Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio in Lexington.

	Andretti

Michael Andretti:
The only current driver in CART to have a victory at Mid-Ohio on his resume (1998 winner Adrian Fernandez will not race this weekend due to injury); had good succes at Mid-Ohio in the early 1990s when he won in 1990-91 from the pole; finished in the top-10 in nine of 17 starts at Mid-Ohio, leading a total of 188 laps; last podium at this venue was in 1996, when he finished third; seventh in the championship hunt with 60 points; leads all active Champ CART drivers with 42 wins, 32 poles, 300 starts and laps led with 6,564.

Kenny Brack:
Is tied for seventh with Michael Andretti with 60 points each; the Swedish driver has had a mixed season, with five finishes in the top eight and five DNFs (most recently at Vancouver); best result was second in Toronto and third at Monterey, California; finished fifth as a rookie in 2000, but was out of the points last season.

Patrick Carpentier:
The Quebec native is much better on road/street course circuits where he has scored 60 of 72 points this season; won in Cleveland this year by more than 17 seconds over Michael Andretti; started and finished third in last year's Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio; fifth in the series standings.

Cristiano da Matta
Failure to finish in the last races at Cleveland and Vancouver cost him a limited loss of points advantage to his chasers; had a 50-point advantage over fellow Brazilian Bruno Junqueira and now leads Dario Franchitti by 38; started from the pole in five of the last six races, won four straight between GP of Monterey and Toronto; winner of five races this year and seven of the last 12 in the series; led a series-high 467 laps this season; looking for better success at this facility having never finished better than ninth in three starts, including 10th last year; "I think Mid-Ohio is the perfect example of why I like road courses better," da Matta said. "It's just more challenging for the drivers. Everything is more difficult ... it's more complicated."

Dario Franchitti:
Became the sixth different winner by taking the checkered flag at Vancouver, his first in two years and eighth career; closed within 38 points of series leader Cristiano da Matta; although the gap is rather big, there are nine races to go to make up ground for the championship; scored five podium finishes this year, but also failed to pick up any points in four races. "I love coming to Mid-Ohio," he said. "It is a tough track to race at, but it suits my style of driving and I've always qualified well there. I haven't been able to get the finish I want so far at this track, but I feel that this year I've probably got one of the best chances I've ever had to get to Victory Lane."

Michel Jourdain Jr.:
In the midst of his best run in seven years on the CART circuit with points earned in all 10 races this season; yet to claim a checkered flag in his career, but a win is looming not too far; move to Team Rahal which is based in nearby Hilliard, Ohio is paying off; "Mid-Ohio is a beautiful track and certainly one of the most challenging tracks we race on in CART," he said. "It is a special race for Team Rahal because it is the home track for the team." His 74 points earned this season is higher than the total points scored in his first six years on the circuit. Consistency has been the key factor as he leads in laps and miles completed. Earned 12 points with fourth place finish at Vancouver two weeks ago which tied him for third with Bruno Junqueira at 74 each; was 17th last year in this race.

Bruno Junqueira:
One of three Brazilians in the top 10 in points; tied for third with Michel Jourdain Jr. with 74 points each; earned points in seven of 10 races, with victory in Japan in April; also was runner-up in Portland, Oregon and Chicago; missed out on a points finish at Mid-Ohio last year in 13th place.

	Nakano

Shinji Nakano:
Having the best run of his two years in CART, with points earned in five straight races (a streak unmatched before); will need to show improvement this weekend to keep the streak going, as he has finished 18th and 19th respectively in the first two races at Mid-Ohio.

Max Papis:
Makes return to series as replacement/substitute for the injured driver/owner Adrian Fernandez (sidelined after a multiple car crash on June 28 at Vancouver) at Fernandez Racing; the 32-year-old Italian lost his ride in CART once Sigma Autosport withdrew from the series following the June 9 race at Laguna Seca; "First of all, what has happened to Adrian is an unfortunate situation," he said. "At the same time I am very glad to join Fernandez Racing. I am going to do the best for the team under these circumstances, and I'm waiting for Adrian to come back and continue his job." Known as "Mad Max", Papis is in his seventh year of Champ Car competition; missed the last five races, but scored podium finishes of third in two of five races (Long Beach, Milwaukee) contested this year; won three races in the past three years; the 2.258-mile permanent road course holds added significance for Papis as this was the site of his Champ Car debut in 1996 with Arciero-Wells Racing; best finishes were fourth in 2000 and fifth in 1999; sixth in the championship race last year.

Alex Tagliani:
Another driver looking to keep momentum going on his side; hopes to build on a streak of six points-paying finishes in a row to stay in the title hunt; tied for ninth with Christian Fittipaldi at 58 points; earned top-10 resuls in each of his previous two visits at Mid-Ohio.

Paul Tracy:
Recorded four second-place finishes at Mid-Ohio, most recent to Juan Montoya in 1999; came close again last year with a fourth place effort after starting eighth; results of third in Cleveland and a popular second in the last race at Vancouver, propelled him from 11th to sixth in the standings with 68 points; recorded his 19th career CART victory at The Milwaukee Mile on June 2.