The Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 was an IndyCar Series race held at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, United States.
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 dirt oval. AAA held races at Speedway Park, a board track in nearby Maywood, Illinois. The first such race was a event in 1915. Subsequent races ranged from , 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 1999 to 2002. 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, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 2008, 2009 and 2010. 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 , in the second-closest finish in the twelve-year history of the series. Dixon won the championship by 17 points.
Past winners
AAA Championship Car history (Galesburg) SeasonDateDriverCarRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph) Laps Miles (km) 1914 October 22 Ralph Mulford Duesenberg100100 (160.934)1:32:5664.562 1915 June 9 Eddie O'Donnell Duesenberg100100 (160.934)1:36:0062.496
AAA Championship Car history (Speedway Park) SeasonDateDriverCarRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph) Laps Miles (km) 1915 June 26 Dario Resta Peugeot250500 (804.672)5:07:2697.582 August 7 Dario Resta Peugeot50100 (160.934)0:58:54101.862 1916 June 11 Dario Resta Peugeot150300 (482.803)3:02:3198.615 August 19 Dario Resta Peugeot2550 (80.467)0:29:52100.419 October 14 Dario Resta Peugeot125250 (402.336)2:24:16103.966 1917 June 16 Earl Cooper Stutz125250 (402.336)2:25:28103.107 September 3 Ralph DePalma Packard2550 (80.467)0:28:09106.548 Louis Chevrolet Frontenac50100 (160.934)0:56:29 106.224October 13 Tom Alley Pan-Am / Miller1020 (32.186)0:11:22105.556 Ralph Mulford Frontenac2550 (80.467)0:28:18105.960 Pete Henderson Duesenberg2550 (80.467)0:28:30105.229 1918 June 22 Louis Chevrolet Frontenac50100 (160.934)0:55:25108.271July 28 Ralph DePalma Packard510 (16.093)0:05:24 Ralph DePalma Packard1020 (32.186)0:10:50110.73 Ralph DePalma Packard1530 (48.28)0:16:54106.42
Non-championship event
CART Champ Car history SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)ReportRef Laps Miles (km) 1999 August 22 Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda225 231.525 (372.603)1:53:38 122.236 Report 2000 July 30 Cristiano da Matta PPI Motorsports Reynard Toyota225 231.525 (372.603)2:01:23114.432 Report 2001 July 29 Kenny Bräck Team Rahal Lola Ford-Cosworth225 231.525 (372.603)1:45:12 132.031 Report 2002 June 30 Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing Lola Toyota250257.25 (414.003) 2:07:00121.524 Report
IndyCar Series history (Chicagoland) SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)Report Laps Miles (km) 2001 September 2 Jaques Lazier Team Menard Dallara Oldsmobile200300 (482.803)1:45:57172.146 Report 2002 September 8 Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet200300 (482.803)2:04:40146.319 Report 2003 September 7 Sam Hornish Jr. (2) Panther Racing (2) Dallara Chevrolet200300 (482.803)1:38:58184.294 Report 2004 September 12 Adrian Fernández Fernández Racing G-Force Honda200300 (482.803)2:09:31 140.825 Report 2005 September 11 Dan Wheldon Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda200300 (482.803)1:47:50 169.16 Report 2006 September 10 Dan Wheldon (2) Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda200300 (482.803)1:33:37194.828 Report 2007 September 9 Dario Franchitti Andretti Green Racing (2) Dallara Honda200300 (482.803)1:44:54173.886 Report 2008 September 7 Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Honda200300 (482.803)2:01:05150.648 Report 2009 August 29 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske (2) Dallara Honda200300 (482.803)1:42:34 177.827 Report 2010 August 28 Dario Franchitti (2) Chip Ganassi Racing (2) Dallara Honda200300 (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 Scott Dixon 2000 July 30 Scott Dixon 2001 Not heldIRL Indy Pro Series/Indy Lights Series history (Joliet) 2002 September 8 Aaron Fike 2003 September 6 Mark Taylor 2004 September 11 Thiago Medeiros 2005 September 11 Jeff Simmons 2006 September 9 Wade Cunningham 2007 September 9 Logan Gomez 2008 September 7 Arie Luyendyk Jr. 2009 August 29 Daniel Herrington 2010 August 28 James Hinchcliffe
ARCA Menards Series From 2001 to 2010 the ARCA Menards Series would run a race in support of the IndyCar series race. YearDateDriverManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph) Laps Miles (km)2001September 1Ed BerrierChevrolet134201 (323.478)1:37:1192.262002September 7Chad BlountDodge134201 (323.478)2:06:2095.4622003September 6Frank KimmelFord134201 (323.478)1:55:47104.162004September 11Kyle KrisiloffChevrolet134201 (323.478)2:04:2596.9322005September 10Dawayne BryanDodge134201 (323.478)2:00:08102.9572006September 9Steve WallaceDodge134201 (323.478)1:58:20101.9152007September 8Michael McDowellDodge134201 (323.478)1:52:03107.632008September 6Scott Lagasse Jr.Chevrolet136*204 (328.306)1:57:18104.3472009August 28Justin LoftonToyota100150 (241.402)1:21:04111.022010August 27Patrick SheltraToyota100150 (241.402)1:21:35110.317
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. YearDateDriverTeamManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph) Laps Miles (km) 2009 August 2851 Kyle Busch Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota150225 (362.102)1:53:13119.293 2010 August 2718 Kyle Busch Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota154*231 (371.758)1:44:31132.61
References
IndyCar.com race page champcarstats.com