Izod will become the series' first title sponsor since 2001.

Financial terms of the six-year agreement were not disclosed, but the deal is reported to be $10 million per year.

SUPER DARIO One year after his return to IndyCar following a brief stint in NASCAR, Franchitti captured his second series championship with a victory in last weekend's season-finale at Homestead.

Franchitti won his first title in 2007 before switching from open-wheel to stock car racing. When his efforts in NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series competition went off track, Franchitti joined Chip Ganassi Racing's IndyCar team in September 2008, and his comeback was nothing short of success.

Franchitti capitalized on pit strategy when he made his final stop with 50 laps remaining.

Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe made their stops earlier than Franchitti, but both drivers had to pit again with less than 10 laps to go, allowing Franchitti to take the lead for good. He scored his fifth victory of the season.

Franchitti, the second driver to qualify in the 23-car field, turned a four- lap average on the 1.5-mile oval at 212.696 m.p.h. for his fifth pole of the season and the 11th of his IndyCar career. By winning the pole, he was awarded one bonus point, which moved him to within four points of leader Dixon.

"I was pleasantly surprised since we hadn't run quite well in practice this morning," Franchitti said.

Franchitti, the second driver to qualify in the 23-car field, turned a four- lap average on the 1.5-mile oval at 212.696 m.p.h. for his fifth pole of the season and the 11th of his IndyCar career. By winning the pole, he was awarded one bonus point, which moved him to within four points of leader Dixon.

"I was pleasantly surprised since we hadn't run quite well in practice this morning," Franchitti said.

Franchitti, the second driver to qualify in the 23-car field, turned a four- lap average on the 1.5-mile oval at 212.696 m.p.h. for his fifth pole of the season and the 11th of his IndyCar career. By winning the pole, he was awarded one bonus point, which moved him to within four points of leader Dixon.

"I was pleasantly surprised since we hadn't run quite well in practice this morning," Franchitti said.

Eight points, three drivers and one race remaining.

That's the point separation among the top-three drivers -- Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe -- heading into the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Indianapolis Star reported the agreement Thursday night.

The 27-year-old Patrick, who was third at this year's Indy 500, was reportedly considering making the move to NASCAR. This is her third season with AGR and her fifth in the IndyCar Series. She became the first woman to win an IndyCar race by capturing the Indy Japan 300 in April 2008.

Dixon, the pole sitter, capitalized on Ryan Briscoe's costly pit road accident midway through the race. He led a race-high 139 laps and easily held off his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti at the finish for his series- leading fifth victory of the season.

Briscoe lost control of his car after he left his pit stall and slammed into the inside wall. The Team Penske driver spent 15 laps on pit road for repairs before ending up with a disappointing 18th-place finish.

Dixon, the last driver to qualify on the 1.5-mile oval, recorded a four-lap average of 202.031 m.p.h. for his first IndyCar Series pole of the season. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver also earned a bonus point, as he attempts to defend his series title with just two races to go in the season.

"It's definitely all out for me," Dixon said. "We've got to try to gain obviously the pole point. It's only one, but it definitely helps. It's also good for the ego coming into the race, maybe confidence over some of the others." Dixon is now 32 points behind leader Ryan Briscoe, who qualified on the outside of row two.

Orthopedic specialist Dr.

Terry Trammell examined Power on Monday and determined the IndyCar driver sustained fractures of his second, third and fourth lumbar vertebrae and a fracture of his fifth thoracic vertebra in the crash. Trammell expects Power to recover with rehabilitation for the remainder of the year.

Briscoe, the pole sitter, encountered a fuel problem on his first pit stop and fell back as far as tenth. He made his way through the field before catching Dixon. The two exchanged the lead several times in the final laps, but Briscoe edged Dixon at the finish by .007 seconds -- the fourth closest finish in Indy Car Series history -- to claim his third victory of the season and the fifth of his career.

Mario Moraes finished a career-best third, while Dario Franchitti came in fourth. Graham Rahal was fifth.

Briscoe, the current IndyCar Series points leader, recorded a four-lap average of 215.364 m.p.h. to capture the pole at the 1.5-mile oval for the second year in a row. He was awarded one point for his pole victory, which gives the Australian driver a five-point advantage over Dario Franchitti in the championship standings with three races to go this season.

"Definitely at this point, we'll take any points we can get," Briscoe said. "It's an extra point for the pole." Briscoe qualified 0.07 seconds quicker than Castroneves, who secured the outside pole. Last year, Castroneves had to start from the rear of the field after Indy Racing League officials disallowed his time for running below the white line several times.

Franchitti started on the pole and avoided a seven-car pileup on the opening lap. He led all 75 laps, holding off Ryan Briscoe, to claim his fourth win of the season.

Briscoe finished second and captured the lead in the IndyCar Series championship standings. Briscoe holds a four-point advantage over Franchitti with just three races remaining this season.

Franchitti overcame a mishap during the Fast Six segment - the third and final session in qualifying - when he missed a turn and spun into the dirt. He cleaned the dirt off his tires in the closing minutes before turning in a lap around the 2.303-mile, 12-turn road course in one minute, 16.7987 seconds. Franchitti recorded his fourth pole of the season and the 10th of his IndyCar Series career.

"Sometimes you have to hang on to it as well, and sometimes you have to wheel around," Franchitti said after winning the pole at Sonoma for the second time. "Today I had a pretty good car. In a couple corners I had to commit to them and hang on, but in general the car was really good. I'm very happy to get the Target car on the pole for the race." Franchitti's first pole here cam

Power sustained two compression fractures in his lower back, while Philippe suffered an open fracture to his left foot.

Both drivers also sustained concussions. They were transported to nearby Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Dixon, the defending series champion, passed Justin Wilson for the lead on lap 36 when Wilson got caught up in lap traffic with Milka Duno. Dixon benefited from a quick late-race pit stop and then cruised to a 27-second margin of victory. It was his fourth win of the season.

Ryan Briscoe, the pole sitter, held off Dario Franchitti in the closing laps to finish second. Franchitti came in third, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Hideki Mutoh.

Briscoe, the current IndyCar Series points leader and last weekend's winner at Kentucky, threw down the fastest lap at 121.905 m.p.h. (one minute, 6.6814 seconds) in his No.6 Team Penske car.

His lap was .03 seconds faster than Wilson from Dale Coyne Racing. Both drivers ran on the softer Firestone "red" tires.

Briscoe and Carpenter battled side-by-side for the lead during the final 20 laps before Carpenter beat him to the finish line by 0.0162 seconds to claim his second victory of the season and the fourth of his IndyCar career. He had finished second in five of the last seven races.

Tony Kanaan finished third, followed by Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal.

Several storms have moved through the northern Kentucky area since Wednesday, dumping more than five inches of rain on the 1.5-mile track. The storms had passed on Friday, allowing crews to dry the track throughout the day, but their attempts were unsuccessful by the start time for qualifying.

Dixon, the defending IndyCar champion and last year's winner at Kentucky, was awarded the pole since entrant points determine the starting lineup. Dario Franchitti will start alongside his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate on the front row.

Brazil and Birmingham, AL will host first-time IndyCar events next year.

The season-opener will run March 14 on a series-designated circuit in Brazil. The IRL expects to announce the Brazilian venue at a later date.

Barber Motorsports Park and Indy Racing League officials announced Monday a three-year deal to bring the open-wheel circuit to Birmingham. The inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will run on April 11.

"This will be the only IndyCar Series race in the deep South, meaning it is a great tourist draw for the region," said Gene Hallman, president of Zoom Motorsports, which will promote the event.

Helio Castroneves finished second to give Penske a one-two finish at Edmonton.

Scott Dixon from Chip Ganassi Racing came in third and took a three-point lead over his teammate Dario Franchitti, who finished fifth.

Power lapped the 1.973-mile, 14-turn Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit in one minute, 1.0133 seconds (116.414 m.p.h.) to knock Briscoe off the pole position in the closing seconds.

The Aussie grabbed his second career IndyCar Series pole. His first one came in April at Long Beach, CA.

Ganassi's drivers, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, are at the head of the class with seven races remaining in the season. After his victory on the streets of Toronto, Franchitti reclaimed the lead in the series rankings. Dixon fell two points behind his teammate after finishing fourth.

Before his exodus to NASCAR, Franchitti won the 2007 IndyCar title in a thrilling conclusion to the season.