FanHouse RyanBriscoe

IndyCar Series championship contender Ryan Briscoe will join FanHouse for a live chat on Thursday at 11:30 AM ET.

Briscoe, 28, who drives the No. 6 car for Team Penske, is one of three drivers who will decide the IndyCar championship Saturday night in the series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Only eight points separate third place Briscoe from leader Scott Dixon. Dario Franchitti is five points behind Dixon in the series' second closest three-man battle for the season title.

Join Briscoe as he takes your questions and discusses the biggest opportunity of his career in one of racing's most exciting championship scenarios.

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has kicked off its 100th birthday celebration with the closest Indy 500 starting field in history, the largest crowd in recent memory and a vibe reminiscent of the race's heyday.

Even NASCAR's "King" Richard Petty will be trackside today as Jim Nabors sings "Back Home Again in Indiana" -- to wrap up a traditional pre-race show unlike anything in sports.

Sure, the Penske and Ganassi and Andretti Green teams are odds-on favorites to win today's Indianapolis 500. But with the reunification of the two open-wheel series last year, the grid boasts a legitimate 13-14 contenders and has finally put to rest the notion that Indy has lost its competitive edge.

Ryan Hunter-Reay wasn't fast enough to earn a spot in next Sunday's Indianapolis 500 as he exited Turn 4 on his final lap of qualifying Sunday at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

But somehow, someway, the 28-year-old Floridian conjured up just enough speed in the final few seconds -- the final hundred yards -- to make the field by three hundredths of a second (.03) bumping out Canadian Alex Tagliani, who was sitting in his car, next in line to qualify, as the traditional gun shot sounded ending qualifications.