“The 2007 schedule is clearly the most diverse schedule in IndyCar Series history and one of the most diverse in motorsports today,” said Brian Barnhart, president and chief operating officer for the Indy Racing League, sanctioning body for the IndyCar Series. “The schedule offers night races, short ovals, speedways, street courses and road courses with each track offering its unique personality that should produce exciting racing.”

Each IndyCar Series event will be televised nationally by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The 2007 television schedule will include seven events on ABC, five on ESPN and five on ESPN2. “We are pleased to once again bring the speed and excitement of IndyCar Series racing to the viewers of ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 in 2007,” said John Wildhack, senior vice president of programming and acquisitions for ESPN. “This will be our 43rd year at the Indianapolis 500 and our 12th with the IndyCar Series. We look forward to more of the close competition and thrilling races that this series is famous for.”

For the sixth consecutive season, Homestead-Miami Speedway will serve as host for the season opener, but for the first time, IndyCar Series teams begin the season under the lights with a prime-time race scheduled for Saturday, March 24. The race is one of five prime-time races on the schedule joining races at Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway as events held under the lights. Chicagoland Speedway again will host the season finale on Sunday, Sept. 9. It will mark the second consecutive season that 1.5-mile oval will host the season finale. The 91st Indianapolis 500 is slated for May 27. Other highlights on the 2007 schedule include:

• The IndyCar Series’ stop at Kansas Speedway moves to April 29 giving the IndyCar Series an extra event prior to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 2002 while allowing the Kansas Speedway to offer fans a cooler springtime date rather than a hot, humid July date.

• The Milwaukee Mile event moves to June 3, one week after the Indianapolis 500, resurrecting a tradition that began in 1946. From 1947-1995, The Milwaukee Mile traditionally hosted the cars and drivers of the Indianapolis 500 in the weeks following the 500-Mile race. Eight drivers have been able to pull the Indianapolis-Milwaukee double, including four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, for whom the IndyCar Series race is named. In addition to Foyt, many Indianapolis 500 champions have competed at The Mile, including every Indianapolis 500 winner since 1946, with the exception of 1966 “500” winner Graham Hill.

• With Kansas’ shift, the historic 3.37-mile road course at Watkins Glen International will have its third date in as many years, July 8, but the Fourth of July weekend has always been the track’s preferred choice for the IndyCar Series event with the intent to make the weekend a mid-summer institution.

• Michigan International Speedway will move from its traditional July weekend to August 5 allowing the IndyCar Series to reach its intended goal of 17 events.

 
Date       Venue                           Track Length       Television

March 24  Homestead-Miami Speedway      1.5-mile oval (Night)   ESPN2 
April 1   Streets of St. Petersburg     1.8-mile street course  ESPN 
April 21  Twin Ring Motegi              1.5-mile oval           ESPN 
April 29  Kansas Speedway               1.5-mile oval           ESPN2 
May 27    Indianapolis Motor Speedway   2.5-mile oval           ABC 
June 3    The Milwaukee Mile              1-mile oval           ABC  
June 9    Texas Motor Speedway          1.5-mile oval (Night)   ESPN2 
June 24   Iowa Speedway                .875-mile oval           ABC 
June 30   Richmond Int'l Raceway,       .75-mile oval (Night)   ESPN 
July 8    Watkins Glen Int'l           3.37-mile road course    ABC 
July 14   Nashville Superspeedway      1.33-mile oval (Night)   ESPN 
July 22   Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course  2.258-mile road course    ABC 
Aug. 5    Michigan Int'l Speedway         2-mile oval           ESPN2 
Aug. 11   Kentucky Speedway             1.5-mile oval (Night)   ESPN2 
Aug. 26   Infineon Raceway              2.4-mile road course    ESPN 
Sept. 2   The Raceway at Belle Isle   2.096-mile street course  ABC 
Sept. 9   Chicagoland Speedway          1.5-mile oval           ABC 

IRL

Rahal-Letterman Hires Technical Director
Jay O'Connell has joined Rahal Letterman Racing as Technical Director. O'Connell will oversee all aspects of RLR's engineering department and programs. -- "Jay is someone I have known and respected for a longtime," said team co-owner Bobby Rahal. "His track record of success is well documented, and I felt a chance to bring someone of his experience and stature into our team was an opportunity to significantly strengthen our operation. I think the addition of Jay to our engineering staff will prove to be one of our most beneficial moves of the off season." O'Connell brings a wealth of engineering experience in and out of motorsports to the team. He has worked on multiple projects with the Ford Motor Company, most recently as a SVT Chief Vehicle Engineer where he oversaw 25 engineers working on the 2007 Shelby GT500 and the 2006 Ford GT. I am really excited to work with Bobby again and leverage my background in open wheel and sports car racing," O'Connell said. "I am looking forward to leading the talented group of engineers at Rahal Letterman Racing to become an even more engineering driven organization."

O'Connell has previously worked with Jaguar Racing Formula 1 as Research and Development Department Manager and was the Ford Racing CART Program Manager from 1998-2001. He has significant sports car experience most recently having redesigned the Panoz LMGT2 chassis, which won the 12 Hours of Sebring. "The level of competition in the IndyCar Series has been raised to a high level," said Scott Roembke, chief operating officer of Rahal Letterman Racing. "Our foremost priority in this off season is to increase our competitiveness. The addition of Jay to our current engineering staff is a big step towards meeting our goals."

Champ Cars

Pizzonia Returns To Rocketsports
After making two-Champ Car starts with Rocketsports Racing this season, Antonio Pizzonia returns to the cockpit of the #18 Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone to team up with previous Australia-race winner Mario Dominguez creating a dynamic pairing for the team at the Surfers Paradise venue.

Pizzonia, who made his Champ Car debut with the team on the streets of Long Beach, California, takes from that experience of racing on a street course to Surfers Paradise with the hopes of producing his best finish in a Champ Car. Currently, after two events, the Brazilian's best start was 11th in Long Beach where he also earned his best finish of tenth. Pizzonia, who was familiar with the track in Montreal from his days competing in Formula One, started 13th and despite a radio failure that lead to various issues throughout the race he finished 11th. Pizzonia also earned a point for leading two laps during the Montreal event.

Champ Cars

Briscoe To Drive RuSPORT Champ Car
RuSPORT announced that Australian driver Ryan Briscoe will pilot the No. 10 RuSPORT Champ Car in the final two races of the 2006 Champ Car season, in Surfer’s Paradise, Australia on Oct. 22 and Mexico City on Nov. 12. Briscoe replaces RuSPORT driver Cristiano da Matta, who was injured during a testing session at Road America on Aug. 3. Briscoe brings a solid base of racing experience to The Champ Car World Series. He served as a test driver for Toyota’s Formula 1 program from 2002-2004, competed in the Indy Racing League as a member of Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005, and raced in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in 2005 and 2006, winning the pole in 2005.

2006 has already been a busy year behind the wheel for Briscoe. In addition to Rolex Grand American event in Daytona, he has competed in four IRL events as a member of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, scoring two top-ten finishes, including one third place finish at Watkins Glen. Briscoe has also been racing as a member of Team Australia in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and has already posted a successful result, finishing in third place in the first A1GP event of the 2006 season in Zandvoort, The Netherlands. A very well-rounded young driver, Briscoe most recently raced in this past weekend’s Bathurst 1000, one of the premier events in the V8 Supercars Australia Series.

“I’m very excited about joining RuSPORT and competing in Champ Car,” said Briscoe. “Because my official start will be in Surfer’s Paradise, it will be a very special race for me. It’s been my goal since the beginning of the year to race in Champ Car, and I’m with a top team, so it’s a really exciting opportunity for me. I’m hoping we can get off to a quick start and get some good results right away.”

“Since Cristiano’s accident in August, we have spent a considerable amount of time and effort on finding the right driver for the No. 10 car,” said RuSPORT president Jeremy Dale. “Although we interviewed and tested several talented and capable drivers, we believe Ryan is the ideal type of driver for RuSPORT. The experience he has gained in his relatively young racing career has enabled him to become a competitive driver with a solid base of technical knowledge that we look for. RuSPORT is a team made up of very competitive people, and racing without the No. 10 car at the past three Champ Car events has been challenging for everyone here. However, the entire team is very excited to have the No. 10 car back on track in Australia and Mexico City, particularly with a driver of Ryan’s caliber.”