INDYCARNATION

One in a series looking at the 200th IZOD IndyCar Series event this weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

Dan Wheldon, the 2005 series and Indianapolis 500 champion, considers his victory in the series’ 100th race in August 2004 at Nazareth Speedway to be one of him most memorable.

“Personally, it’s a milestone, especially when you consider the competitive nature of the IZOD IndyCar Series and especially now when you see the direction the series is heading,” he said. “To win the 100th race was a great experience. Nazareth is one of my favorite tracks, and to win the race that day is one of those things that you’ll always remember.”

Click it: More numbers and tidbits from the first 199 races

Wheldon led a 1-2-3 sweep for Andretti Green Racing that day to score the third victory of his career. Six years and 99 starts later, Wheldon hopes to add another milestone win at Kentucky Speedway in the series 200th race.

“I wasn’t part of the first IndyCar Series race, but I was part of the 100th and will not be part of the 200th and hopefully we’ll be able to break into Victory Lane for the National Guard and for Panther Racing,” he said. “That would be another milestone for me personally and I look forward to being around for another 100 IZOD IndyCar Series events.”

A timeline of other notable races through the years:

Jan. 27, 1996
Race #1: The green flag dropped on the Indy Racing League’s inaugural event, the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Denver’s Buzz Calkins wins the race.

June 29, 1997
Race #10: Former USAC Triple Crown champion Tony Stewart gets his first IZOD IndyCar Series victory at Pikes Peak International Raceway.

August 29, 1998
Race #22: Kenny Brack becomes the first IZOD IndyCar Series driver to win three consecutive races when he claims the checkered flag at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He also won at Charlotte and Pikes Peak.

May 28, 2000
Race #38: Target Chip Ganassi Racing wins the Indianapolis 500 with driver Juan Montoya, marking the first time a team from the CART series competes in an IZOD IndyCar Series-sanctioned event.

June 30, 2001
Race #50: Buddy Lazier wins the IZOD IndyCar Series’ first race in Richmond, Va.

October 6, 2001
Race #56: Sam Hornish Jr. becomes the youngest champion ever in a major North American open-wheel series when he clinches the IZOD IndyCar Series championship in Texas at age 22.

August 11, 2002
Race #68: Sarah Fisher makes history by becoming the first woman in North American motorsports history to win the pole position for a major-league open-wheel race when she takes the top spot at Kentucky Speedway.

September 8, 2002
Race #70: Eight races have finishing margins of less than one second, including Sam Hornish Jr.’s league-record .0024-of-a-second victory over Al Unser Jr. at Chicagoland Speedway.

September 21, 2003
Race #86: The IZOD IndyCar Series sets a closed-course speed record in the Toyota 400 at California Speedway, won by Sam Hornish Jr. with an average speed of 207.151 mph.

August 29, 2004
Race #100: The 100th race in IZOD IndyCar Series history is won by Dan Wheldon at Nazareth Speedway. It’s also the final event before the track closes.

October 17, 2004
Race #103: Tony Kanaan accomplishes a feat unparalleled in American open-wheel racing history by completing all 3,305 laps on his way to the IZOD IndyCar Series championship.

May 29, 2005
Race #108: Dan Wheldon becomes the first Englishman to win the Indianapolis 500 in almost 40 years. Wheldon passes rookie Danica Patrick, who became the first female to lead the race, for the lead with six laps left.

May 28, 2006
Race #124: Pole sitter Sam Hornish Jr. wins the second-closest Indianapolis 500 in history, passing rookie Marco Andretti on the frontstretch to take the checked flag by 0.0635 of a second.

August 27, 2006
Race #133: Marco Andretti becomes the youngest winner of a major-league open-wheel race (19 years, 5 months, 14 days) by taking the checkered flag at Infineon Raceway.

Sept. 9, 2007
Race #151: The climactic championship points race goes down to the final lap with Dario Franchitti winning the race at Chicagoland Speedway and the series title as Scott Dixon’s car runs out of fuel.

April 6, 2008
Race #153: Graham Rahal becomes the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing history (19 years, 93 days old) by taking the checkered flag on the streets of St. Petersburg in his series debut. Two-time race winner Helio Castroneves finishes second.

April 20, 2008
Race #154: Danica Patrick becomes the first female to win a major closed-course auto race, prevailing at Twin Ring Motegi in an event postponed a day because of rain. Patrick, competing in her 50th event, beat Helio Castroneves, competing in his 100th race.

May 24, 2009
Race #172: Helio Castroneves performs his signature fence climb along the front straightaway after taking the checkered flag in his third race since returning to the IZOD IndyCar Series following an acquittal in federal court on charges of tax evasion. Castroneves became the ninth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 at least three times, and the first to do so since Rick Mears recorded the third of four race wins in 1988.

Oct. 10, 2009
Race #185: Dario Franchitti claims his second IZOD IndyCar Series championship by winning the Firestone Indy 300 on Oct. 10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Franchitti and Target Chip Ganassi Racing used fuel strategy to beat second place Ryan Briscoe of Team Penske to the finish by 4.788 seconds. Franchitti's teammate, Scott Dixon, finished third.

March 14, 2010
Race #186: Will Power wins his return to the IZOD IndyCar Series in the series’ first race in South America, the Sao Paulo Indy 300 in Brazil. Power, driving for Verizon Team Penske, passes Ryan Hunter-Reay late in the event to score his second career win.

Aug. 28, 2010
Race #199: Dario Franchitti used a clever bit of strategy to win the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Franchitti held off Dan Wheldon by 0.0423 of a second for his third win of the season.

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