After his first weekend off in quite some time Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia driver Will Power will start one of the busiest times in his career in the coming weeks, starting with the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa this weekend.

Power will race in six straight events over the next six weeks in the #8 Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone and 10 races in the next 12 weeks. It will be a hectic schedule for the young Australian driver and the Aussie Vineyards crew, but it will also offer several events where Power will be one of the drivers to beat.

This weekend’s challenge at the fast short oval in Iowa will give Power another chance on a short oval, a style of track where the driver from Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia has performed well in the past, qualifying fourth at The Milwaukee Mile three weeks ago.

Power sits just three points outside of the top 10 in the 2008 IndyCar Series standings, just behind KV Racing Technology team-mate Oriol Servia. Power aims to climb into the top 10 over the next few events, as well as attempt to reclaim the lead in the Bombardier Rookie of the Year standings, where he trails Hideki Mutoh by just 12 points.

WHAT THE TEAM HAD TO SAY …

Will Power: #8 Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone

“This race starts a very busy time in the schedule for us but I’m definitely looking forward to this second half of the year,” said Power.

“We have learned a lot about the new car and are starting to get our program working nicely. The season starts to visit a lot of different tracks over the next few months so I’m certainly looking forward to running right at the front when the opportunity arises.

“At Iowa I can see that it's a short, banked oval, and I'm not sure that you are flat all the way around during the race, but it looks like it's good racing because you can run high and low.

“But also it can catch you out. Until I go there, I don't really know, but I'm looking forward to it because you're running maximum downforce and that suits us.

“I think where these other guys have got us is all of the work they've done on wind tunnel and wheel bearings, coatings for the gearbox and all of those little things that add up to the mile and a half or two mile oval. They have over us on the faster ovals, but when you're running maximum downforce, that doesn't count.

“It's more about the car balance, and that's the reason that we can run up front and obviously shorter ovals helps me a little bit, too, because I raced in Milwaukee once in 2006, and I really enjoy running around short ovals, because when you have got full downforce. It's a lot like a road course and you go take a proper racing line, and it's all about just holding it flat and just running the car as free as possible.”

Craig Gore: Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia

“Iowa starts a really busy stretch for the Aussie Vineyards team,” said Gore.

“The guys deserved a well-earned weekend off last weekend, but now it back to business this weekend.

“Will has taken a liking to the short tracks this season and the Aussie Vineyards car works well on the shorter ovals. There are some road and street circuits not too far down the road as well so I know that Will and the team are pumped about the next three months.”

2008 IndyCar Series Points Standings - After Race 6
1. #9 Scott Dixon 284
2. #3 Helio Castroneves 249
3. #10 Dan Wheldon 217
4. #11 Tony Kanaan 204
5. #6 Ryan Briscoe 169
6. #7 Danica Patrick 164
7. #27 Hideki Mutoh 159
8. #26 Marco Andretti 154
9. #20 Ed Carpenter 154
10. #5 Oriol Servia 150
11. #8 Will Power 147

2008 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Standings - After Race 6
1. #27 Hideki Mutoh 159
2. #8 Will Power 147
3. #33 EJ Viso 133
4. #06 Graham Rahal 127
5. #36 Enrique Bernoldi 125
6. #02 Justin Wilson 117
7. #19 Mario Moraes 89
8. #24 Jay Howard 62
9. #96 Mario Dominguez 57
10. #34 Franck Perera 56