June 30, 2003
2003 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series - FAST FACTS
KANSAS INDY 300
July 6, 1 p.m. EDT on ABC
Kansas Speedway
200 laps on the 1.5-mile oval
TOYOTA NO STRANGER TO KANSAS WINNER CIRCLE – While the upcoming Kansas Indy 300 will be Toyota’s first trip to the Kansas Speedway, the manufacturer recorded one of its landmark victories in the Sunflower State. Juan Manuel Fangio II earned Toyota’s first-ever IMSA GTP victory at Heartland Park in Topeka on May 6, 1990. The win was the first of 26 GTP victories for Toyota between 1990-93.
TOYOTA LOOKS FOR SIXTH STRAIGHT IRL WIN – Toyota will be looking for its sixth consecutive victory, and seventh in eight races this season, when the Indy cars take the track at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) has won the last two events, Richmond and Pikes Peak, and has three wins overall this season. He also won the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In addition to Dixon’s three triumphs, Al Unser Jr. (Corteco Toyota),Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Toyota) and Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) also have race wins this season with Toyota power. Dating back to last season’s CART Champ Car competition, Toyota has now won 16 of its last 26 major open-wheel races.
DIXON HITS THE BULLS-EYE – When Scott Dixon made the move to IRL competition this year, few could have expected the 22-year-old New Zealander to initially dominate the IndyCar Series like he has this season. With three victories this year, Dixon is the only IndyCar Series driver to win multiple races in 2003. In addition, he was leading two other races before suffering problems that ended his victory hopes early. Dixon dominated the early going at Phoenix before being sidelined with a broken gearbox. At Motegi, he had just moved into the lead with 23 laps remaining when he was involved in an on-track incident with Tony Kanaan. It is conceivable that Dixon could easily be entering this weekend’s race at Kansas with five wins under his belt this year.
FOYT TEAM DEFENDING 2002 KANSAS VICTORY – A.J.Foyt’s team returns to Kansas Speedway this weekend as the defending IndyCarSeries race winners. In 2002, Airton Dare took the checkered flag for the legendary Foyt’s team. Starting the IndyCar Series race this year with Toyota power will be his grandson A.J. Foyt IV (Conseco Toyota), who won the IRL Infiniti Pro Series race in Kansas last year from the pole, and Jacques Lazier, who joined the team in June. In addition to the Foyt team’s success, current Toyota-powered drivers Scott Sharp (2001) and Tomas Scheckter (2002) have earned the pole position in the two previous IndyCar Series races at Kansas Speedway. Scheckter set a track record during last year’s race with a lap of 220.226 mph.
DIXON AND TOYOTA ON RECORD-SETTING RUN – After leading the final 84 laps in winning Pikes Peak, and then leading every lap at Richmond this past weekend, Scott Dixon has now led an IRL record 290 consecutive laps.
Dixon’s record-setting run is just part of the dominance exhibited by Toyota-powered drivers over the last four races. Toyotas have led 759 of the last 764 laps in IndyCar Series competition. During that stretch, Toyota-powered Indy cars led all 206 laps at Richmond, 223 of 225 laps at Pikes Peak, 199 of 200 laps at Texas and 131 of the final 133 laps at the Indianapolis 500.
Overall this season, Toyota-powered cars have led 1,155 of 1,431 laps (80.7 percent) run in the IndyCar Series. Individually, Scott Dixon’s 436 laps led are a series-best and are 160 more than the combined total (276) of all the non-Toyota-powered cars in the series.
CASTRONEVES IN UNUSUAL POSITION – Helio Castroneves is best known for winning races and his celebratory fence climbing that follows each victory. Yet this season, the two-time Indy 500 winner has found himself in an unusual position as the runner-up in three races and third place in another. The downside for Castroneves’ opponents is that despite not yet winning this season, he is still third overall in the points and in position to make a run for the series title.
EIGHT TOYOTAS IN TOP 11 IN POINTS – Eight Toyota drivers rank in the top 11 in IndyCar Series points heading into Kansas. Scott Dixon remains in second following his Richmond victory, followed by Marlboro Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves (third) and Gil de Ferran (fourth). They are trailed by Al Unser Jr. (fifth), Scott Sharp (seventh) and Felipe Giaffone (ninth), with Tora Takagi and Tomas Scheckter tied for 10th.
TRD CHIEF RETURNS HOME – As Toyota’s IRL program heads to Kansas for the first-time, it will mark a homecoming for Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports and the president and CEO of Toyota Racing Development (TRD) U.S.A. A native of Ellis, Kan., Aust graduated from Fort Hays (Kansas) State. He oversees all aspects of Toyota’s motorsports programs with every Toyota CART and IRL victory having come under his direction, including the 2002 CART Manufacturer’s Championship.
Toyota IndyCar Series Driver Line-Up and Position Entering Kansas
Driver SeasonPoints Standing
Scott Dixon 2nd
Helio Castronves 3rd
Gil de Ferran 4th
Al Unser, Jr. 5th
Scott Sharp 7th
Felipe Giaffone 9th
Tora Takagi 10th (tie)
Tomas Scheckter 10th (tie)
Jacques Lazier 16th
A.J. Foyt IV 21st
June 28, 2003
DIXON LEADS TOYOTA 1-2-3 IN RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE
- Scott Dixon (TargetToyota) led all 206 laps at the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway on the way to his third victory in seven races this season and Toyota’s fifth consecutive win with fellow Toyota drivers Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran (both Marlboro Toyota) finishing second and third in a Toyota one-two-three.
- The Toyota victory is its fifth consecutive IndyCar Series triumph and its sixth in seven IRL races this season. Dating back to last season’s CART competition, Toyota has now won 16 of its last 26 races.
- By leading all 206 laps today, Toyota-powered cars have now led 759 of the last 764 laps run in IndyCar Series competition. Toyota-powered cars led every lap tonight, 223 of 225 laps at Pikes Peak, 199 of 200 laps at Texas and 131 of the last 133 laps at Indianapolis.
- Tonight’s Toyota 1-2-3 is the manufacturer’s second of the season with the same three drivers involved in both finishes as Dixon led de Ferran and Helio Castroneves in a Toyota 1-2-3 at Miami-Homestead in the season-opening Toyota Indy 300.
- Scott Dixon (TargetToyota) earned the third victory of his inaugural IndyCar Series season. He also won the season-opening Toyota Indy300 at Miami-Homestead and the most recent IRL round at Pikes Peak two weeks ago. It’s the third victory for TargetChip Ganassi Racing in six races this year and the team’s fifth overall in IRL competition. TCGR and Kelley Racing are the only teams to win multiple races this season.
- After leading the final 84 laps at Pikes Peak and all 206 laps tonight, Scott Dixon established a new record for most consecutive laps led in IndyCar Series competition with 290.
- With Scott Dixon leading the most laps tonight, it marks the fourth consecutive race that a Target Chip Ganassi Racing Toyota led the most laps of the race. Tomas Scheckter led the most laps at Indianapolis and Texas, while Dixon led the most laps at Pikes Peak and here at Richmond.
- Scott Dixon has now finished no worse than sixth in the four races he’s finished this year, while also leading at the time when he fell out in two other races.
- Helio Castroneves earned his third second-place finish of the season after earning runner-up honors previously at Phoenix and Indianapolis. He also placed third at Miami.
- Gil de Ferran’s third-place finish is his third top-three showing in his last four races after he placed third last race at Pikes Peak and won the May 25 Indianapolis 500. De Ferran has finished in the top three in four of the six races he’s participated in this season.
Toyota Drivers Start/Finish
Scott Dixon 1/1
Helio Castroneves 10/2
Gil de Ferran 6/3
Felipe Giaffone 7/6
Al Unser Jr. 16/10
Jacques Lazier 19/16
Scott Sharp 17/17
Tomas Scheckter 13/18
A.J. Foyt IV 21/21
Next Race: Kansas, July 6, ABC
June 27, 2003
DIXON PUTS TARGET TOYOTA ON POLE AT RICHMOND
- Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon won his second pole of the year and gave Toyota its fifth pole in seven races this season by registering a 168.138 mph lap in qualifying for Saturday night’s SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway.
- Toyota-powered cars have now sat on the pole for five of the last six IRL events – with the only exception coming when qualifying was washed out at Pikes Peak two weeks ago with the starting grid decided by practice times.
- Scott Dixon’s pole is the third of the season for Target Chip Ganassi Racing and the team’s second in the last three races and its third in the last five. Dixon previously won the pole at Motegi, while Tomas Scheckter was on the pole at Texas.
- Today’s pole marks the third front row starting position for Scott Dixon this season and the fifth time he’s been in the top-four in the last six events. Dixon now has two poles, a second, a third, a fourth and a sixth in his last six IndyCar starts.
- Scott Dixon turned in the fastest time in each of the three sessions run up to and including qualifying, getting progressively quicker in every session.
- Tora Takagi(Pioneer Toyota) matched his career-best with a third-place in qualifying – the third time he’s qualified third this season. Takagi now has qualified in the top-five in four of the last five IndyCar Series events.
- Gil de Ferran(Marlboro Toyota) and Felipe Giaffone (Hollywood Toyota) placed seventh and eighth, respectively, to make it four Toyota-powered cars in the top eight.
Toyota Richmond Qualifying:
1. Scott Dixon
3. Tora Takagi
7. Gil de Ferran
8. Felipe Giaffone
11. Helio Castroneves
14. Tomas Scheckter
17. Al Unser Jr.
18. Scott Sharp
20. Jacques Lazier
22. A.J. Foyt IV
SunTrust Indy Challenge, June 28, ESPN, 8:00 p.m.EDT
June 23, 2003
2003 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series - FAST FACTS
SUN TRUST INDY CHALLENGE
June 28, 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN
Richmond International Raceway
250 laps on the 0.75-mile oval for 187.5 miles
TOYOTA LOOKS FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT IRL WIN – Toyota will be looking for its fifth consecutive win, and sixth in seven races, at Richmond International Raceway on Sunday. Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) became the first multiple-race winner in the IndyCar Series this season after taking the most recent round at Pikes Peak. He also won the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dixon’s Pikes Peak victory follows wins by Al Unser Jr. (Corteco Toyota) at Texas, Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Toyota) at the Indy 500, and Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) at Motegi, Japan. Dating back to last season’s CART Champ Car competition, Toyota has now won 15 of its last 25 major open-wheel races.
BALANCED TOYOTA ATTACK SET TO TACKLE RICHMOND –Toyota’s policy of providing a “single spec” engine to every Toyota driver has paid big dividends through the first one-third of the IRL season. Five different drivers have been the highest finishing Toyota in six IndyCar Series events (Scott Dixon’s wins at Miami and Pikes Peak, Helio Castroneves’ second at Phoenix, Scott Sharp’s win at Motegi, Gil de Ferran’s win at Indianapolis, and Al Unser Jr.’s win at Texas).
So far this season, four different Toyota drivers have won races, and eight of the nine full-time Toyota-powered drivers have finished fourth or better in at least one race this season.
RIGHT ON TARGET – Entering the 2003 season fielding a pair of 22-year-old drivers with 12 combined IndyCar Series starts, a steep learning curve might have been expected for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. That has not been the case after six races as “Target Twins” Scott Dixon and Tomas Scheckter have two wins, and they were leading three of the four other races when they were sidelined from the events. In addition, Scheckter and Dixon are currently first and second in the IndyCar Series in laps led, combining to lead 496 out of a possible 1,225 laps (40.4%).
Scott Dixon won at Homestead-Miami and Pikes Peak, and he was leading at both Motegi (accident) and Phoenix (gear box) when sidelined. Tomas Scheckter led 145 of the first 149 laps at Texas before a pit incident took him out of the running while in the lead. He also led the most laps at the Indianapolis 500, and Dixon was leading at Indy before he developed a fuel pick-up problem.
RUNNING UP FRONT – After leading every lap but two at Pikes Peak, Toyota-powered cars have led 553 of the last 558 laps run in IndyCar Series competition (849 of the last 857.5 miles).
Overall this season, Toyota-powered Indy Cars have led 949 of 1,225 laps (77.4%) run in the IndyCar Series. Individually, Tomas Scheckter’s 260 laps led is an IndyCar Series best, and it is just 16 laps fewer than the combined total (276) of all non-Toyota-powered cars in the series.
SEVEN TOYOTAS IN TOP NINE IN POINTS – Seven Toyota drivers rank in the top nine in points following Pikes Peak. Scott Dixon has moved into second with his Pikes Peak victory. Marlboro Team Penske teammates Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves are currently third and fourth, followed by Al Unser Jr. (fifth), Scott Sharp (seventh), Tomas Scheckter (eighth) and Felipe Giaffone (ninth).
Toyota IndyCar Series Driver Line-Up and Position Entering Richmond
Driver Points Standing
Scott Dixon 2nd (Won Miami and Pikes Peak)
Gil de Ferran 3rd (Won Indy 500)
Helio Castronves 4th
Al Unser, Jr. 5th (Won Texas)
Scott Sharp 7th (Won Motegi)
Tomas Scheckter 8th
Felipe Giaffone 9th
Tora Takagi 11th
Jacques Lazier 17th
A.J. Foyt IV 21st
“Quotes”
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports: “We're extremely pleased with how the season has gone so far. It's been a great combined effort between our drivers, teams and everyone involved with the Toyota engine program. Yet it's crucial that we remain focused on winning an IndyCar Series championship. We still have 10 races remaining this season, and as we've found out, the competition in the IRL is intense and will only continue to grow in the future."
June 15, 2003
DIXON, TOYOTA CLIMB PIKES PEAK
- Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) led the final 84 laps at Pikes Peak International Raceway on the way to his second victory of the season and Toyota’s fourth consecutive win and fifth in six IndyCar Series races this season. With the victory, Dixon climbs into second in the IndyCar points race.
- The Toyota victory is its fourth consecutive IndyCar Series triumph and its fifth in six IRL races this season. Dating back to last season’s CART competition, Toyota has now won 15 of its last 25 races.
- By leading 223 of 225 laps today, Toyota-powered cars have now led 553 of the last 558 laps run in IndyCar Series competition (849 out of a possible 857.5 miles).
- Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) earned the second victory of his inaugural IndyCar Series season. He also won the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Miami-Homestead. It’s the second victory for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in six races this year and the team’s fourth overall in IRL competition. TCGR joins Kelley Racing as the only teams to win multiple races this season.
- In addition to Scott Dixon’s win today, the Target/Toyota team also was victorious in its last trek to Colorado when the team finished 1-2 at the Denver CART race a year ago. Dixon placed second in that event..
- Dixon has now finished no worse than sixth in the three races he’s finished this year, while also leading at the time during two of the races he fell out early.
- Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Toyota) earned his second consecutive top-three finish at Pikes Peak after winning here a year ago. Today’s showing is his third top-three finish in five races this season, as well as his fourth top-eight finish of the year.
- Tomas Scheckter (Target Toyota) looked to have the only car capable of challenging teammate Scott Dixon as he powered past most of the field on the way to leading laps 77-92 today. Scheckter’s luck ran out while pitting with the lead as he and Felipe Giaffone made contact as Scheckter was entering his pit box. Scheckter fell back to 15th, but eventually drove back onto the lead lap for an eighth-place finish. It was the fourth straight race that Scheckter has led.
- Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) drove to his fourth consecutive top-10 finish with a sixth today. The first-year IndyCar Series driver also has qualified in the top five for three of the last four races.
Toyota Drivers Start/Finish
Scott Dixon 6/1
Gil de Ferran 4/3
Tora Takagi 5/6
Tomas Scheckter 9/8
Scott Sharp 10/11
Helio Castroneves 2/12
Felipe Giaffone 3/13
Al Unser Jr. 20/14
Jacques Lazier 15/21
A.J. Foyt IV 21/22
Next Race: Richmond, June 28, ESPN
June 09, 2003
2003 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series - FAST FACTS
PIKES PEAK INDY 225
June 15, 4 p.m. EDT on ABC
Pikes Peak International Raceway
225 laps on the 1-mile oval
TOYOTA LOOKS FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT IRL WIN – Toyota will be looking for its fourth consecutive win, and fifth in six races, at Pikes Peak International Raceway on Sunday. Al Unser Jr. (Corteco Toyota) won the most recent IndyCar Series round at Texas, following wins by Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Toyota) at Indianapolis, and Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) at Motegi. Dating back to last season’s CART competition, Toyota has now won 14 of its last 24 major open-wheel races.
BALANCE CONTINUES TO PAY OFF FOR TOYOTA – Toyota’s policy of providing a “single spec” engine to every Toyota driver has paid off big dividends through the first one-third of the IRL season. Five different Toyota drivers have been the highest finishing Toyota in the five IndyCar Series events (Scott Dixon-Miami, Helio Castroneves-Phoenix, Scott Sharp-Motegi, Gil de Ferran-Indianapolis, and Al Unser Jr.-Texas).
During that stretch, four different Toyota drivers have won races, and eight of the nine Toyota-powered drivers who have competed in every race have finished fourth or better in at least one race this season. Overall, 11 different Toyota-powered drivers have top-10 finishes this year.
TOYOTA & TARGET LOOK FOR ROCKY MOUNTAIN REPEAT – A repeat of Toyota’s last trip to Colorado certainly would leave the manufacturer’s IndyCar Series program on a Rocky Mountain high. Target Chip Ganassi Racing led a one-two-three Toyota sweep of the CART Champ Car podium last August through the streets of Denver. Current Target Toyota driver Scott Dixon placed second just behind Ganassi teammate Bruno Junqueira, and just ahead of eventual series champion and fellow Toyota driver Cristiano da Matta.
RUNNING UP FRONT – Toyota-powered cars have led 330 of the last 333 laps run in IndyCar Series competition, which are 626 of the last 632.5 miles. A Toyota led 199 of 200 laps at Texas last weekend, and 131 of the final 133 laps at Indianapolis.
Overall this season, Toyota-powered Indy Cars have led 726 of 1,000 laps run in IndyCar Series competition. Individually, after leading 145 laps at Texas on Saturday, Tomas Scheckter has now led more laps than any other driver in the series with 244, which is just 30 laps fewer than the total of all the non-Toyota-powered cars in the series combined (274).
EIGHT TOYOTAS IN TOP-10 IN POINTS – Eight Toyota drivers rank in the top-10 in points following the Bombardier 500 at Texas. Al Unser Jr. has climbed up to second with his Texas victory. Helio Castroneves is third, followed by Gil de Ferran (fifth), Scott Sharp (sixth), Scott Dixon (seventh), Tora Takagi (eighth), Felipe Giaffone (ninth) and Tomas Scheckter (10th).
PPIR NOT TOYOTA’S FIRST TIME TO CLIMB PIKES PEAK – While this will be Toyota’s first trek to Pikes Peak International Raceway as it competes in this weekend’s IRL event, it certainly will not be the first time the manufacturer has climbed Pikes Peak. Rod Millen took a Toyota-factory backed effort to the overall championship of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb five times in six years between 1994-1999 and still holds the all-time record up the mountain with a 10:04.06 run in 1994.
Toyota IndyCar Series Driver Line-Up and Position Entering Pikes Peak
Car # Driver Car SeasonPoints Standing
#31 Al Unser, Jr. Corteco Toyota (Dallara) 2nd
#3 Helio Castronves Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 3rd
#6 Gil de Ferran Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 5th
#8 Scott Sharp Delphi Toyota (Dallara) 6th
#9 Scott Dixon Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force 7th
#12 Tora Takagi Pioneer Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 8th
#21 Felipe Giaffone Hollywood Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 9th
#10 Tomas Scheckter Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 10th
#14 A.J. Foyt IV Conseco Toyota (Panoz G-Force) 19th
“Quotes”
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports: “We couldn’t be happier with how things have been going recently. The key has been a great effort throughout the entire program. We’re getting a great contribution from all of our drivers and teams, as well as great performance from our Toyota engines. We’ve won three in a row on the bigger tracks, now we need to prove that we can win on the one-mile ovals like Pikes Peak.”
June 07, 2003
AL UNSER JR., TOYOTA TAKE TEXAS TRIUMPH
- Al Unser Jr. (Corteco Toyota) won a one-lap shoot-out to win the Bombardier 500 at Texas Motor Speedway as Toyota-powered cars led all but one lap tonight.
- The Toyota victory is its third consecutive IndyCar Series victory and its fourth in five IRL races this season. Making the distinction even more impressive is that the four victories have come from four different drivers. Dating back to last season’s CART competition, Toyota has now won 14 of its last 24 races.
- By leading 199 of 200 laps tonight, Toyota-powered cars have now led 330 of the last 333 laps run in IndyCar Series competition (626 out of a possible 632.5 miles).
- Al Unser Jr.’s (Corteco Toyota) victory is his first of the season and the third of his IndyCar career, in addition to 31 CART victories. It’s the second victory for Kelley Racing in five races this year. The team was the first to sign on with Toyota for IRL competition in Jan. 2002.
- Al Unser Jr.’s win tonight marks his third top-five finish of the season and his fourth consecutive top-10 finish. The victory moves Unser Jr. into second-place in the IndyCar Series points race.
- Tomas Scheckter (Target Toyota) led the most laps for the second consecutive race with 145, including the first 91 laps tonight. Scheckter appeared to be headed for his first win of the season before a pit incident three-quarters of the way through the race.
- Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) drove to an IRL-career best third-place finish – his second consecutive top-five finish.
- Scott Dixon (Target Toyota), Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Toyota) and Gil de Ferran placed sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, to give Toyota five of the top-eight finishers.
- Toyota drivers now hold eight of the top-10 spots in the IndyCar Series points race with Al Unser Jr. in second, Helio Castroneves in third, and Gil de Ferran, Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota), Scott Dixon, Tora Takagi, Felipe Giaffone (Hollywood Toyota) and Tomas Scheckter holding down the fifth through 10th positions.
#31 Al Unser Jr. Corteco Toyota: “Tom Kelley stepped up to the plate this winter and the whole Kelley Racing team has raised its game this year. Signing up with Toyota was the biggest gain from last year to this year and you could see that on the back-straight of that last lap. Once we (he and Tony Kanaan) got even on the back-straight, it wasn’t Al vs. Tony, it was Toyota vs. Honda and Toyota won. I was so happy I had that Toyota power.”
Toyota Drivers Start/Finish
Al Unser Jr. 7/1
Tora Takagi 3/3
Scott Dixon 2/6
Helio Castroneves 10/7
Gil de Ferran 8/8
Scott Sharp 12/16
Felipe Giaffone 5/17
Tomas Scheckter 1/18
Jaques Lazier 22/19
A.J. Foyt IV 14/21
Next Race: Pikes Peak International Raceway, June 15, ABC4 p.m. EDT
June 05, 2003
TARGET TWINS SWEEP FRONT ROW; GIVE TOYOTA THIRD STRAIGHT IRL POLE POSITION
- Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s 22-year-old teammates Tomas Scheckter and Scott Dixon swept the front row for Saturday night’s Bombardier 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, giving Toyota its third consecutive IndyCar Series pole position in the process – registered by three different drivers (Dixon – Motegi; Helio Castroneves – Indy, Scheckter –Texas).
- Tomas Scheckter’s pole position is his first of the season and combined with Scott Dixon’s pole at Motegi gives the team two poles in its last three races. For Scheckter, it’s his second consecutive Bombardier 500 pole position after qualifying first here a year ago.
- Scott Dixon’s front-row qualifying effort gives him a pole, a second and a fourth in his last three races. Dixon is one of only two drivers in the series to lead a lap in every race this season.
- With a sweep of the front row tonight, Target Chip Ganassi Racing will now be shooting for its second consecutive Bombardier 500 victory after Jeff Ward won the June race here last season.
- Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) gave Toyota each of the top three with another strong effort coming off his Rookie of the Year honors at Indianapolis. For Takagi, it’s the second time he’s qualified in the top three in the last three races. Takagi also topped the Thursday practice session leading up to qualifying.
- Takagi’s Mo Nunn Racing teammate, Felipe Giaffone (Hollywood Toyota), made it four Toyotas in the top-five with a fifth today.
- Tomas Scheckter’s pole position marks the third for Toyota in IndyCar Series competition. The manufacturer won 12 of 19 poles last year in CART.
- Al Unser Jr.(Corteco Toyota), Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Toyota) and current series runner-up Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Toyota) made it seven Toyota-powered cars in the top 10 as they placed seventh, eighth and 10th, respectively.
- Jacques Lazier will sub in the #5 car for A.J. Foyt Enterprises this weekend after a practice crash by Airton Dare sidelined the Brazilian for the weekend. Lazier had driven for Team Menard in the season’s first four races.
Toyota Texas Qualifying:
1. Tomas Scheckter
2. Scott Dixon
3. Tora Takagi
5. Felipe Giaffone
7. Al Unser Jr.
8. Gil de Ferran
10. Helio Castroneves
12. Scott Sharp
14. A.J. Foyt IV
22. Jacques Lazier
Bombardier 500, June 7, ESPN, 8:00 p.m. EDT
June 02, 2003
2003 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series FAST FACTS
BOMBARDIER 500
June 7, 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN
Texas Motor Speedway
200 laps on the 1.5-mile oval
TOYOTA LOOKS TO BUILD ON Indy 500 VICTORY – Coming off a dominant victory at the Indianapolis 500 that saw Toyota-powered drivers claim the top two and six of the top seven positions, the Toyota IRL IndyCar Series program now prepares for the Bombardier 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Toyota-powered drivers have registered three victories in four races this season. Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) won the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami; Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) took the top spot in Motegi, Japan; and Gil deFerran (Marlboro Toyota) earned Toyota’s first Indy 500 victory. Overall, Toyota has won 13 of its last 23 races in IRL and CART competition combined.
TARGET SHOOTS FOR TWO IN A ROW AT THE BOMBARDIER 500 – Target Chip Ganassi Racing will be shooting for its second consecutive Bombardier 500 victory this Saturday. Jeff Ward claimed the team’s first victory as a full-time IRL competitor in Texas a year ago, edging out Al Unser Jr. by .011 seconds in what was at the time the closest IRL IndyCar race in history. The Target Ganassi team gave Toyota its first-ever IndyCar Series win at the season-opening Toyota Indy 300, and it earned the manufacturer’s first-ever CART victory at the Milwaukee Mile in 2000 with Juan Montoya.
BALANCE PAYING OFF FOR TOYOTA – Three different Toyota-powered teams have been to Victory Circle this season with Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Homestead-Miami), Kelley Racing (Motegi, Japan) and Marlboro Team Penske (Indy 500) each claiming a win.
Toyota’s success has not been limited to the three winning drivers. Eight different Toyota-powered drivers have finished a race in the top-five this season, and 11 different Toyota drivers have placed in the top 10 at least once. Toyota drivers have also claimed nine of 12 top-three finishing positions available in the season’s first four events.
TOYOTA DRIVERS OCCUPY SEVEN OF TOP NINE IN THE POINTS STANDINGS – Toyota drivers dominate the IRL IndyCarSeries points standings heading into Texas with seven of the top nine utilizing Toyota power. Helio Castroneves currently sits second, followed by Scott Sharp (third) and Gil de Ferran (fourth despite missing the Motegi race). Al Unser Jr., Felipe Giaffone, Scott Dixon and Tomas Scheckter occupy the sixth through ninth positions, respectively.
CONSISTENT CASTRONEVES LOOKS TO CLIMB THE LADDER AT TEXAS – While best-known for his two consecutive Indianapolis 500 victories and his post-win “fence-climbing” celebrations, Helio Castroneves has used spectacular consistency to move into second-place overall in the IndyCar Series points standings. The 2002 series runner-up has a pair of second-place finishes (Phoenix and Indy) and a third (Miami) in the season’s first four races. He will look to climb both the fences and one spot in the point standings by winning at Texas, a track where he placed fourth and second in the 2002 events.
INDY REVISITED – Gil de Ferran led Helio Castroneves in a one-two Toyota finish at the Indianapolis 500, which saw the manufacturer sweep most of the month’s major categories. In addition to the one-two finish, a Toyota-powered driver also won Rookie of the Year (Tora Takagi), won the pole (Castroneves), was the fastest rookie (Scott Dixon) and the fastest second-day qualifier (Alex Barron). In addition, Toyota powered both the fastest Dallara and the fastest Panoz G-Force qualifiers.
In the race, Toyota-powered cars led 170 of 200 laps, including 131 of the final 133 laps (327.5 of the last 332.5 miles) on the way to placing six cars in the first seven, and seven of the first nine finishers. In addition, the manufacturer also powered the two highest-placing rookies (fifth-place Takagi and seventh-place Tony Renna).
Three different Toyota teams each had two cars in the top 10 with Penske Racing (first and second), Mo Nunn Racing (fifth and sixth) and Kelley Racing (seventh and ninth), while Target Chip Ganassi Racing also had a top-five finish (fourth).
Toyota IndyCar Series Driver Line-Up and Position Entering Texas
Car # Driver Car Points Standing
#3 Helio Castronves Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 2nd
#8 Scott Sharp Delphi Toyota (Dallara) 3rd (Won Motegi)
#6 Gil de Ferran Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 4th (Won Indy 500)
#31 Al Unser, Jr. Corteco/Bryant Toyota (Dallara) 6th
#21 Felipe Giaffone Hollywood Toyota (P/G-Force) 7th
#9 Scott Dixon Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force 8th (Won Toyota Indy 300 in Miami)
#10 Tomas Scheckter Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 9th
#12 Tora Takagi Pioneer Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 11th
#14 A.J.Foyt IV Conseco Toyota (Dallara) 17th
“Quotes”
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports: “Everyone at Toyota is ecstatic about winning the Indianapolis 500. It’s our greatest achievement in motorsports to date. Now we’re going from the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ to what may be the most exciting race of the year under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway. We’ve had our celebration time, but now we need to be re-focused for Texas and the rest of the IndyCar Series season. One of the great things about racing in the IRL is that you have to prove yourself everyday at the race track. You don’t get points at Texas for what you did at Indy, Motegi, or Miami.”