Email  Print

Next major Infineon event features IZOD IndyCar Series

 

There are only two major events remaining on Infineon Raceway's 2011 Big O Tires schedule, with the IZOD IndyCar Series and its annual Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County weekend taking place Aug. 26 through 28, followed by the Classic Sports Racing Group Charity Challenge, which is slated for Oct. 1 and 2.

This will be the seventh straight year that the Indy cars have raced on Infineon's 12-turn, 2.303-mile road course, with Sunday's (Aug. 28) 75-lap Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County being the 13th race on the IZOD IndyCar Series' 17-race schedule.

The weekend will also include Fluid Film Pole Day on Saturday (Aug. 26), as well as the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge, Formula Car Challenge, Star Mazda Championship and Historic Grand Prix.

Returning to defend his Infineon Indy Grand Prix title is Will Power (Team Penske), who, after suffering a 2009 season-ending back injury, became the sixth different winner in six years at Sonoma, preceded by Tony Kanaan (2005), Marco Andretti ('06), Dixon ('07), Helio Castroneves ('08), and Dario Franchitti ('09).

Only once has a Sonoma winner gone on to win the series championship, Franchitti in 2009, with Andretti, at 19-years-old becoming the then-youngest driver in history to win a major open-wheel race at Infineon Raceway in 2006. Andretti was also the first rookie to win an IndyCar Series event since 2002.

Making his second IndyCar start at his "home" Infineon track driving for Panther Racing is Sausalito native JR Hildebrand, who is a graduate of the Infineon Raceway based Jim Russell Racing Drivers School and finished second at the Indianapolis 500 earlier this year. He was in line for the victory, but suffered a last-lap crash in Turn 4, and settled for second.

Andretti Autosport, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske have each won two IndyCar events at Infineon Raceway, and for the fifth consecutive year, all cars in the IZOD IndyCar Series will be powered by 100-percent fuel-grade ethanol.

In preparation for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County, several teams from the IZOD IndyCar Series will take part in a one-day test session at Infineon Raceway 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Thursday, Aug. 18, and race fans are invited to attend for free.

The Indy teams and drivers testing include A.J. Foyt Enterprises - EJ Viso; Andretti Autosport - Marco Andretti and Mike Conway; Conquest Racing - Sebastian Saavedra; Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - Ana Beatriz and Tomas Scheckter; HVM Racing - Simona de Silvestro; KV Racing Technology - Takuma Sato; Newman/Haas Racing - Oriol Servia; Panther Racing - JR Hildebrand; Sam Schmidt Motorsports - Martin Plowman; Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing - Graham Rahal; Target Chip Ganassi Racing - Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti; and Team Penske - Will Power.

Also at the test session, Infineon Raceway will feature a number of ticket packages, highlighted by packages that include race-day question and answer sessions with Danica Patrick or four racing legends, including Mario Andretti.

The $99 packages also include a ticket to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday, Aug. 28, and a garage/pit/pre-race pass. For more details, visit www.infineonraceway.com/indycar or call 800-870-RACE (7223).

To purchase tickets and ticket packages for Infineon's major events, or for more details on Wednesday Night Drags, Top the Cops, Drifting, or for general information, visit www.infineonraceway.com, www.ticketmaster.com, or call 800-870-RACE (7223).