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Indy Grand Prix roars into Sonoma

 

The Indy Car circus returns to Infineon Raceway this weekend, with a star-studded, international cast that includes:

Famous female Danica Patrick whose best finish this year is fifth.

Redeemed rookie JR Hildebrand, of Sausalito, who lost the Indianapolis 500 but skidded across the finish line in second after crashing in the last corner as he led in his rookie race.

"Dancing With the Stars" winner (and three-time Indy 500 champ) Helio Castroneves, who currently is 11th in the point standings.

Indy Car points leader Dario Franchiti, who has four wins so far this season, and 10 top-five finishes.

Second-place points winner Will Power, who also has four wins.

Takuma Sato, the only Japanese driver in Indy Car racing.

Ho-Pin Tung, who is vying to become the first Chinese driver in the open-wheel racing series.

And 36 other drivers who will culminate a virtual festival of weekend racing with Sunday's 75-lap Izod Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Pre-race ceremonies begin at 1 p.m. and the race starts at 1:45.

But before that race, fans will be treated to ongoing practice sessions on Friday, the Formula Car Challenge Race and the World Challenge Race on Saturday, along with qualifying for the Indy Grand Prix.

Sunday's schedule includes the second Formula Car Challenge Race and the Historic Grand Prix race, featuring more than 20 vintage Formula One race cars from the years 1966 to 1983.

For a complete schedule of the weekend events, see sports.