Check out a short list of favorites for Saturday's Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville, Tenn.

Kenny Brack:
Season-best finish was second in Japan and five more top-10s have him fifth in the standings with 217 points; finished no lower than seventh in last four races since the Indianapolis 500 (16th); won the 1998 IRL championship before jumping to the CART series; returned to the IRL this season.

Helio Castroneves:
Although without victory this season, the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner has been runner-up four times and also was third once; was second the last two races at Richmond and Kansas; 32 points in third place behind leader Tony Kanaan; won the pole at the Indianapolis 500 where finished second; second in earnings with $1,210,465; was ninth in first start at Nashville last year.

Scott Dixon:
Winner of three poles and three races this year; a most impressive performance was victory at Richmond where led every lap of the rain-shortened SunTrust Indy Challenge; also won at Pikes Peak on June 15 and the season opener at Homestead-Miami in his IRL debut; New Zealand native failed to complete races in Phoenix, Japan and Indianapolis; second in the standings with 248 points.

Gil de Ferran:
Finished third in the last three races to stay in contention for the championship; 239 points is good for fourth place; was runner-up in this event last season which could be a boost for another solid result; won the Indianapolis 500, where he collected more than $1.3 million; finished second in season opener at Miami and also third at Pikes Peak; missed race in Japan due to injury; leads earnings with over $1.7 million.

Sam Hornish Jr.:
Fourth-place finish at Richmond was the best in eight races this season for the two-time defending IRL IndyCar Series champion; was third in this event last season; the 23-year-old dominated the IRL the previous two seasons, winning eight of 33 races since joining Panther Racing; has 24 top-five finishes.

Tony Kanaan:
Takes a 31-point lead into Saturday night's race; in recent testing at track, turned fastest lap of 205.453 miles per hour; recorded seven top-five finishes in eight races to lead league in stats; won three poles and also started twice more in the front row; won from the pole at Phoenix, finished fourth in Miami and second at Colorado from the pole; also was third at Indianapolis and second at Texas race.

Scott Sharp:
Only driver with at least one victory in each of the IRL's eight seasons; this year's victory came in April at Motegi, Japan; after good start of three finishes in the top seven, some bad luck of accidents and mechanical failure were the cause of non-finishes; was fifth here in inaugural 2001 race and eighth lst season.

Al Unser Jr.:
Dropped to sixth in the standings after 14th finish at Kansas in last race (lowest of season); victory on June 7 at Texas Motor Speedway was the 34th of his career and third in the IRL; won the Indianapolis 500 in 1992 and 1994; also captured CART championships in 1990 and 1994.