Kanaan

NAZARETH, Pa. -- With Tony Kanaan leading an extremely tight points chase, the importance of Sunday's IRL race at Nazareth Speedway is clear.

Kanaan leads Helio Castroneves by just eight points after 12 of 16 races. Scott Dixon is another four points back, one ahead of Gil de Ferran entering the Firestone Indy 225.

"Nazareth is going to be a key race for all of us," Kanaan said. "The track is so challenging. You can stand out as a driver here."

That's one reason Kanaan's boss, Kim Green, is excited. The other is the track's connection to team co-owner Michael Andretti.

"A driver can make a difference around this racetrack, and I think Tony is as good as they come as far as being able to make up a little bit if the car is not absolutely perfect," said Green, president of Andretti Green Racing. "Every race from now until the end of the season is obviously extremely important, but this race could really put one of the contenders -- hopefully Tony -- in a very strong position for the championship."

There's also a considerable amount of emotion for Andretti. The second-generation open-wheel great -- who retired as a driver earlier this season -- lives in Nazareth, and is being saluted this weekend as a native son of the Lehigh Valley.

"I think that atmosphere carries some advantages for us," Green explained. "I had a long conversation Monday with Tony, and he knows this is a very important weekend."

With a record-tying nine drivers winning this season, Kanaan could claim the title without a second victory. But he's thinking about much more than consistency as he seeks his first win at Nazareth.

He considers this an excellent opportunity to pad his advantage over his nearest pursuers and two-time defending series champion Sam Hornish Jr. He broke through with his first win of the year -- and IRL-record ninth overall -- last Sunday at Kentucky Speedway and is fifth in the standings, 77 points behind Kanaan.

"We have a very good program for those types of tracks," Kanaan said of 1-mile ovals. "We had a very good car in Phoenix earlier this year and won that race, so I think you'll see us right up front at Nazareth."

Hornish would like to join him and give the new Gen IV Chevrolet engine its second IRL victory. But he'll need to improve on past Nazareth performances to pull it off.

"Last year, I got a little impatient trying to get around Buddy Lazier, and we got together," Hornish said. "The only other race I've had here was in Toyota Atlantic, and I was trying to get a pass done and spun."

Dixon, with three victories this season, and de Ferran, with two, are looking to win for the first time in IRL competition at Nazareth. But both made history on the track when CART raced here through 2001.

CART's final race at this venue went to Dixon, who at 20 years, 9 months became the youngest driver to win a major open-wheel race. A year earlier, de Ferran prevailed to give team owner Roger Penske -- who built this track -- his 100th open-wheel victory.

De Ferran looked like a winner last year, but ran out of fuel on the final lap and finished third as Scott Sharp took the IRL inaugural here. As the only multiple winners on the circuit this year, Dixon and de Ferran are leading Toyota's charge toward its first major American championship as an engine builder. A 10th Toyota victory would make it official.