Aug. 25 newsstand

After Day 1 at Infineon, we're treated to a number of good Saturday race-weekend stories. Enjoy.

The season battle
Indy Star: Trio of factors to decide title
Three drivers (Dario, Scott & TK), three tracks (Infineon, Belle Isle & Chicagoland -- one of each type the ICS runs on) and three races remain for the championship. Curt Cavin points out that TK only needs to gain 16 points a race -- the difference between first and fourth -- to win the title.

Terre Haute Trib-Star: Kanann hopes to reel in Franchitti
A points chase piece as part of Tom Reck's racing notes column.

Express-Times (Lehigh Valley, Pa.): Franchitti owns smaller lead lap
Says TK about the points battle, "Dario has the same car that I do, he's on the same team and he has the same resources. So the smartest thing I can do at this point is distract Scott so the team can win the championship."

Vallejo Times-Herald: Steady Dixon may just win championship
Says Scott, "Hopefully we can just close enough to (Franchitti) and then have a go at him over the next two stages. We'll see how it goes, but he looks pretty tough."

SpeedTV: Title contenders get serious at Infineon
Says Dario: “I was asked again and again earlier in the season if the good luck would last. I kept saying it wouldn’t, and it didn’t.”

IndyCar.com: Franchitti's lead could easily evaporate over Infineon hills.
A notebook from Friday with a couple of quotes about the points chase.

AP: After winning Indy & walking away from 2 scary crashes, Dario still leads IndyCar
A retrospective on Dario's season so far. Interesting quote: "The Indianapolis 500 is such a big part of our season and, when Dan (Wheldon) and I were teammates together, he would show up at the track and would always be talking about Indy, Indy, Indy. That was I guess when I started to get this passion for the 500 because I saw how much it meant to him and some of the other guys."

The power steering story put forth by the AP a few days ago comes up again in the San Francisco Chronicle. The drivers would like either paddle-shifting, power steering or both.
Says Helio, "If not power steering, then paddle shifting so we can keep our hands on the steering wheel. If they can't do that, they could change the suspension, but that would be complicated and cost a lot of money." Danica says, "if you want to make my job easier, I'm all for it."

Sam, part XXXVII
Sacramento Bee: IndyCar's Hornish looks at new wheels
Key quotes from Sam: "You've got to look for new challenges. When you're a pro, you're always looking at options. You want to be pushed." ... "What I love about stock car racing is it's a huge new challenge for me; that's motivational. Roger will have no problem filling my seat whichever I choose. ... But I'm still looking down both roads." From Helio:"We need to know what my teammate is going to do, if he's going to stay one more year in IRL or if he's going to NASCAR. You know, in this business I've learned, never say never."

Jim Petz's Q&A from the L.A. Times has an item on Sam (he thinks he'll make the jump to cabs eventually), and also on Cristiano da Matta (he showed up at Long Beach and a few other places).

On the twisty, narrow Infineon racetrack
Friday's IRL post-practice daily notes and quotes
Says hot shoe Helio Castroneves, "Right now, we’ve seem to have hit the right spot with the setup of the Team Penske car. I know the Andretti Green guys will be surrounding me."

Contra Costa Times: IRL standouts overcome penalties
Brian Barnhart laid down the law to Helio & TK, and they had to sit out the first 25 minutes of Friday's practice. They ended up posting two of the fastest times on the day. Also, Scott Sharp damaged his car Friday, but it should be OK.

IndyCar.com: Second-half comeback
Marco Andretti is rolling up points, but Helio Castroneves leads practice on Day 1.

Looking ahead to next week
Detroit News: Grand Prix fuels push to restore Belle Isle
The Detroit island is being spruced up, in part because of next week's race.

The Detroit Free Press gives you a ride around the track in the pace car.

Non-IRL news
NASCAR.com confirms 1995 Indy winner Jacques Villeneuve's future plans: run Bill Davis' truck this fall, then run the 2008 Nextel Cup season.

And, finally
Marin Independent-Journal: Engineer Joe Huffaker to be inducted into the Infineon Raceway Hall of Fame. Huffaker has fielded cars for A.J. Foyt & Jerry Grant, among others.

The Indianapolis Star has a nice piece on safety equipment manufacturer Bill Simpson.