Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300

Indycar race infobox
Name=Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300
Track_

Venue=Chicagoland Speedway
Sponsor=Peak Antifreeze, Mr. Clean
First race=2001
First IRL race=2001
Distance=300 miles
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 dirt oval. AAA held races at Speedway Park, a 2-mile board track in nearby Maywood, Illinois. The first such race was a 500-mile 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.

Past winners

Past races

*2008: Helio 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 6 laps, and Helio won the race by 0.0033 seconds or 12⅛ inches, in the second closest finish in the twelve-year history of the series [cite web |url=http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70414 |title=Champion Dixon shrugs off race loss |accessdate=2008-09-08 |date=2008-09-08 |publisher=autosport.com ] . 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 strech 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.

Past winners of other Open Wheel Chicago events

AAA Championship car

*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)

References

* [http://www.indycar.com http://www.indycar.com]
* [http://www.champcarstats.com http://www.champcarstats.com]

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