What: Firestone Indy 400 IndyCar Series Race (13th event on the 17-race IndyCar Series schedule)

When: Sunday, August 5, Noon (EDT).

Where: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan. Television: Live on ESPN2, Noon

Radio: Live on IMS Radio Network. Area affiliates include: WTKA 1050-AM (Ann Arbor); WABJ 1490-AM (Adrian); WDTW 106.7-FM (Detroit)

Qualifying: Saturday, Aug. 4, 4:30 p.m. (EDT)

2006 Pole Winner: Helio Castroneves, 216.777 mph, 33.2138 seconds.

2006 Race Winner: Helio Castroneves, 193.972 mph, 2 hours, 3 minutes, 43.7441 seconds. 2006 Top Five: 1. Helio Castroneves, 2. Vitor Meira, 3. Dan Wheldon, 4. Tony Kanaan, 5. Tomas Scheckter

2006 Race Recap: Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves started the weekend by capturing the AAA Pole Award for the Firestone Indy 400 on July 30, 2006. The Brazilian led 61 laps throughout the race and was able to hold off fellow Brazilian Vitor Meira to capture his fourth and final victory of the 2006 season. Meira led for 75 laps, more than any other driver, but was unable to stay up front. The race saw only two caution flags (change in track record), which slowed the 19 car field down for a 10 laps. Due to the fast pace of the race, Castroneves took the checkered flag in a track record time of two hours, three minutes, and 43.7441 seconds. Dan Wheldon, Tony Kanaan, and Tomas Scheckter followed in third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively. Danica Patrick was running in the top five late in the race, but with two laps to go the former Rahal Letterman Racing driver ran out of gas, ending her day in 17th.

Recent MIS IndyCar winners: Helio Castroneves (2006), Bryan Herta (2005), Buddy Rice (2004), Alex Barron (2003), Tomas Scheckter (2002).

Recent MIS IndyCar pole winners: Helio Castroneves (2006), Bryan Herta (2005), Tony Kanaan (2004), Tomas Scheckter (2003, 2002).

Tickets: Tickets are available for the Aug. 5 Firestone Indy 400 by calling the Michigan International Speedway Ticket Hotline at 800.354.1010 or by visiting MISpeedway.com. All seats are $40, with children 12 and under admitted free all weekend. Tickets for practice and qualifying on Saturday, Aug. 4 are $5.

INDYCAR SERIES TRACK RECORDS

Youngest Winner: Tomas Scheckter, 21 years, 310 days (7/28/02) Oldest Winner: Bryan Herta, 35 years, 69 days (7/31/05) Most Lead Changes: 30 (7/27/03) Fewest Lead Changes: 4 (8/1/04) Most Race Leaders: 9 (7/28/02) Fewest Race Leaders: 3 (8/1/04) Most Caution Periods: 5 (7/28/02) Fewest Caution Periods: 2 (7/30/06) Most Caution Laps: 34 (8/1/04) Fewest Caution Laps: 10 (7/30/06) Most Drivers on the Lead Lap: 11 (7/28/02) Fewest Drivers on the Lead Lap: 6 (7/30/06) Most Drivers Running at Finish: 21 (7/28/02, 8/1/04) Fewest Drivers Running at Finish: 13 (7/27/03, 7/31/05) Most Laps Led by a Race Winner: 159 (Bryan Herta, 7/31/05) Fewest Laps Led by a Race Winner: 13 (Buddy Rice, 8/1/04) Closest Margin of Victory: 0.0121 of a second (Alex Barron over Sam Hornish Jr., 7/27/03) Fastest Qualifying Speed: 32.3657 seconds, 222.458 mph (Tomas Scheckter, 7/26/03) Fastest Race Speed: 2 hours, 3 minutes, 43.7441 seconds, 193.972 mph (Helio Castroneves, 7/30/06)

FIRESTONE INDY 400 STORY IDEAS

Danica Looking For First Win: Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 7 car for Andretti Green Racing, has yet to capture her first IndyCar Series victory. Five races remain in the 2007 season, and although she hasn't had great finishes in her previous two starts here, visiting Gatorade Victory Lane on Aug. 5 wouldn't be as unlikely as one may think. The remaining five races of the season will take place at MIS, Kentucky Speedway, Infineon Raceway, The Raceway at Belle Isle, and Chicagoland Speedway. Of those five tracks, two are road/street courses, one of which Patrick has never raced on during an event.

If looking at stats alone, Patrick's best bet to win her first race is at Kentucky and Chicagoland. Patrick's eighth place finish at Kentucky last year is her best on the track which no Andretti Green Racing driver has ever won. As for Chicagoland, Patrick placed in the sixth position in 2005 after starting from the pole. The two-mile oval in the Irish Hills hasn't treated Patrick as nice, as she has never finished on the lead lap in her two starts here, having finished 20th in 2005 due to mechanical issues and 17th in last year's Firestone Indy 400 after running out of gas with two laps remaining.

Despite the poor finishes, Patrick has been successful at tracks similar to Michigan in terms of length and banking. Patrick's best career finishes have come this season at Texas Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway, placing third in both events. If the 25-year-old Roscoe, Ill., native takes the checkered flag in the Firestone Indy 400 she would be the first woman to win an event at MIS, as well as the first to win in the IndyCar Series.

Can Dixon Make it Four?: The last three IndyCar Series races have been won by the 2003 series champion Scott Dixon. Only two other drivers have been able to capture three consecutive victories since the series' inaugural race in 1996, Kenny Brack in 1998 and Dan Wheldon in 2005. Both drivers came up short when they went for their fourth consecutive win, so if the Target Chip Ganassi driver wins the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway, it would be a first in IndyCar Series history. Despite the momentum he will bring into the Aug. 5 race, Dixon's run may end up like those of Brack's and Wheldon's, as although he has two top 10 finishes in four IndyCar Series starts at MIS, he has finished the two previous Firestone Indy 400 races in 16th (7/06) and 19th (7/05).

Last Chance for Hornish: Sam Hornish Jr. considers Michigan International Speedway to be his home track as it is only 70 miles from his hometown of Defiance, Ohio. The Team Penske driver will make his sixth, and what could be his last, IndyCar Series start at the two-mile oval during the Firestone Indy 400 on Aug. 5. The IndyCar Series will not return to MIS in 2008, and if the series were to return as early as 2009 the 30-year-old and three-time series champion will likely have already switched to a full-time ride in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series for owner Roger Penske.

Of the 17 tracks on the 2007 IndyCar Series schedule, Hornish has won on nine, the most of any current series driver. Of the eight tracks Hornish has yet to capture a victory at, only three are non-road courses, including MIS, Nashville Superspeedway, and Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. Although the 2008 series schedule has yet to be released, it looks likely that Hornish will have another attempt at Nashville and Motegi next year, but he may never get another shot at visiting Gatorade Victory Lane here while driving an Indy car.

Hornish has participated in every IndyCar Series event held at MIS since the series' debut in 2002 and has four top 10 finishes, with a best finish of second in 2003. If one believes in superstition, or statistics, then it could be said that Hornish will not be visiting victory lane Aug. 5. In the past five IndyCar Series races at MIS, the defending series champion has finished no lower than seventh, but has also never won. Last year, the 2005 series champion Dan Wheldon finished third.

Although the 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner has yet to make his first NEXTEL Cup Series start, he has raced this year in both the NASCAR Busch and ARCA RE/MAX Series. Hornish made his stock car debut at MIS in June's ARCA event and finished second after he started on the pole and led 29 laps. Hornish has also made five Busch Series starts this season, and is planning on running in the Aug. 18 CARFAX 250 at MIS. If he does run in the Busch Series event at Michigan, Hornish would be the first driver to run at MIS in the ARCA, IndyCar, and Busch Series in the same year.

Indy 500 Winners at MIS: Just six drivers have won the Indianapolis 500 and the open wheel event at Michigan International Speedway in the same season. In 2004, Buddy Rice became the latest to accomplish the feat. Other drivers who have completed the double include Johnny Rutherford in 1980, Gordon Johncock in 1982, Bobby Rahal in 1986, Rick Mears in 1991, and Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000.

The 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti hasn't had much success on the two-mile oval, so accomplishing the double victory may be a challenge. Although Franchitti has five starts at the two-mile oval in the former CART Series with three top-five finishes, the IndyCar Series hasn't treated him so kindly. Since his MIS IndyCar debut in 2004 he has one top-10 finish (eighth, 7/05) in three starts.

No repeat open wheel winners since 1994: The five IndyCar Series events held at Michigan International Speedway have seen no repeat winners. Three current drivers (Helio Castroneves, Buddy Rice, and Tomas Scheckter) will attempt to be the first two-time IndyCar Series winner and the first repeat winner in open wheel racing at the track since Scott Goodyear in 1994.