Saturday, September 06, 2008 PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 – Chicagoland Speedway Round 17 of 18 in the IndyCar Series
HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS DRIVER RAHAL TO START 14TH FOR THE PEAK ANTIFREEZE & MOTOR OIL INDY 300; McDONALD’S® DRIVER WILSON TO START 21ST
POLE: Ryan Briscoe 4-lap avg. speed of 215.818 mph (L1: 25.3565, L2: 25.3718, L3: 25.3579, L4: 25.3328)
14th: Graham Rahal 4-lap avg. speed of 213.523 mph (L1: 25.6555, L2: 25.6112, L3: 25.6256, L4: 25.6166)
21st: Justin Wilson 4-lap avg. speed of 212.753 mph (L1: 25.7746, L2: 25.7236, L3: 25.6976, L4: 25.6840)
Justin Wilson, No. 02 McDonald’s Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The McDonald’s car just didn’t seem to want to go. We didn’t pull the rpm that we did earlier today. We did a simulated qualifying run in the second practice and I was out there on my own so it was as good as it would get and we ran nearly a mile an hour faster so I’m not sure what happened there but we’ll have to look at the data and study it to learn. The win last week was a very special moment but there has been very little time to sit back and enjoy it with the season finale this weekend. I’m very honored to be driving the McDonald’s car and to be able to bring the team a win.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his first race here and 14th on a new track this season of 17. He tested here on Aug. 12…After being competitive on all road/street races this season, Wilson broke through to win in Detroit and became the ninth different driver to win in 2008. The mark tied the series record set in 1996/97, 2002, 2003 and 2005. Rahal (St. Pete) and Wilson are the only two “transition” drivers to have won in 2008…His highest start on an oval overall is third in Milwaukee ‘05 and highest start this season is 13th in Nashville. Highest finish on an oval overall is second in Milwaukee ‘06 and highest finish on an oval this season is seventh in Milwaukee and Richmond… He is ranked 11th in series points with 321 points and is one of three drivers gunning for the Bombardier Rookie of the Year honor (-13 to Mutoh; +20 to Power).
Graham Rahal, No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "I’m pretty happy with our qualifying run. Over what we could do earlier on our own, I think we gained almost a mile an hour so I’m pretty happy with the car. We can run around the bottom which is what you need to do to be fast. It should be a good race car for tomorrow. St. Pete was a high and we’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs but have gained experience. That is what racing is about. We knew it was going to be a tough season but learning how to cope with that is a different thing. Every weekend in Champ Car was pretty much the same but here (in the IndyCar Series) it seems like every weekend is a different story. It takes a lot to learn from that. Certainly, going into next year we have some experience to move on. ”
FAST FACTS: Will be his first race here and 13th on a new track this season of 17. This is his first season to compete on an oval. His highest start this season is second on the one-mile oval in Milwaukee where he narrowly lost becoming the youngest pole winner in series history to Marco Andretti. His highest oval finish is 10th place on the .894 mile oval at Iowa Speedway.…In his IndyCar Series debut on a road/street course he became the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing in North America after winning in St. Pete on 4-6-08 at 19 years, 93 days old…He is ranked 17th in series points with 276 points.
NHLR AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY: This will be the team’s FIRST event at this track but they competed at the 1.029-mile Chicago Motor Speedway oval in Cicero from 1999-2002 with ONE win (da Matta 2002) and TWO podiums (2nd – Mi. Andretti 2000)…NHLR won their 107th event at Detroit (Wilson, 8-31-08) and their 107th pole in Long Beach at the Champ Car finale (Wilson, 4-19-08)…This is a “Home Event” for the Lincolnshire, Ill.-based team as well as for their sponsor McDonald’s that is based in Oak Brook, Ill.
