Indy Racing League (IRL) Tickets ý Going Out With a Bang
The several twists and turns of this yearýs IndyCar Series have provided entertainment and thrills of all kinds for IRL fans nationwide, and despite the 2008 season coming to a close the parties are just getting started for IndyCar drivers, teams and crew members alike. The conclusion of this yearýs IRL season ended with the Nikon Indy 300 at the All Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Queensland, Australia, and even though Team Penskeýs Ryan Briscoe beat out Target Chip Ganassiýs Scott Dixon to win the race, it is Dixon who is being honored tonight in Las Vegas as the 2008 IndyCar Series champion.
This article is sponsored by StubHub.com and was written by Jenna Jay. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling Indy Racing League (IRL) tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
A blowout awards ceremony will take place at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas tonight celebrating Dixonýs victory in the IndyCar Series, while Andretti Green Racing and AFS Racingýs number 27 driver Raphael Matos will also be honored at the celebration as the champion of the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights series. The Championship Celebration will take place at the Palms, and the after-party will commence at the resortýs Rain Nightclub following the presentation of checks and hardware to both Dixon and Matos.
Anyone who had Indy Racing League (IRL) tickets to one of the races this season knows itýs an understatement to say that the 2008 IndyCar Series was full of ups, downs and surprises of all kinds. The first surprise came in the unification of the IRL, as both the IRL and Champ Car finally settled and let the sport become whole again, tacking on six teams, two races and floods of fans to next yearýs IndyCar series. Another gratifying shock in the 2008 season occurred with a handful of first-time winners in the league, most notably Danica Patrick winning her first race (other first-time winners included Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Justin Wilson and Will Power.) Another drastic change to the league? The domino effect of drivers and teams that started with news of Tony Kanaan negotiating for Dan Wheldonýs ride at Target Chip Ganassi Racing and resulted in Wheldonýs switch to Panther Racing and Vitor Meiraýs consequential switch to A.J. Foyt Racing, further resulting in Darren Manningýs contract not being renewed and, because Kanaan ended up with Andretti Green instead of Ganassi, Dario Franchitti rounded out the shake-up by signing with Ganassi Racing in the end. As if this wasnýt enough to digest, IRL heavyweight Helio Castroneves topped off the 2008 IndyCar season with a shocking scandal, ending in an indictment by the U.S. government on one count of conspiracy to defraud and six counts of tax evasion, facing 35 years in prison while potentially losing his coveted spot with Penske Racing.
Itýs undisputable that the 2008 IRL season has been one wild ride, and it was Ganassiýs Scott Dixon who held on the longest, crossing the finish line the most and coming out on top of the IndyCar Series with a total of 646 points, beating out Penskeýs Helio Castroneves (629), Andretti Greenýs Tony Kanaan (513), Ganassiýs Dan Wheldon (492), Penskeýs Ryan Briscoe (447), Andretti Greenýs Danica Patrick (379) and Marco Andretti (363), Rahal Lettermanýs Ryan Hunter-Reay (360), KV Racingýs Oriol Servia (358) and Andretti Greenýs Hideki Mutoh (346), who round out the top ten in the IndyCar standings for the year.
Although this yearýs IndyCar season is officially over, it wonýt be long until these gentlemen (and ladies) start their engines once again. The 2009 IndyCar Series will commence on April 5, 2009, so dust off that checkered flag and head over to http://www.stubhub.com/irl-tickets-indy-car-series/ to get tickets for next yearýs IRL season, as seats to these big shows sell out early!
