Yamaha Indy 400 Facts

When: 12:30 p.m. today, ESPN (gates open at 7 a.m.)

Track: California Speedway, Fontana (two-mile, D-shaped oval, 75 feet wide with a 15-foot apron).

Race Distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.

Preliminary: Grand American Cup 250, 8 a.m. (89 laps, three-hour time limit).

Last IRL Race: Helio Castroneves took charge shortly after a caution flag with 19 laps to go and beat Team Penske teammate Gil de Ferran to the finish line to win the Copper World Indy 200 March 17 at Phoenix. Sam Hornish Jr., the IRL points leader, was third, with Eliseo Salazar, Al Unser Jr., Jacques Lazier and Buddy Lazier also finishing on the same lap with Castroneves.

Fast Facts: The inaugural Yamaha Indy 400 is the Indy Racing League’s debut on the West Coast. The series has been in operation since 1996.... Hornish was the 2001 season champion, edging Castroneves, 89-85.... Eddie Cheever Jr.’s winning of the pole was the first in IRL history for an Infiniti engine.

Next Race: Firestone Indy 225, April 21, Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway.

On the Net: www.indyracing.com,

www.californiaspeedway.com.