ON TELEVISION:

ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 will team up to provide more than 30 hours of Indianapolis 500 programming, including live coverage of the 90th edition of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" on Sunday, May 28.

The 90th Indianapolis 500 will be televised live on ABC at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday, May 28. A one-hour pre-race show will start at noon on ABC. -- WorldPoints Visa Card Pole Day Qualifying will be broadcast live from noon-2 p.m. Saturday, May 13 on ESPN2, from 3-6 p.m. on ABC. Second Day Qualifying will be broadcast live from noon-3 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. Sunday, May 14 on ESPN2. Third Day Qualifying coverage on Coca-Cola Throwback Day, Saturday, May 20 will be live from 5-6 p.m. on ESPN. Bump Day Qualifying will be broadcast live from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, May 21 on ABC and from 5-6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Highlights from Miller Lite Carb Day Practice, the Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Challenge and Freedom 100 will be shown from 3-5:30 p.m. Friday, May 26 on ESPN2. -- ESPN2 will broadcast "SportsCenter at the Indy 500," live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 5:30-6 p.m. May 8-12, May 15-16 and May 22-26. "SportsCenter at the Indy 500" will be broadcast on ESPN2 from 6:30-7 p.m. May 17, 4:30-5 p.m. May 18, and 5:30-7 p.m. May 19.

ESPN2 will broadcast highlights of the 500 Festival Parade from 6-7:30 p.m. May 27. An Indy 500 ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) Special, "Dan Wheldon's Race for Indy," will air on ESPN on June 10 from 8-9 p.m. The broadcast team of Race Day host Brent Musburger, lead announcer Marty Reid, analysts Rusty Wallace and Scott Goodyear, and pit reporters Jack Arute, Dr. Jerry Punch and Jaime Little will cover all of the stories from Indianapolis. Punch, Goodyear and Marlo Klain will be the on-air team for the "SportsCenter at the Indy 500" programs.

2006 Indy 500 Schedule Rookie Orentation Day One Rookie Orentation Day Two Indy 500 F.A.Q. Indy 500 Traditions Indy 500 Fast Facts Freedom 100 Starting Lineup Freedom 100 Final Results Pit Stop Challenge Results

Indy 500 Entry List Indy 500 Qualifying Order Indy 500 Qualifying Day 1 Indy 500 Starting Lineup Indy 500 Practice No. 1 Indy 500 Practice No. 2 Indy 500 Practice No. 3 Indy 500 Practice No. 4 Indy 500 Practice No. 5 Indy 500 Practice No. 6 Indy 500 Practice No. 7 Indy 500 Practice No. 8 Indy 500 Race Results

Castroneves Wins Pit Stop Challenge
Castroneves, driving the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone, defeated Andretti Green Racing's Dario Franchitti in the championship round. His pit crew received the $50,000 first prize for its speed and accuracy. The winner of the competition has gone on to win the Indianapolis 500 five times, most recently in 2004 (Buddy Rice). Penske Racing teams have won the pit stop competition a record nine times, the last with Castroneves in 2002. The race winner? Castroneves.

Ten pit crews will compete this year in the Challenge for a $50,000 first prize from a $100,000 purse, up from $30,000 and $80,000 last year. Crews include the defending Challenge champion, the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske crew of 2006 WorldPoints Visa Card Pole winner Sam Hornish Jr. It was the record eighth victory in the Challenge for Marlboro Team Penske. Nine of the qualified 2006 Challenge crews earned their spots through speedy pit work at previous IndyCar Series races, starting at the 2005 Indianapolis 500 through the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in April 2006.

The 10th participant, the No. 10 crew of Target Chip Ganassi Racing and 2005 Indy 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon, was added to the Challenge as a promoter's option. Other crews participating in the 2006 Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Challenge: No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske (Helio Castroneves), No. 7 Andretti Green Racing (Bryan Herta), No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Scott Dixon), No. 11 Andretti Green Racing (Tony Kanaan), No. 15 Rahal Letterman Racing (Buddy Rice), No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing (Danica Patrick), No. 26 Andretti Green Racing (Marco Andretti), No. 27 Andretti Green Racing (Dario Franchitti).

An exciting, new structure was created for this year's Challenge, splitting competition into a Qualifications Round and Eliminations Rounds. All 10 crews will complete a simulated pit stop in the Qualifications Round, with the fastest and second-fastest crews automatically advancing to the semifinals of the Eliminations Round. The crews with the third- through sixth-fastest times will move to the quarterfinals of Eliminations. The four slowest crews in Qualifications are eliminated and will earn sixth through 10th place based on their Qualifications Round times.

Crews with the third- through sixth-fastest times in Qualifications will participate in the quarterfinals of Eliminations. Those winners will advance to the semifinals against the two fastest crews from the Qualifications Round, with the winners of those pairings squaring off in the finals. During every pit stop in Qualifications and Eliminations, crews must change all four tires while making a simulated fuel hose connection to the car. Fuel is not used in the Challenge. Time penalties of various lengths will be assessed for violations, such as running over an air hose, leaving the pits before the wheels are properly tightened and pit crews and equipment straying from the marked pit box during the stop.

IMS PR* Photo By Shawn Payne

In proclaiming it "Indianapolis 500 Day in New York City," New York City Sports Commission commissioner Ken Podziba said "it truly is an honor to welcome the great and heroic drivers who will compete in the 90th Indianapolis 500 to our city. It, like this ship, is truly an American classic." Indy Racing League founder and Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George presented Podziba an IndyCar Series replica front wing/nose assembly signed by all the drivers.

"I don't know if I should show Mayor Bloomberg; he would want to hang it in his office," Podziba said. George also presented a signed wing/nose replica to Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum executive director Susan Marenoff."Since 1911, we have run the race on Memorial Day Weekend, and we always take time to honor and celebrate the men and women who serve our country," George said. "This ship is a place of honor for those who have served and are serving our country."

Earlier in the day, George rang the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange. Laura George, Michael and Marco Andretti and the front row for the 500-Mile Race of Sam Hornish Jr., Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon joined him on the platform. Drivers toured the trading floor, and posed for a formal photo outside the Wall Street institution with an Indianapolis 500 Pace Car and Marco Andretti's No. 26 NYSE Dallara/Honda/Firestone. Jerry Putnam, president of the NYSE Group, presented each driver and Tony and Laura George with a commemorative medallion. Tony George presented Putnam and Catherine Kinney, co-chief operating officer of the NYSE Group with a replica nose/wing assembly signed by all the drivers.

"I can't wait for the race," Putnam said. "I'll be there Friday ready to kick off the weekend in style." Race week already has begun that way.

Sam Hornish Jr.

"This is the best day of my life at the Speedway," Hornish said. "Hopefully we can be in this same position next Sunday, too."

Hornish's 10th career pole start will come in the largest one-day sporting event on the planet - a race he's dreamed about winning before he climbed into a go-kart two decades ago. It was the 13th Indianapolis 500 pole for team owner Roger Penske.

"I would trade all my championships and awards to win this race," he said. "I came here wanting to get the pole and starting second is starting second. I want to be first. Starting from the pole is a great way to start this race off. "The only thing left that could go wrong this month is the race. That's what tends to go wrong for me is the race. But everything has been above and beyond what we've expected. Hopefully it continues that way and a little bit of that luck continues on to the race."

Thirty-two other competitors won't concede anything to the Ohio-bred driver on May 28, including teammate Helio Castroneves (228.008) and reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon (227.338). They'll share the front row with Hornish. Scott Dixon (226.921), Wheldon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, 2005 pole sitter Tony Kanaan (226.776) and Panther Racing's Vitor Meira (226.156) will be on Row 2.

Thirty-two cars qualified for the 33 spots, with six hours of qualifying remaining May 21 on Bump Day. Two cars that recorded practice laps this month did not make qualifying attempts.

Vision Racing's Townsend Bell was the only qualifier to utilize the three-attempt opportunity. The team withdrew the No. 90 Rock & Republic Dallara/Honda/Firestone, which was on the inside of Row 6 (223.659 mph), and Bell was back on the track with 25 minutes left in the session. He moved up one spot (15th; 224.374 mph).

Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon (227.322 mph) and Dan Wheldon (227.040 mph) posted the second- and third-fastest laps, respectively, with Helio Castroneves (226.654 mph) fourth. Defending pole winner Tony Kanaan (226.104 mph) was fifth-fastest. Drivers turned more than 2,300 laps on the 2.5-mile oval, including Roger Yasukawa, who stepped in for Jon Herb at Playa Del Racing. Rahal Letterman Racing's Jeff Simmons was uninjured in the day's only incident - a spin in Turn 1 late in the day.

WHERE: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.5-mile oval

WHEN: 12:30 p.m. (EDT), Friday, May 26

DISTANCE: 40 laps/100 miles

CARS: Dallara chassis; Firestone tires

PREVIOUS RACE WINNERS:
2005 - Jaime Camara
2004 - Thiago Medeiros
2003 - Ed Carpenter

2005 SERIES CHAMPION: Wade Cunningham

TV: ESPN2, 3 p.m. (EDT), May 27 * Announcers: Dr. Jerry Punch, Robbie Buhl * Pit Reporter: Nicole Manske

$300,000 up for grabs
The Indy Pro Series announced numerous enhancements during the offseason as the series continues to grow. Most notably, the series tripled the total prize purse for the season to $3 million, spreading the payout throughout the field. The biggest race purses are for the Freedom 100 and Liberty Challenge at Indianapolis - $300,000 will be divided among the field with the winner taking home $40,000 and the 18th-place finishes pocketing $10,000. The series also introduced a balanced schedule of six oval races and six road-course races, a testing policy which rewards IndyCar Series teams with bonus test days if they also participate in the Indy Pro Series, and a dual shock system on the front of the race car, making it more similar to an IndyCar Series car.

Eight graduates entered in Indy 500
In just its fifth season, the Indy Pro Series has put eight graduates into the Indy 500 field in 2006. Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, P.J. Chesson, Jon Herb, Arie Luyendyk Jr., Thiago Medeiros, Marty Roth and Jeff Simmons all competed in the Indy Pro Series.

Like father, like son
Eighteen-year-old Sean Guthrie is the youngest driver in the Indy Pro Series and will be making his series debut in the Freedom 100. Guthrie is the son of 1997 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Jim Guthrie. The elder Guthrie competed in three Indianapolis 500s, with a best finish of 18th in 1996.

Bussell looks to extend record
Nick Bussell, who ranks fourth in points, has been running at the finish in 17 consecutive Indy Pro Series races, establishing a series record. He'll look to push the streak to 18 at Indianapolis. Bussell also leads the series with 13 consecutive top-10 finishes. He's three shy of the record held by 2004 Freedom 100 winner Thiago Medeiros.

Herb to take over consecutive starts lead
Jeff Simmons leads the Indy Pro Series with 20 consecutive starts, but with that streak coming to an end, Jon Herb will be the Ironman. The Freedom 100 will be Herb's 20th consecutive race.

SARAH FISHER: "As everybody knows, I've been trying to do some driving down south. It's just not working the way I want it to work. Just looking at every opportunity and doing some other things besides racing to keep me busy." (About running in the Indianapolis 500): "I love Indy cars. But it has to be the right opportunity. I've been in cars that can't win, and I'm a winning person. I need to be in a winning car. Everybody deserves that chance. Just depends on the opportunity."

After taking the engine out of the backup cars and putting them into the primary cars, the teammates returned to the track. Hornish posted a lap of 40.2294, 223.797 on his 16th trip around the circuit. Castroneves had a lap of 40.2887, 223.388 on lap 15. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon were third- and fourth-quick on the day. Wheldon, the defending Indianapolis 500 champion, was third at 223.916. Dixon (223.797) was fourth. Vision Racing's Tomas Scheckter (223.183), Rahal Letterman Racing's Buddy Rice (222.762), Delphi Fernandez Racing's Scott Sharp (222.752) and Vision Racing's Townsend Bell (222.545) rounded out the top 10. Bell was the quickest of three rookies on the track. Twenty-four drivers completed 989 laps in a day that was shortened by 50 minutes due to rain.