Peak Antifreeze Indy 300

The Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 was an IndyCar Series race held at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, United States.

Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300
IndyCar Series
VenueChicagoland Speedway
Corporate sponsorPeak Antifreeze
First race2001
Last race2010
Distance300 miles (483 km)
Laps200
Previous namesCART 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)
Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 (2008–2009)
Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 (2010)

In 2001, American open wheel racing debuted at the circuit with an IndyCar Series event. From 2006 to 2008, the race had served as the final round of the championship and where the series champion was 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 known as the Grand Prix of Chicago was held at Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, just outside Chicago, from 19992002. It was discontinued, however, when the track closed after the 2002 race.

Chicagoland Speedway gained a reputation as one of the most competitive oval circuits in the IRL with many races featuring extremely tight racing and close finishes, most notably 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2009. No car was able to break from the pack with most of the field usually running together and the leaders often directly nose to nose, similar to racing in NASCAR restrictor plate racing.

Notable races

  • 2002: Sam Hornish Jr. edged Al Unser Jr. in a photo finish, officially by .0024 seconds in a battle in which the two racers fought for the lead for the final 22 laps side by side with literally no letup and at the head of a huge ten-car two-abreast draft that included Buddy Lazier, Hélio Castroneves, Buddy Rice, Eddie Cheever Jr., and Dan Wheldon.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Past winners

AAA Championship Car history (Galesburg)

Season Date Driver Car Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Laps Miles (km)
1914 October 22 United States Ralph Mulford Duesenberg 100 100 (160.934) 1:32:56 64.562
1915 June 9 United States Eddie O'Donnell Duesenberg 100 100 (160.934) 1:36:00 62.496

AAA Championship Car history (Speedway Park)

Season Date Driver Car Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Laps Miles (km)
1915 June 26 United Kingdom Dario Resta Peugeot 250 500 (804.672) 5:07:26 97.582
August 7 United Kingdom Dario Resta Peugeot 50 100 (160.934) 0:58:54 101.862
1916 June 11 United Kingdom Dario Resta Peugeot 150 300 (482.803) 3:02:31 98.615
August 19NC United Kingdom Dario Resta Peugeot 25 50 (80.467) 0:29:52 100.419
October 14 United Kingdom Dario Resta Peugeot 125 250 (402.336) 2:24:16 103.966
1917 June 16 United States Earl Cooper Stutz 125 250 (402.336) 2:25:28 103.107
September 3 United States Ralph DePalma Packard 25 50 (80.467) 0:28:09 106.548
United States Louis Chevrolet Frontenac 50 100 (160.934) 0:56:29 106.224
October 13 United States Tom Alley Pan-Am / Miller 10 20 (32.186) 0:11:22 105.556
United States Ralph Mulford Frontenac 25 50 (80.467) 0:28:18 105.960
Canada Pete Henderson Duesenberg 25 50 (80.467) 0:28:30 105.229
1918 June 22NC United States Louis Chevrolet Frontenac 50 100 (160.934) 0:55:25 108.271
July 28 United States Ralph DePalma Packard 5 10 (16.093) 0:05:24
United States Ralph DePalma Packard 10 20 (32.186) 0:10:50 110.73
United States Ralph DePalma Packard 15 30 (48.28) 0:16:54 106.42

^NC Non-championship event

IndyCar Series history (Chicagoland)

Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Report
Laps Miles (km)
2001 September 2 United States Jaques Lazier Team Menard Dallara Oldsmobile 200 300 (482.803) 1:45:57 172.146 Report
2002 September 8 United States Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 2:04:40 146.319 Report
2003 September 7 United States Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 200 300 (482.803) 1:38:58 184.294 Report
2004 September 12 Mexico Adrian Fernández Fernández Racing G-Force Honda 200 300 (482.803) 2:09:31 140.825 Report
2005 September 11 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:47:50 169.16 Report
2006 September 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:33:37 194.828 Report
2007 September 9 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:44:54 173.886 Report
2008 September 7 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 2:01:05 150.648 Report
2009 August 29 Australia Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:42:34 177.827 Report
2010 August 28 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 200 300 (482.803) 1:47:50 169.161 Report

Support Series

Indy Pro Series/Indy Lights

CART Indy Lights history (Cicero)
Season Date Winning Driver
1999 August 22 New Zealand Scott Dixon
2000 July 30 New Zealand Scott Dixon
2001 Not held
IRL Indy Pro Series/Indy Lights Series history (Joliet)
2002 September 8 United States Aaron Fike
2003 September 6 United Kingdom Mark Taylor
2004 September 11 Brazil Thiago Medeiros
2005 September 11 United States Jeff Simmons
2006 September 9 New Zealand Wade Cunningham
2007 September 9 United States Logan Gomez
2008 September 7 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk Jr.
2009 August 29 United States Daniel Herrington
2010 August 28 Canada James Hinchcliffe

ARCA Menards Series

From 2001 to 2010 the ARCA Menards Series would run a race in support of the IndyCar series race.

Year Date Driver Manufacturer Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Laps Miles (km)
2001 September 1 Ed Berrier Chevrolet 134 201 (323.478) 1:37:11 92.26
2002 September 7 Chad Blount Dodge 134 201 (323.478) 2:06:20 95.462
2003 September 6 Frank Kimmel Ford 134 201 (323.478) 1:55:47 104.16
2004 September 11 Kyle Krisiloff Chevrolet 134 201 (323.478) 2:04:25 96.932
2005 September 10 Dawayne Bryan Dodge 134 201 (323.478) 2:00:08 102.957
2006 September 9 Steve Wallace Dodge 134 201 (323.478) 1:58:20 101.915
2007 September 8 Michael McDowell Dodge 134 201 (323.478) 1:52:03 107.63
2008 September 6 Scott Lagasse Jr. Chevrolet 136* 204 (328.306) 1:57:18 104.347
2009 August 28 Justin Lofton Toyota 100 150 (241.402) 1:21:04 111.02
2010 August 27 Patrick Sheltra Toyota 100 150 (241.402) 1:21:35 110.317

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

In 2009 and 2010 the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series ran a support race with the IndyCar weekend.

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Laps Miles (km)
2009 August 28 51 Kyle Busch Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota 150 225 (362.102) 1:53:13 119.293
2010 August 27 18 Kyle Busch Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 154* 231 (371.758) 1:44:31 132.61

References

  1. "Champion Dixon shrugs off race loss". autosport.com. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
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