The Indy Racing League, with three races left in its season–including Sunday’s Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet–provides the stark contrast of a traditional championship season with the buzz of NASCAR’s new format.
With a 40-point swing per race the most possible in the IRL format, Brazilian Tony Kanaan holds a fairly comfortable 72-point lead over Englishman Dan Wheldon, and 76 over the highest-ranked American, 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice.
Only two other U.S. drivers are ranked in the top 10: two-time IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr., sixth, and Bryan Herta, 10th.
WLS-Ch. 7 will televise the Delphi Indy 300 live on Sunday beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Practices and qualifying runs begin Friday at Chicagoland Speedway and two races are set for Saturday: the ReadyHosting.com 200 at 1 p.m. and the 67-lap Chicagoland 100 at 4 p.m.