Four past champions and four women drivers are among those named to 40 entries for next month's Indianapolis 500, officials of the IndyCar Series feature event announced Wednesday.
Defending champion Helio Castroneves of Brazil, who also won in 2001 and 2002, and past winners Scott Dixon of New Zealand, Dan Wheldon of England and Dario Franchitti of Scotland are among the hopefuls for the May 30 race.
Castroneves will try to match the all-time record of four Indy 500 victories won by Americans A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.
But the 33-car Indy 500 field also would feature a record four women should Americans Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher, Venezuela's Milka Duno and Swiss racer Simona de Silvestro all qualify in time trials May 22 and 23.
Dixon won the Indy 500 in 2008 on his way to his second IndyCar season crown while Wheldon won at Indy in 2005 ahead of his only season title and current season champion Franchitti won in 2007 on the way to his first season crown.
The 2010 event is part of the Indy 500 centennial events. The first race at the famed 2.5-mile oval was staged in 1911.
Other international racers entered are Japan's Hideki Mutoh and Takuma Sato, Canada's Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani, Australians Will Power and Ryan Briscoe, England's Alex Lloyd, Mike Conway, Jay Howard and Justin Wilson; Brazilians Tony Kanaan, Vitor Meira, Rafael Matos, Mario Moraes, Bruno Junqueira and Mario Romancini; Venezuelan E.J. Viso, 19-year-old Colombian rookie Sebastien Saavedra and Belgian rookie Bertrand Baguette.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
