That's 1938, and those are the "big cars" barreling into the first turn at the horse track at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. Today, there's less dirt, new grandstands, faster cars, and the track is called the Milwaukee Mile, but there is no denying the history of this place. The first automobile race at the Mile was held in 1903, making it the oldest continually-used, permanent race track in the world.
The list of champions at the Milwaukee Mile is just as good as the list of faces on the Borg-Warner Trophy. One of the track's early champions was America's first real auto racing star: Barney Oldfield. The list that follows includes such luminaries as Wilbur Shaw, Roger Ward, A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, and three different Unsers.
Recently, the track was affected by the open-wheel split and crowds fell off, leading some to believe Milwaukee would be taken off the schedule. But reunification seemed to be the antidote, and the crowd was very strong last year. As long as the momentum keeps going and the nation's economic struggles don't hit the race, Milwaukee should be a staple of the schedule for years to come.
Speaking of momentum, Helio Castroneves had a ton of it coming off of his third Indianapolis victory. Apparently he had a little too much, and the car broke wildly loose coming through Turn 1 during qualifying and could not be corralled before sliding into the Turn 2 wall. Helio will start the race from the outside of the tenth row.
Three teams are going through a transition period on the way into Milwaukee: A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Dreyer & Reinbold, and Team 3G. 3G came off its disappointment of not making the 500 looking for something good at the Mile, but Stanton Barrett found the wall instead; 3G was seen packing up the truck and it's possible Barrett won't be in the car next week in Texas. A.J. Foyt had to replace Vitor Meira after Meira's spectacular accident at Indianapolis that snapped a couple of vertebrae in his back; Foyt ended up hiring (for now) his Canadian alter-ego, Paul Tracy, whose hard-nosed attitude will fit nicely with that of his new boss. Dreyer & Reinbold, for whatever reason, decided to add some experience to the team by replacing Milka Duno with Tomas Scheckter in the #23 car.
My picks for tomorrow's race:
Winner: Ryan Briscoe. Briscoe dominated this race last year, and he hasn't slowed down a bit. He was near the top in practice 1, at the top in practice 2, and starting from the pole position. Simple pick here, I'd say.
Dark Horse: I think a surprise winner could come out of Row Three tomorrow. Since Mario Moraes is still has a level of inexperience that showed itself on Lap 1 at Indianapolis, I'm going to give the dark horse to Hideki Mutoh. Mutoh is with one of the better teams in the sport and he's been quick all weekend. He could pop up and shock the field if he can use his speed to stay ahead of the experienced folks behind him.
Ninja Dark Horse: Paul Tracy. In spite of some damage to his car caused by the Kanaan wreck at Indianapolis, Tracy still finished in the top ten and looked strong at various points. He's driving for the man the race is named after, and this track is much more suited to his driving style than the high-speed, aero-dependent oval at Indianapolis. He could be near the front when all is said and done, for sure.
Danica Watch: Watching at Danica is what we'll be doing a lot of tomorrow, since ABC is broadcasting the race. Reid, Goodyear, and Cheever will likely call her into the top ten tomorrow -- perhaps knocking on the top five. Her strong finish at Indianapolis will give her momentum and the fact that her contract is coming up with give her motivation to finish well as the season plays out.
Should be a fun race -- one of the few tracks where the drivers have to drive the car with the throttle and control things like wheelspin and acceleration oversteer. While the aero and chassis development of the top teams wins at places like Indianapolis, Milwaukee is one of the few tracks where the driver wins the race. 3:30, ABC, be there!
Side Note: I flickr'd up some photos from the 500-Mile Race. Check 'em out here
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