Possibly the strongest field ever assembled for the streets of Surfers Paradise has been confirmed for next weekend's Nikon Indy 300, with all of the IndyCar Series' familiar faces making the trip 'down under'.
A total of 24 drivers - including three former Gold Coast race winners, ten 2008 race winners, five Indy 500 champions and the famous racing names of Rahal, Andretti and Foyt – will hit the track to form the biggest Surfers Paradise field since 2001.
The return of former drivers Michael Andretti and Jimmy Vasser to Surfers Paradise as team owners will bring the total number of former Gold Coast race winners on track to five, while Andretti and Bobby Rahal will look on as sons Marco and Graham continue the family legacy. AJ Foyt IV, grandson of the four-time Indy 500 winner and current IRL team owner of the same name, will make his Queensland race debut.
The former Indy 500 winners also include reigning Brickyard and series champion Scott Dixon, and Helio Castroneves, the two-time 500 winner having had his bail conditions modified to allow him to compete despite ongoing investigations into allegations of tax evasion.
The field will also include the high-profile Danica Patrick, who became the first woman to win a major open-wheel event when the IndyCar Series headed to Japan earlier this year, while some of the biggest team names in US open-wheel racing, such as Penske, Ganassi and Newman/Haas/Lanigan help to make up the best entry since Champ Car was in its heyday on the Gold Coast.
All of the regular IndyCar teams will be present, with the only change to the long-time 2008 line-up seeing Alex Tagliani continue in the second Conquest car in place of Enrique Bernoldi. However, recent driver changes ahead of the 2009 campaign will see Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti - two other Indy 500 winners - lining up with Panther Racing and Target Chip Ganassi Racing respectively, while Vitor Meira, runner-up in this year's 500, takes Darren Manning's place at AJ Foyt Enterprises, as he will next season.
