rpm.espn.com: Drivers to Watch

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Wednesday, August 29
Drivers to Watch
ESPN.com news services

Check out a short list of drivers to keep an eye on this weekend at Chicago.

Billy Boat
Moved two slots up to second place in the IRL standings after another top-10 result; finished sixth in the Gateway Indy 250 for his third consecutive top-10 and eighth overall; best result was second at the Harrah's Indy 200 at Nashville.

Buzz Calkins
His streak of running at the finish in 12 straight races came to an end at Gateway Raceway where the suspension on his car failed after 40 laps; the 12-race streak was the longest active in the series; top finish in that span was third place on April 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway; slipped to 10th in the series standings with 200 points.

Eddie Cheever Jr.
The 1998 Indianapolis 500 champion won a hard-fought battle for fourth place at the Gateway Indy 250; was one of only four drivers to finish on the lead lap; now ranks eighth in the standings with two races remaining in the championship; it was only his fourth top-10 finish in an otherwise disappointing season by his standards; one victory of the year was at Kansas Speedway on July 8.

Felipe Giaffone
Has tested at Chicago and expects to have a good baseline; a handling problem at Gateway last week forced him out on lap 44 and caused his first non-finish of the year; despite the letdown, he clinched the IRL Rookie of the Year points standings; has 275 points and is fifth in the Northern Light Series standings; the next highest rookie in the standings is Didier Andre with 156 points; in nine of the first 10 races, he finished in the top 10, an impressive feat by any drivers' standards; best showing was second to Scott Sharp in Texas.

Sam Hornish Jr.
The only driver to be running at the finish of all 11 races this season; leads the IRL with 10 top-10 finishes and nine top-fives; was third at Gateway in the last race for his sixth top-three score in the last seven events; also led in nine of the 11 races, more than any driver; needs to finish fifth or better in the last two Indy Racing Northern Light Series events of the season to clinch the championship; has a 45-point lead over second-place Buddy Lazier and needs a 53-point lead after this race to clinch the title; has been at the top of the standings since the start of the year; finished in the top-six in all but the Indianapolis 500 (14th); first two career victories were recorded consecutively in Phoenix and Miami at the start of the season; one of five drivers in Indy Racing history to win successive races; also tops the board in laps led with 637.

Buddy Lazier
His hopes at winning his second straight IRL title took a hit when he sufered a fuel pressure problem on his car and finished 10 laps down in 13th place at Gateway; back-to-back victories at Pikes Peak and Richmond, Virginia, coupled with two more straight wins at Nashville and Sparta, Kentucky, marks the first time in Indy Racing history a driver has won four events in one season; the four wins this year gives him eight for his career, the most in IRL history; has 23 career top-five and 32 top-10 finishes, the most in each category by any driver in Indy Racing history.

Eliseo Salazar
A positive season for the driver from Chile; top finish was second at Phoenix, followed by a third in Miami; also was fifth in Atlanta and seventh at both Texas and Kansas City; his seventh-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 was the highest for a driver from the Indy Racing Northern Light Series; 264 points places him sixth in the standings; competed three years in Formula One, scoring points in a handful of races; won three IMSA sports car races before moving to open-wheel racing.

Scott Sharp
Nine top-eight finishes in 11 races have made for a good season, but not enough to be a top contender for the series championship; 310 points earned puts him a distant third 101 points behind Sam Hornish Jr.; won the Casino Magic 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9; started from the pole three times and from the front row in five races; has recorded at least one victory in five successive seasons.

Al Unser Jr.
The 1992 and 1994 Indianapolis 500 champion drove the last 67 laps without a pit stop which delivered him a win in the Gateway Indy 250 this past Sunday; it was his second career Indy Racing Northern Light Series victory, his first was recorded in April 2000 at Las Vegas; improved to seventh place in the standings with 235 points; finished in the top 10 in five races this year.

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