique element by delivering the command from the spotters stand high atop the Kentucky Speedway frontstretch. He’s the spotter for Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves.

Ganassi honored in Pittsburgh

Earlier this week, IZOD IndyCar Series team owner Chip Ganassi was at city hall in his native Pittsburgh, where he received a proclamation that declared it Chip Ganassi Day.

“I never thought about something like this happening, because I've always been a guy who just wanted to go racing,” Ganassi said. “I’ve transformed my avocation into my livelihood.”

Drivers participate in Teens Drive Smart program

Three Firestone Indy Lights drivers will join Bridgestone/Firestone's teen driver safety initiative this weekend by participating in a "Teens Drive Smart" safety program at Carroll County High School in Carrolton, Ky., on Sept. 2.

James Hinchcliffe, Martin Plowman and Stefan Wilson will join the program for the day, which includes a brief presentation, a driver safety quiz bowl, an autograph session for the students, and a parking lot tire inflation check.

"It's a program we're excited about," Hinchcliffe said. "It gives us an opportunity to give something back. Sometimes, it's easier for teens to hear the message of safe driving from someone closer to their own age, and doing what we do, we know how dangerous operating a vehicle - either a race car or a road car— can be.  It's just a good opportunity to share our knowledge and show new drivers that they should treat road cars the way they deserve to be treated."

20 uses of overtake assist

Drivers will have 20 uses of 12 seconds each of overtake assist in the Kentucky Indy 300. There is a 10-second recharge between uses.

Overtake assist will make its second appearance at Kentucky Speedway. One overtake assist will be activated for the final practice session (7-7:30 p.m. Sept. 3).

Test develops Firestone tire spec

Firestone’s tire specification for Kentucky Speedway was developed from testing at Chicagoland Speedway in June and is the same spec used at the race there last week. It places new, higher-grip tread compounds for the right-side tires onto the same right-side tire constructions used this season at Kansas and Texas, and pairs that with the identical left-side tire construction/compound specs used at Kansas.

Each car receives eight sets (32 tires) of Firehawk tires. The Firehawk tire specification for this weekend will be run again at Homestead-Miami.

Meira returns to where is began

Meira made his IZOD IndyCar Series debut in 2002 at Kentucky Speedway. He missed last year’s race while recuperating from a back injury suffered in the Indianapolis 500.

“The learning curve was just so steep and I had so much to learn. It was the first time I raced on an oval, the first time I did pit stops, my first time for wheel-to-wheel racing, so I had a lot to learn. We had 25 cars and I ended up finishing 13th, which was good and the reason is I learned a lot. I remembered in the last 50 laps passing Raul Boesel. I used to watch him when I was in go karts and he was in Formula 1 and Indy cars so it was a cool feeling and from that point on things took off.”

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