FA: Preview - Denver.

The results of any of the Champ Car Atlantic races so far this year have been tough to predict and that doesn't look to be any different this weekend in Denver.

While several drivers remain in the thick of the chase for the series title, even more competitors appear poised for positive results this weekend on the 1.657-mile street circuit around the Pepsi Centre.

Despite a rookie-dominated field, no fewer than 10 Atlantic racers enter the Mile High city with experience competing on the Denver circuit. This roster includes several championship hopefuls who will be looking to make a statement at round 10 of 12 in the last street race on the '06 series calendar and the fifth Atlantic race run in the Colorado city.

Of course, several drivers will also be seeing their first action at Denver. Team Australia's Simon Pagenaud has had to overcome the obstacle of learning each track he's raced on this season. Despite the disadvantage, the French rookie has soared to the top of the Atlantic standings behind a win, four podiums and seven top-five finishes in nine races. He's even emerged as the man to beat in the first day on track at the venues that are new to him, leading the series with four first-day provisional pole positions.

Pagenaud will try to continue his opening-day success in his first time racing at Denver and he also brings a 26-point lead in the both the overall series championship and the Rookie of the Year battle into this weekend's racing.

Despite coming off a 12th-place finish last round on the streets of San Jose, Graham Rahal of Mi-Jack Conquest Racing has risen to a season-best second place in the series standings. The impressive 17-year-old American racer and son of racing legend Bobby Rahal does enjoy some Denver racing experience. He produced one of his top weekends of the 2004 Formula BMW USA season at the Pepsi Centre course, scoring third-and fourth-place finishes during the series doubleheader race weekend at the venue.

Like Pagenaud, Rahal has yet to claim a street-circuit win this season and he needs to make sure to finish ahead of his main title rival on Sunday in order to make up some ground in the standings with the '06 campaign hitting its stretch run.

Last season, Germany's Andreas Wirth earned his first Atlantic win at Denver, leading every lap and turning back a last-lap challenge in thrilling fashion. This year Wirth needs another good showing on the Denver streets to keep his championship dreams alive. Now third points, just 28 markers behind Pagenaud, the Forsythe Racing series second-year racer also ran at the venue in the '04 Formula BMW USA double dip, posting a pair of top-five results.

Wirth, who won the first two Atlantic events of the year, hopes to recapture the magic he discovered at Denver last season and break a tough stretch that's seen him finish 16th or lower in three of his last four starts.

Although American Jonathan Bomarito hasn't raced at Denver before, the 24-year-old California native has had a taste of success at the circuit. He served as a driver coach last season for his current PR1 Motorsports team at the Grand Prix of Denver. Bomarito, who has four top-fives and is 45 points out of the Atlantic series lead in fourth place entering this weekend, helped guide current Atlantic racer Alan Sciuto to his first series pole and his best series finish of second place in '05 at Denver for PR1. Bomarito will be looking to create his own excitement on track in his Denver debut.

Now racing for Polestar Racing Group, Sciuto had his coming out party last season in the Mile-High city. He became the youngest-ever pole winner in the history of Atlantic competition when he led both rounds of qualifying in Denver at age 17 in just his second series start. Though he's currently 10th in the season standings, Sciuto is confident that a return to the track where he experienced the most success in his short Atlantic career will spark a late-season run.

Another driver who hopes Denver carries good karma for him in his return is James Hinchcliffe of Forsythe Racing. This season's Portland race winner, "Hinch" owned the Denver weekend in '04. He captured both ends of the FBMUSA doubleheader and won a pole position two years ago on the Pepsi Centre course. After failing to finish each of the last two races while falling from fifth to ninth in the title hunt, the Canadian rookie will be looking to bounce back strong with a good effort on Sunday.

After completing every lap of competition this season, racing for two different teams, David Martinez returns to Denver. Rejoining the US RaceTronics team for this weekend, Martinez is sixth in the championship and he scored a fifth-place finish last year for the team on this course.

Two other talented young series racers also competed at Denver last season. Both 16-year-old Richard Philippe of Forsythe Racing and 19-year-old James Davison of Team Australia ran in last year's Formula BMW USA doubleheader at the circuit. Philippe, who went on to claim the '05 FBMWUSA title, owned finishes of second and seventh at the venue while Davison also claimed a runner-up result to go along with an 11th-place finish.

Steve Ott will be making his homecoming this weekend. Although he has no starts under his belt at Denver, Ott is a native or nearby Thornton, Colorado and he boasts several SCCA Rocky Mountain regional titles on his racing resume. The American rookie is looking forward to his Denver Atlantic debut in front of his friends and family.

Several other top series drivers will also be making their first Denver starts this weekend. Brazil's Danilo Dirani is coming off his first Atlantic podium and he's jumped back up to fifth in the standings for Condor Motorsports as he prepares for his first time racing at Denver. Fellow Brazilian Raphael Matos of Sierra Sierra Enterprises visits the Pepsi Centre for the first time as perhaps the series' hottest driver. Matos scored a wire-to-wire victory at San Jose two weeks ago and he's also won the last two Atlantic poles.

Coming off his top Atlantic finish of fifth place at Round 9 in San Jose, Forsythe Racing's Leonardo Maia will race in Denver for the first time, along with fellow Americans Joe D'Agostino of Newman Wachs Racing and Toronto winner Robbie Pecorari of Gelles Racing. Pecorari's Gelles teammate Colin Fleming, who looked strong in his first two series starts, also will race at Denver for the first time in his career.

British rookies Ryan Lewis of Mi-Jack Conquest Racing and Tim Bridgman of Epson Team Jensen will get their first taste of Denver street racing as well, coming off impressive performances. Lewis tied his best Atlantic result of second at San Jose while Bridgman claimed fourth place last round for his top finish of the season. Former Champ Car drivers Alex Barron of Polestar Racing Group and Alex Sperafico of Brooks Associates Racing will also race for the first time on the streets around the Pepsi Centre.

Americans Justin Sofio, Dan Selznick and Brian McAtee all competed in the 2005 Denver Atlantic race. Both Sofio, who earned his top finish of the season last round with an eighth-place run at San Jose, and Selznick scored top-10 results at the venue last year, while McAtee finished 15th. All three return to the circuit this weekend. Canadian rookie Mike Forest of PR1 Motorsports will make his first Denver start while Ricardo Vassmer of Venezuela will compete in his second series race and first in the Mile-High city.