From: Michael Powell 
 
INDY JAPAN 300 FAST FACTS
 
WHAT: Indy Japan 300, third race in 16-race 2004 season
 
WHERE: Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi, Japan, 1.5-mile asphalt oval
 
WHEN:  11:30 p.m. (EDT), Friday, April 16
 
DISTANCE:  200 laps/300 miles
 
POSTED AWARDS:  More than $1 million
 
CARS:
Dallara and Panoz G Force chassis; Chevy Indy V8, Honda H14R Indy V-8 and
Toyota Indy V8 engines; Firestone tires
 
PREVIOUS RACE WINNER:
2003 _ Scott Sharp
 
2003 SERIES CHAMPION: Scott Dixon
 
TV: Race: ESPN2 (live), 11:30 p.m. (EDT), April 16
 
RADIO: 
Race: IMS Radio Network, 11:30 p.m. (EDT), April 16
Live coverage of MBNA Pole Qualifying and the race also will be available at
www.indyracing.com/indycar.
 
SCHEDULE: (all times local; subject to change)
 
THURSDAY, APRIL 15
8 a.m. Garage opens
Noon-1:30 p.m. IndyCar Series practice (two groups)
2:30 p.m-4 p.m. IndyCar Series practice (two groups)
 
FRIDAY, APRIL 16
8 a.m. Garage opens
9:30 a.m.-11 a.m. IndyCar Series practice (two groups)
12:30 p.m. IndyCar Series MBNA Pole Qualifying
3:45 p.m.- 4:15 p.m. IndyCar Series warmup
 
SATURDAY, APRIL 17
8 a.m. Garage opens
11:30 p.m. Indy Japan 300 (200 laps/300 miles), ESPN2 & IMS Radio Network
(live)
 
STORY IDEAS:
 
Back Home Again in Tochigi?: The IndyCar Series gears up to the Month of May
by visiting Twin Ring Motegi for the second time. The track is located in the
Japanese prefecture of Tochigi, which is the sister region to Indiana.
 
Honda Aims For Win At Home Track: Twin Ring Motegi is the home track of
IndyCar Series engine manufacturer Honda, but no Honda driver has recorded a
victory in an Indy-style racing event at the track. The manufacturer brings a
strong IndyCar Series contingent to this year_s event _ including points leader
Tony Kanaan, 2003 Rookie of the Year Dan Wheldon, and Buddy Rice, who won the
pole for season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
 
Homeland Favorites: Japanese fans will have plenty to cheer for at Twin Ring
Motegi. Two of the three IndyCar Series engine manufacturers, Honda and Toyota,
are Japanese-based companies, as are several IndyCar Series sponsors. Three
Japanese drivers Kosuke Matsuura, Tora Takagi and Roger Yasukawa are entered in
the event.
 
Pro Series stars graduate: Ed Carpenter and Mark Taylor join 2002 Menards
Infiniti Pro Series champion A.J. Foyt IV as full-time drivers in the IndyCar
Series. Taylor, who drives for Panther Racing, won the 2003 Menards Infiniti
Pro Series title, while Carpenter, who drives for Red Bull Cheever Racing, won
the inaugural Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2003.
 
2004 INDYCAR SERIES STATISTICS
 
Driver Points
 
1. Tony Kanaan          77
2. Helio Castroneves    71
3. Dan Wheldon          70
4. Sam Hornish Jr.      65
5. Darren Manning       58
 
Entrant Points
 
1. Andretti Green Racing #11    77
2. Marlboro Team Penske #3      71
3. Andretti Green Racing #26    70
4. Marlboro Team Penske #6      65
5. Target Chip Ganassi Racing #10       58
 
Manufacturers_ Points
 
Engine
1. Toyota               17
2. Honda                17
3. Chevrolet            10
 
Chassis
1. Dallara              20
2. Panoz G Force        14
 
Money Leaders
 
1. Tony Kanaan          $175,700
2. Dan Wheldon          $164,150
3. Helio Castroneves    $160,950
4. Sam Hornish Jr.      $153,700
5. Scott Dixon          $127,050
 
Wins
 
1. Sam Hornish Jr.      1
Tony Kanaan             1
 
MBNA Poles
 
1. Buddy Rice           1
Dan Wheldon             1
 
Laps Led
 
1.      Tony Kanaan            191
2.      Helio Castroneves       85
3.      Buddy Rice              49
4.      Tomas Scheckter         23
5.      Bryan Herta             19
 
IRL IndyCar# Series
 
Indy Japan 300
At Twin Ring Motegi
11:30 p.m. (EDT) Friday, April 16, 2004
ESPN2/IMS Radio Network (live)                
 
Car     Driver  Hometown        Car Name        C/E/T   Entrant Chief
Mechanic
 
1       Scott Dixon     Auckland, New Zealand   Target Chip Ganassi
Racing  G/T/F   Target
Chip Ganassi Racing     Ricky Davis
2       Mark Taylor (R) London  Menards/Johns Manville
Racing  D/C/F   Panther
Racing  Eric Haverson
3       Helio Castroneves       Sao Paulo, Brazil       Marlboro Team
Penske  D/T/F   Marlboro Team
Penske  Rick Rinaman
4       Tomas Scheckter Cape Town, South Africa Pennzoil
Panther D/C/F   Panther
Racing  Simon Morley
5       Adrian Fernandez        Mexico City     Quaker State Telmex
Tecate  G/H/F   Fernandez
Racing  Mike Sales
6       Sam Hornish Jr. Defiance, Ohio  Marlboro Team
Penske  D/T/F   Marlboro Team
Penske  Matt Jonsson
7       Bryan Herta     Valencia, Calif.        XM Satellite
Radio   D/H/F   Andretti Green
Racing  Jeff Grahn
8       Scott Sharp     Norwalk, Conn.  Delphi  D/T/F   Kelley Racing   John
Worth
10      Darren Manning  North Yorkshire, England        Target Chip Ganassi
Racing
        G/T/F   Target Chip Ganassi Racing      Dave Higuera
11      Tony Kanaan     Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Team
7-Eleven        D/H/F   Andretti Green
Racing  Jeff Simon
12      Tora Takagi     Shizuoka, Japan Pioneer Mo Nunn
Racing  D/T/F   Pioneer Mo Nunn
Racing  Don Lambert
13      Greg Ray        Plano, Texas    Renovac G/H/F   Access
Motorsports     Jamie Nanny
14      A.J. Foyt IV    Hockley, Texas  Conseco/A.J. Foyt
Racing  D/T/F   A.J. Foyt
Enterprises     Richie Simon
15      Buddy Rice      Phoenix Pioneer/Argent
Mortgage        G/H/F   Team Rahal      Ricardo Nault
16      Roger Yasukawa  Los Angeles     Sammy   G/H/F   Team Rahal      Dennis
Swan
17      Vitor Meira     Brasilia, Brazil        Rahal-Letterman
Racing  G/H/F   Team Rahal      Greg
Cates
24      Robbie Buhl     Detroit Purex/Dreyer &
Reinbold        D/C/F   Dreyer & Reinbold
Racing  Brian Franzosi
26      Dan Wheldon     Emberton, England       Klein Tools/Jim
Beam    D/H/F   Andretti Green
Racing  Mike Horvath
27      Dario Franchitti        Edinburgh,
Scotland        Alpine  D/H/F   Andretti Green
Racing  David Popielarz
51      Alex Barron     Menifee, Calif. Red Bull Cheever Racing
        D/C/F   Red Bull
Cheever Racing  Craig McCain
52      Ed Carpenter (R)        Indianapolis    Red Bull Cheever Racing
        D/C/F   Red Bull
Cheever Racing  Robin Boling
55      Kosuke Matsuura (R)     Aichi, Japan    Panasonic ARTA  G/H/F   Super
Aguri Fernandez
Racing  Steve Ragan
 
Legend: Chassis: D=Dallara, G=Panoz G Force. Engine: C=Chevrolet, H=Honda,
T=Toyota. Tire: F=Firestone. (R)=Rookie. Issued: 4/6/04
 
___ Internet Rex 2.29
 


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