News

Fast Facts:

• Briscoe will be making his second start at Richmond International Raceway; his first appearance was in 2005 when he started third, but an accident on lap 89 forced him out of the race placing him 21st.
• Last week in Iowa, Briscoe started fifth and finished seventh, marking his third consecutive top-ten finish. 
• Briscoe is currently in sixth place in the Championship point standings with 195 points, just four points out of fifth place.
• Earlier this month in Milwaukee, Briscoe earned his first IndyCar Series victory after starting 11th and leading twice for a total of 36 laps. 
• In St. Petersburg this past April, Briscoe started fifth and led his first laps (11) behind the wheel of the #6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda.
• In the 27 IndyCar Series events Briscoe has driven to date, he’s earned one win (Milwaukee – 2008), one pole (Sonoma – 2005), four top-five finishes (Watkins Glen – 2006; Indianapolis – 2007; Milwaukee and Texas - 2008), eleven top-ten finishes and started in the top-ten thirteen times.

Penske Racing on Short Ovals:

• Team Penske has earned 25 of its 135 Indy car race wins (19%) on tracks that are a distance of one mile or shorter, including two of the last three races in Richmond (Castroneves in 2005 and Hornish Jr. in 2006). In addition, the Team has led a total of 404 of 750 laps (54%) at the track over the past three seasons.
• Team Penske has won five of the last eleven, and eight of the last 24 IndyCar Series events on short ovals.

Did You Know?

• Briscoe’s win in Milwaukee was Penske Racing’s 300th major race win since Roger Penske became a full-time team owner in 1966. 
• Of the 300 Penske Racing wins, 76 came in stock cars, 135 in Indy cars, 22 in ALMS, 30 in SCCA Trans-Am, 15 in Can-Am and one in Formula One, with the remainder made up of victories in FIA Endurance, F5000 and USRRC competition, among others.

Briscoe on the Suntrust Indy Challenge:

“Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to test for Firestone at Richmond, and I think it was very useful for me as I try and get more and more oval experience. Not only did running at the track give me a sense of what the race will be like there later this month, but it also helped provide a bit of a baseline for all of the short tracks on the IndyCar Series circuit. The Milwaukee race is a prime example, as I earned my first career IndyCar Series victory at this very challenging short track a couple of weeks ago. Now I can certainly say that I’m looking forward to competing on more short ovals this season, including Richmond. 

"The increased car count this season really adds a lot of excitement to these short oval races.  If last weekend’s event at Iowa is any indication; we should certainly see an amazing race on Saturday night.  With so many cars on the track, drivers really have to stay focused and make sure they know where everyone else is at all times.”