Backstretch Motorsports

SONOMA, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008 - Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe will share the front row for the third consecutive IndyCar Series race on a road/street course.

Castroneves won his 26th career PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award during qualifying for the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County at Infineon Raceway with a best lap of 1 minute, 16.9027 seconds, 107.809 mph on the 12-turn, 2.30 mile circuit. Briscoe was second just .0158 of a second behind.

[read more...]

Three races remain in championship battle

With three races remaining in 2008, Scott Dixon holds a 78-point lead over Helio Castroneves. Dan Wheldon is 138 points back, and Tony Kanaan trails by 147. Dixon has a record-tying six wins this season, while Castroneves has seven second-place finishes. Can Dixon extend his lead or will his competitors close the gap?

[read more...]

Monday Aug 18, 2008
Today’s IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines
1. Four remain eligible for IndyCar Series title
2. Matos in familiar territory
3. Potekhen returns at Infineon

[read more...]

IndyCar Series Leader Scott Dixon Sails to First Kentucky Speedway Win in the “Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Pepsi and Edy’s”

SPARTA, Ky. – Kentucky Speedway officially joined “Dixie-land” tonight when IndyCar Series championship leader Scott Dixon scored a “Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Pepsi and Edy’s” victory with a dramatic last-lap pass of Team Penske racer Helio Castroneves 500 feet before the finish line.

[read more...]

SPARTA, Ky. – IndyCar Series championship leader Scott Dixon dominated two practice sessions at Kentucky Speedway and punctuated those efforts by earning his fifth pole award of the season this evening with a four-lap 218.968-mph (1:37.3293) qualifying average.

The New Zealander will start a race on the front row for the second time in six career appearances at the facility. He has produced an average fifth-place start and eighth-place finish at the track since his 2003 debut.

[read more...]

DIXON CLOSING IN ON 2008 CHAMPIONSHIP
BIA LOOKS TO CASH IN ON SSM PAST KENTUCKY SUCCESS
Four races remain in championship battle

With four races remaining in 2008, Scott Dixon holds a 65-point lead over Helio Castroneves. Dan Wheldon is 115 points back, and Tony Kanaan trails by 118. Dixon has five wins this season, while Castroneves has six second-place finishes. Can Dixon extend his lead or will his competitors close the gap?

[read more...]

The IndyCar Series will travel to Surfers Paradise, Australia for the Gold Coast Indy 300 on Oct. 26, the first IndyCar Series event in the country.

“We are pleased to announce that the IndyCar Series will hold its first event in Australia this October to celebrate the completion of a successful first season of unified open-wheel racing,” said Terry Angstadt, president, commercial division for the Indy Racing League. “Dating back to 1991, the Gold Coast Indy 300 has been labeled the race with the hottest cars, the hottest parties and the hottest beaches, with one of the world’s most famous beach-side cities, Surfers Paradise, hosting 96 hours of non-stop excitement on and off the racetrack.

[read more...]

EDMONTON, Alberta, Saturday, July 26, 2008 - Scott Dixon solidified his lead for the IndyCar Series championship with his fifth victory of the season, winning the Rexall Edmonton Indy by 5.9327 seconds over Helio Castroneves, who fell to 65 points behind in the standings with his sixth runner-up finish of the season.

Heading into a pit stop on Lap 51, Dixon radioed his crew to give him an extra push out of pit lane. That push got him out of the pits first and helped Dixon take the lead on Lap 62 when the field cycled through pit stops.

[read more...]

EDMONTON, Alberta, Friday, July 25, 2008 - For the second consecutive weekend, Team Penske drivers Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves will start on the front row.

Briscoe, who won from the second starting position one week ago at Mid-Ohio, won the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by Canadian Tire and will start first in Saturday’s Rexall Edmonton Indy.

[read more...]

LEXINGTON, Ohio, Sunday, July 20, 2008 - Ryan Briscoe earned his second IndyCar Series victory of the season, and Helio Castroneves finished second in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance to earn Team Penske a sweep.

The teammates started in reverse order on the front row for the 85-lap race on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit. Castroneves led the first five laps on rain tires, but relinquished the lead to Vitor Meira on Lap 6 after the Panther Racing driver pitted earlier to change to racing slicks.

[read more...]