News

THE RACE

Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway:

No. 3 AAA Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By Helio Castroneves - @h3lio
   
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By Will Power - @12WillPower

THE BROADCAST

Race: Firestone 550
Track: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5 mile oval)
Qualifying: Friday 4:30 pm ET  
Race:           Saturday 8:30 pm ET (ABC-TV)        
Radio Broadcast:  IMS Radio 1250 WHNZ-AM/SiriusXM 211

THE NEWS AND NOTES

No. 3 AAA Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By Helio Castroneves - @h3lio

·  BACK ON TOP:  After securing fifth- and eighth-place finishes at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans, Castroneves returned to the top of the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings. Castroneves also led the championship entering the races in Long Beach and Sao Paulo.

·  TEXAS TRILOGY:  Castroneves, who leads all drivers with three career victories at Texas Motor Speedway, recorded wins in 2004, 2006 and 2009.

·  CHASING A LEGEND: With 108 career top-five finishes, Castroneves is currently tied for 10th place on the all-time list and is just three top-five finishes shy of tying mentor and Team Penske advisor Rick Mears for ninth place.

·  LOGGING THE MILES:  Castroneves is one of only two drivers to have completed all 695 possible laps of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season.
 

THE Q & A

DOES BEING BACK IN THE POINTS LEAD CHANGE THE TEAM’S APPROACH?

“It doesn’t change anything because our approach all along has been to be consistent and that’s what has put us back on top. Hopefully we can start adding some wins soon but our goal each race is to be consistent by running up front and not putting ourselves in a bad situation.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OUT OF THE RACING AT TEXAS THIS WEEK?

“There are so many good drivers in IndyCar right now that you really never know who is going to have the best day. The room for error and getting a win is as small as it’s ever been. We have had good races at Texas before and I know my guys are going to have the AAA Chevrolet ready to go. I think the race is going to be really tight again and hopefully we have a chance at the end.”  

THE NEWS AND NOTES

·  IN THE CLUB: With his 2011 win in the second race of the Twin Firestone 275s, Power is one of five current IZOD IndyCar Series drivers to have recorded a victory at Texas Motor Speedway.

·  BEST IN CLASS: In his four races at Texas Motor Speedway with Team Penske, Power has started from third three times and from fifth once for an average starting position of 3.5, which is best among all IndyCar drivers.

·  FRONT OF THE CLASS:  Power has led laps in five races this season to tie for the lead among all IZOD IndyCar Series drivers.

·  STARTING HOT: With an average starting position of 6.6 through seven races, Power ranks second among all IZOD IndyCar Series drivers that have competed in every race of 2013.

·  TEXAS TIES: With Power’s wife, Elizabeth, hailing from Plano, Texas, this weekend represents sort of a home race for Power with a lot of friends and family in attendance.

THE Q & A

THOUGHTS ON THE 2012 RACE AT TEXAS

“The racing at Texas last year was tremendous. They really did a great job with the set up and it was the best racing I’ve had on an oval. The Verizon Chevrolet was as good as any car that day and we really had a shot to win the race. You really had to drive the car and stay on top of the tires, not just go flat out around the apron. It is exactly what you want as a driver.”

HOW DO YOU APPROACH TEXAS CONSIDERING YOU ENTER THE RACE RANKED 16TH IN POINTS? 

“I feel that the Verizon team is now really starting to hit its stride. We may not have the results to show for it yet but we’ve had some great cars. Our focus is to go all out this weekend at Texas and continue to fight our way up the point standings.”