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

	Brack

Kenny Brack:
After scoring top-seven finishes in five straight races, he failed to even finish the last two; an electrical problem on lap 86 at Gateway forced the end of race last Sunday; best result this season was second in Japan; has scored another six top-10s; remained fifth in standings with 268 points; won the 1998 IRL championship before jumping to the CART series; returned to the IRL this season.

	Castroneves

Helio Castroneves:
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner drove to fourth career victory at the Emerson 250; started from pole and led 96 laps en route to first victory since winning the Indy 500 last year; closed within 10 points of new series points leader Tony Kanaan and three behind second-place Penske teammate Gil de Ferran; result was seventh top-three finish of season and third in last four races; second in earnings with $1,450,615; started fourth and finished fifth in this event last year.

	Dixon

Scott Dixon:
Lost series points lead to Tony Kanaan after a DNF at Gateway in the last race; led from lap 80-157, but a gearbox problem on lap 158 ended his day; entered race with one-point advantage over Kanaan, but slipped to fourth place, 24 points off the pace; prior to last Sunday, has not finished lower than sixth in the last six events; winner of four poles and three races this season; also was runner-up at Nashville after starting up front; most impressive win came at Richmond, where he 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; led series-high 625 laps this year.

	De Ferran

Gil de Ferran:
Another third place finish was a solid effort at Gateway; was fourth such result in last six races; finished no lower than eighth in last eight races, including victories at Indianapolis 500 and Nashville; has seven top-three finishes in 10 races this season; seven points behind Tony Kanaan and three in front of Penske teammate Helio Castroneves; has collected over $2 million this season.

	Hornish Jr.

Sam Hornish Jr.:
Two-time IRL IndyCar Series champion holds the record for most laps led in series history, breaking mark set by Tony Stewart in 1996-97; has led 1,587 laps in 47-race career; has led more than 100 laps in seven races, more than any driver in series history; an otherwise mediocre season, placing second at Michigan as top finish; was runner-up in this race last year and third in 2001.

	Kanaan

Tony Kanaan:
Nailed down third runner-up finish of 2003 on Sunday at Gateway Raceway after leading 21 laps; regained top position in championship; seven points clear of Gil de Ferran and 10 up on Helio Castroneves; has eight top-fives and nine top-10s this season; won March race in Phoenix and posted eight top-fives in 11 races; started from pole three times and twice more from 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; overcame the bad streak to take fourth at Michigan and 10th at Gateway; scored a fourth-place finish at this venue in 2002 and was runner-up to Buddy Lazier the year before.

Al Unser Jr.:
Remained sixth in points standings despite a non-finish at Gateway due to lap 41 accident; owns seven top-10s this year, including victory on June 7 at Texas Motor Speedway; was the 34th open-wheel win of his career and third in the IRL; won the Indianapolis 500 in 1992 and 1994; also captured CART championships in 1990 and 1994.