Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 | | Venue | Chicagoland Speedway | | Corporate sponsor | Peak Antifreeze, Mr. Clean | | First race | 2001 | | First IndyCar race | 2001 | | Distance | 300 miles | | Number of laps | 200 | | Previous names | Champ Car race
Target Grand Prix of Chicago Presented by Energizer (1999-2001)
Grand Prix of Chicago (2002) IRL race
Delphi Indy 300 (2001-2004)
Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean (2005-2007) | | The Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 is an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. In 2001, American open wheel racing debuted at the circuit with an IndyCar Series event. Since 2006, the race has served as the final round of the championship and where the series champion is decided. Indy/Championship car racing first appeared in the Chicago area in 1914-1915 at Galesburg District Fairgrounds. Both races were 100 laps around the 1-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval. AAA held races at Speedway Park, a 2-mile (3.2 km) board track in nearby Maywood, Illinois. The first such race was a 500-mile (800 km) event in 1915. Subsequent races ranged from 10-300 miles, and the final race was held in 1918. The track was eventually demolished, and the Edward Hines Veterans Hospital now stands on its former location. Although no races would be held in the Chicago area until 1999, the state of Illinois hosted numerous USAC Championship Car races at Springfield and DuQuoin. A CART race was held at Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, just outside of Chicago, from 1999-2002. It was discontinued, however, when the track closed after the 2002 race. [edit] Past winners [edit] Past races - 2008: Hélio Castroneves begun the race 30 points away from the lead, and he began from the back and charged to the lead. Scott Dixon often ran around the positions 6-10, and Castroneves was often in a points lead position. Dixon began to challenge for the lead, and after two late cautions, Dixon and Castroneves ran 2-wide for the final two laps after battling side by side for the lead for most of the previous 40 laps, and Hélio won the race by 0.0033 seconds or 12⅛ inches, in the second closest finish in the twelve-year history of the series[1]. Dixon won the championship by 17 points.
- 2007: Dario Franchitti led Scott Dixon by three points in the championship standings going into the race, which was the finale for the season. With two laps to go, Dixon led second-place Franchitti on a restart after a late caution. Both drivers were nursing their fuel mileage, hoping to stretch it to the finish. On the final lap, going into the third turn, Dixon ran out of fuel, and Franchitti slipped by to take the lead, win the race, and win the IndyCar Series championship.
- 2003: Sam Hornish, Jr. edged Scott Dixon and Bryan Herta in a three-abreast photo finish in one of the closest finishes in Indycar racing history - .01 seconds. Hornish, who led 40 laps, battled Tomas Scheckter, (76 laps led), Dan Wheldon, and Tony Kanaan for the bulk of the race and also had to battle a late charge by Roger Yasukawa in the final six laps. The lead officially changed hands 20 times among eight drivers and was usually contested in multilap wheel to wheel battles inches apart.
[edit] Past winners of other Open Wheel Chicago events - 1914 Ralph Mulford (Galesburg)
- 1915 Eddie O'Donnell (Galesburg)
- 1915 Dario Resta (Speedway Park)
- 1915 Dario Resta (Speedway Park)
- 1916 Dario Resta (Speedway Park)
- 1916 Dario Resta (Speedway Park)
- 1917 Earl Cooper (Speedway Park)
- 1917 Ralph DePalma (Speedway Park)
- 1917 Louis Chevrolet (Speedway Park)
- 1917 Tom Alley (Speedway Park)
- 1917 Ralph Mulford (Speedway Park)
- 1917 Pete Henderson (Speedway Park)
- 1918 Louis Chevrolet (Speedway Park)
- 1918 Ralph DePalma (Speedway Park)
- 1918 Ralph DePalma (Speedway Park)
- 1918 Ralph DePalma (Speedway Park)
[edit] TV Broadcasters | Season | Date | Network | Lap by lap | Driver Analyst(s) | Pit Reporters | | CART Champ Car races at Cicero | | 1999 | August 22 | ABC | Paul Page | Parker Johnstone | Gary Gerould & Jon Beekhuis | | 2000 | July 30 | ABC | Paul Page | Parker Johnstone | Gary Gerould & Jon Beekhuis | | 2001 | July 29 | ABC | Paul Page | Parker Johnstone | Gary Gerould & Jon Beekhuis | | 2002 | June 30 | CBS | Bob Varsha | Tommy Kendall | Unknown | | IRL races at Chicagoland | | 2001 | September 2 | ABC | Bob Jenkins | Larry Rice | Jack Arute & Vince Welch | | 2002 | September 8 | ABC | Paul Page | Scott Goodyear | Jack Arute, Gary Gerould, & Dr. Jerry Punch | | 2003 | September 7 | ABC | Paul Page | Scott Goodyear | Jack Arute, Gary Gerould, & Dr. Jerry Punch | | 2004 | September 12 | ABC | Paul Page | Scott Goodyear | Jack Arute, Gary Gerould, & Dr. Jerry Punch | | 2005 | September 11 | ABC | Todd Harris | Scott Goodyear | Jack Arute, Dr. Jerry Punch, & Jamie Little | | 2006 | September 10 | ABC | Marty Reid | Scott Goodyear | Jack Arute, Dr. Jerry Punch, & Jamie Little | | 2007 | September 9 | ABC | Marty Reid | Scott Goodyear | Jack Arute, Vince Welch, & Brienne Pedigo | | 2008 | September 7 | ABC | Marty Reid | Scott Goodyear | Jack Arute, Vince Welch, & Brienne Pedigo | | 2009 | August 29 | Versus | Bob Jenkins | Jon Beekhuis & Robbie Buhl | Jack Arute, Robbie Floyd, & Lindy Thackston | [edit] References
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