MOTORSPORTS News and notes

Wheldon trying to catch teammate: It's a bit of a longshot, but Dan Wheldon isn't giving up on catching teammate Tony Kanaan for the Indy Racing League championship. Wheldon goes into Sunday's IndyCar Series race at Chicagoland Speedway trailing the consistent Kanaan by 72 points with only three races remaining in the 2005 season. "I still do think I have a chance of winning the championship, and I'm going to take every risk possible in order to try and achieve one of my dreams," said Wheldon, coming off a victory two weeks ago in Nazareth, Pa. "Obviously, Tony has been very, very consistent throughout the season and it doesn't look like he's going to stop any time soon." Wheldon, in his second season in the IRL, has three victories this season after failing to win as a rookie.
Great white north: For only the second time, a pair of Canadians will team up for a race in one of NASCAR's top series. John Graham, a winner four years ago at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 675, will drive a Chevrolet fielded by owner Randy MacDonald in tonight's Funai 250 Busch Series race at Richmond International Speedway. Graham drove MacDonald's car last month at Indianapolis Raceway Park, finishing 31st. "This will be our first chance to really put together our best effort," MacDonald said of the Richmond race. "IRP was a one-day show and our first time with each other, so we didn't have that extra time to find what John wants in the car and what we can give him in a car. Richmond doesn't offer a tremendous amount of extra time, but it does give us some. And the more we run together, the better I think we can run." Graham will be working with MacDonald Motorsports teammate Kevin Lepage, who will drive a second team car. MacDonald is proud to be a Canadian in a sport that has been dominated over the years by Americans. "NASCAR racing became a national sport a long time ago, and it is starting to become more and more of an international sport," MacDonald said. "Canadians in the sport isn't surprising at all. I believe you are going to see more and more competitors, especially drivers and crew members, from all over the world. Racing isn't an American thing. Racing is a lifestyle with a language all its own."
Associated Press