"If you build it, they will come," says the film Field of Dreams, and Iowa's racing jewel in the cornfields has never had trouble bringing the fans through the gates.
Unfortunately, it looks like the fans' diligence and dedication may be getting no reward but a rainstorm today. The chances of rain, according to the weather types, are fairly high beginning at 1PM in central Iowa. A quick gander at IndyCar's schedule for the day puts the green flag at 1:30PM. Hopefully the clouds can hold their drink from a couple of hours this afternoon and we can get this show in.
Another story will undoubtedly be "The Bump". Every year, the soil around that infield tunnel in the lower center of that photo above seems to settle just a little bit more and the asphalt of the track settles right with it. That puts a nice big bump in the track right at the apex of turns 1 & 2. Last year, the bump claimed its fair share of victims, and its bitten drivers in three of the Indy Racing classes so far: Charlie Kimball in the Indy Lights race, one of the Star Mazda cars in their race, and IndyCar's Milka Duno in qualifying. With the cloud cover today, the engines will be strong and the tires may not be as sticky, so the bump could be important.
Today's race is going to be an interesting one for predictions across the board because this is our one short oval of the day. Much in the way that road courses can highlight the talents of a great driver over the talents of great engineers, short tracks are generally the territory of the strong driver. The width and speed of this track do require some engineering prowess, but the drivers will still have to use their right foot to steer the cars. Therefore, today might be the day that the red cars are dethroned from the list of oval winners.
Winner: Tony Kanaan. Yes, I think TK might be the one to do it. After all, he was the last non-red driver to take the checkered flag on an IndyCar oval and that was at the similarly wide and short d-shaped oval in Richmond. Few drivers have shown the sheer ability to drive a car like Kanaan has over the last few races. His drive from 33rd to 2nd at Indianapolis was truly a sight to behold, and I don't think his relatively low starting position will be a problem today.
Dark Horse: Alex Tagliani. Tags is becoming sort of my permanent dark horse. The FAZZT Racing car has speed in it and Tags is a very capable driver. It helps quite a bit that few non-red drivers have had the qualifying consistency of the #77 car. Will that striking black, white, and copper car be able to operate in traffic and stay near the front? I think so.
Ninja Dark Horse: Takuma Sato. This pick is contingent entirely on one thing: the #5 KV Racing/Lotus car being on the track at the end of the race. KV Racing has been single-handedly keeping the carbon fiber industry in business this year with all the broken cars they've finished races with. However, Taku has only gotten better as the year has gone on and, should he see the checkered flag, there's no reason he shouldn't be in the top ten or even top five.
The Ladies: Much to the chagrin of the anti-hype haters, the one lady of the hour will likely be Danica Patrick. Andretti Autosport has suddenly found consistency after having the gauntlet thrown on their car-preparig abilities by their feisty young lady. After strong days in Indianapolis and Texas, I fully expect Danica to challenge the top five and easily be a top ten car. Simona de Silvestro, despite her clear talent, is way too far down the field for the start and a driver's oval like this is definitely not something she's got a lot of experience with. Sarah Fisher will be popular with the midwesterners, but that doesn't necessarily translate to speed; maybe top 20 for her. I'm putting my over/under on Milka Duno being pitted with "handling problems" at lap 20 -- place your bets now!
Unfortunately, I will not be anywhere near my TV during the race, as the bossman has called me into the office today. However, the DVR is set and ready to roll, so a review will be upcoming later tonight or tomorrow. Cheers!
Yeah! The oppressive regime has finally been upended...if only once (Castroneves hitting the mercy button with 10 laps to go? Never seen it before.) Nice pick!
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