Toyota Fast Facts - Kansas
KANSAS INDY 300
July 6, 1 p.m. EDT on ABC
Kansas Speedway
200 laps on the 1.5-mile oval
TOYOTA NO STRANGER TO KANSAS WINNER CIRCLE – While the upcoming Kansas Indy 300
will be Toyota’s first trip to the Kansas Speedway, the manufacturer recorded one of its landmark
victories in the Sunflower State. Juan Manuel Fangio II earned Toyota’s first-ever IMSA GTP victory
at Heartland Park in Topeka on May 6, 1990. The win was the first of 26 GTP victories for Toyota
between 1990-93.
TOYOTA LOOKS FOR SIXTH STRAIGHT IRL WIN – Toyota will be looking for its sixth consecutive
victory, and seventh in eight races this season, when the Indy cars take the track at Kansas
Speedway on Sunday. Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) has won the last two events, Richmond and
Pikes Peak, and has three wins overall this season. He also won the season-opening Toyota Indy
300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In addition to Dixon’s three triumphs, Al Unser Jr. (Corteco
Toyota), Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Toyota) and Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) also have race wins this
season with Toyota power. Dating back to last season’s CART Champ Car competition, Toyota has
now won 16 of its last 26 major open-wheel races.
DIXON HITS THE BULLS-EYE – When Scott Dixon made the move to IRL competition this year, few
could have expected the 22-year-old New Zealander to initially dominate the IndyCar Series like he
has this season. With three victories this year, Dixon is the only IndyCar Series driver to win multiple
races in 2003. In addition, he was leading two other races before suffering problems that ended his
victory hopes early. Dixon dominated the early going at Phoenix before being sidelined with a broken
gearbox. At Motegi, he had just moved into the lead with 23 laps remaining when he was involved in
an on-track incident with Tony Kanaan. It is conceivable that Dixon could easily be entering this
weekend’s race at Kansas with five wins under his belt this year.
FOYT TEAM DEFENDING 2002 KANSAS VICTORY – A.J. Foyt’s team returns to Kansas
Speedway this weekend as the defending IndyCar Series race winners. In 2002, Airton Dare took the
checkered flag for the legendary Foyt’s team. Starting the IndyCar Series race this year with Toyota
power will be his grandson A.J. Foyt IV, who won the IRL Infiniti Pro Series race in Kansas last year
from the pole, and Jacques Lazier, who joined the team in June. In addition to the Foyt team’s
success, current Toyota-powered drivers Scott Sharp (2001) and Tomas Scheckter (2002) have
earned the pole position in the two previous IndyCar Series races at Kansas Speedway. Scheckter
set a track record during last year’s race with a lap of 220.226 mph.
(more)
Page 2 – TOYOTA/Kansas-IRL
DIXON AND TOYOTA ON RECORD-SETTING RUN – After leading the final 84 laps in winning
Pikes Peak, and then leading every lap at Richmond this past weekend, Scott Dixon has now led an
IRL record 290 consecutive laps.
Dixon’s record-setting run is just part of the dominance exhibited by Toyota-powered drivers over the
last four races. Toyotas have led 759 of the last 764 laps in IndyCar Series competition. During that
stretch, Toyota-powered Indy cars led all 206 laps at Richmond, 223 of 225 laps at Pikes Peak, 199
of 200 laps at Texas and 131 of the final 133 laps at the Indianapolis 500.
Overall this season, Toyota-powered cars have led 1,155 of 1,431 laps (80.7 percent) run in the
IndyCar Series. Individually, Scott Dixon’s 436 laps led are a series-best and are 160 more than the
combined total (276) of all the non-Toyota-powered cars in the series.
CASTRONEVES IN UNUSUAL POSITION – Helio Castroneves is best known for winning races and
his celebratory fence climbing that follows each victory. Yet this season, the two-time Indy 500
winner has found himself in an unusual position as the runner-up in three races and third place in
another. The downside for Castroneves’ opponents is that despite not yet winning this season, he is
still third overall in the points and in position to make a run for the series title.
EIGHT TOYOTAS IN TOP 11 IN POINTS – Eight Toyota drivers rank in the top 11 in IndyCar Series
points heading into Kansas. Scott Dixon remains in second following his Richmond victory, followed
by Marlboro Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves (third) and Gil de Ferran (fourth). They are
trailed by Al Unser Jr. (fifth), Scott Sharp (seventh) and Felipe Giaffone (ninth), with Tora Takagi and
Tomas Scheckter tied for 10th.
TRD CHIEF RETURNS HOME – As Toyota’s IRL program heads to Kansas for the first-time, it will
mark a homecoming for Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports and the president and CEO of
Toyota Racing Development (TRD) U.S.A. A native of Ellis, Kan., Aust graduated from Fort Hays
(Kansas) State. He oversees all aspects of Toyota’s motorsports programs with every Toyota CART
and IRL victory having come under his direction, including the 2002 CART Manufacturer’s
Championship.
Toyota IndyCar Series Driver Line-Up and Position Entering Kansas
Car Driver Car Season Points Standing
No. 9 Scott Dixon Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 2nd (Won Miami, Pikes Peak, Richmond)
No. 3 Helio Castronves Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 3rd
No. 6 Gil de Ferran Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 4th (Won Indianapolis 500)
No. 31 Al Unser, Jr. Corteco/Bryant Toyota (Dallara) 5th (Won Texas)
No. 8 Scott Sharp Delphi Toyota (Dallara) 7th (Won Motegi)
No. 21 Felipe Giaffone Hollywood Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 9th
No. 12 Tora Takagi Pioneer Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 10th (tie)
No. 10 Tomas Scheckter Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 10th (tie)
No. 5 Jacques Lazier Toyota (Dallara) 16th
No. 14A.J. Foyt IV Conseco Toyota (Dallara) 21st
