Check out a short list of favorites for Sunday's Belterra Casino 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

Alex Barron
Earned his first career IRL victory July 20 at the Nashville Superspeedway; one of five first-time IRL winners in 11 races this year; climbed to fifth in the IRL standings with 261 points; was in the field at Kentucky Speedway last year.

Helio Castroneves
The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner is one of two drivers with more than one victory this year (Sam Hornish Jr.); engaged in a tight race for the championship, 12 points behind Team Penske teammate Gil de Ferran and just six points in front of Hornish; along with de Ferran, the only drivers to be running at the finish of each race this year; first appearance as full-time competitor at Kentucky Speedway.

Airton Dare
The 2000 IRL Rookie of the Year won the Ameristar Casino 200 on July 7 at Kansas Speedway by 0.1741 seconds over Sam Hornish Jr. for his first career victory and the fourth race in 2002 to have a victory margin of less than a second; the victory also was the first for A.J. Foyt Racing since Kenny Brack won the 1999 Indianapolis 500; sits sixth in the standings with 246 points

Gil de Ferran
Top-five finishes in five straight races, including a win and two runners-up, have propelled him to the top of the IRL standings with 377 points; leads Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves by 12 points and IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. by 18; posted his first IRL victory at the Radisson 225 on June 16 at Pikes Peak International Raceway; one of only two drivers to be running at the finish in all 11 races this year (Castroneves); finished in the top five in nine events; lowest finish was 16th at Texas Motor Speedway.

Sarah Fisher
Returns to Kentucky Speedway on a roll after a strong run in the Michigan 400 on July 28; led four laps late in the race after some daring passes before finishing eighth; looks to continue running strong at a track where she led nine laps in the inaugural race in 2000 en route to a third-place finish; recorded the highest finish (second) for a woman in an Indy-style race in April 2001 at the Grand Prix of Miami

Felipe Giaffone
The 2001 IRL Rookie of the Year is without a victory this season but has used consistency to climb to fourth in the series standings with 330 points, 47 behind leader Gil de Ferran; 27-year-old Brazilian has finished third three times, second once and fourth two times; tied for lead in top-10 finishes with Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves.

Sam Hornish Jr.
Defending IRL champion has been in tremendous form in the last five races after a setback of three poor results from April-June; finished in the top seven in last five races, including victory June 29 at Richmond, Virginia; third in the IRL standings after 11 races, 19 points behind leader Gil de Ferran; led five laps at Kentucky in 2001, but finished third; ninth here as a rookie in 2000.

Buddy Lazier
Won both IRL races at Kentucky Speedway; no IRL driver has ever won the same event three times in a row; led three times last year for 84 laps; a victory here would help salvage an otherwise disappointing season as he is 12th in the points standings.

Tomas Scheckter
Won the Michigan 400 on July 28 in impressive fashion and became the fifth first-time winner in 11 races this season; the others are Jeff Ward, Gil de Ferran, Airton Dare and Alex Barron; finished 1-2 with Red Bull Cheever Racing teammate Buddy Rice in Michigan; the only other time teammates finished 1-2 were Buzz Calkins and Tony Stewart at the inaugural IRL race in January 1996 at Orlando, Fla.

Scott Sharp
Has had some good performances in the past three races, all top-nine finishes; overall this season, he has six top-10s with a victory at the Firestone 225 at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania; his 230 points puts him seventh in the standings; runner-up to Buddy Lazier at Kentucky Speedway last year; winner of at least one race in six straight seasons.

Al Unser Jr.
Entered on the drivers list to participate in Sunday's race at Kentucky Speedway after missing the last two events due to personal problems; released Monday from an alcohol rehabilitation center which he entered after incident involving DUI and hitting his girlfriend; posted four finishes in the top six in the season's first nine races, with second in Texas in June as top result; accumulated 207 points, good for ninth place; was fourth here last year.