And Now, The Moment You've All Been Waiting For...

That's me, flippin' the ol' Colts calendar over to the best month ever...(okay, I'm about one hour early, but who's counting?)

Accomplished blogger/weatherman Will McCarty has a very important question for the world.

I would like to answer his question with an emphatic "YES!"

That most sacred of months for fans of American auto racing has arrived and, though the race itself is still three weeks off, the excitement is in the air around Indianapolis.

I do have a small issue in that I won't be able to attend Opening Day or Pole Day, but I plan to hit day 2 of qualifying, Carb Day, and the race itself. Excitement abounds in my heart just thinking about it...

Belated Review: Bahrain Grand Prix

So, I was dead freaking wrong with my predictions this time around. It's really annoying trying to make predictions for Formula One this year, because all the wrong people started winning. Little teams (read: teams that aren't Ferrari or McLaren) started winning, then I thought maybe other little teams could win races.

Then Brawn GP, now that it finally stopped raining for five seconds, made the strategy happen and took the win at Bahrain, with Jenson Button pulling in first position. My pick, Williams' Nico Rosberg looked good on Friday, then fell down the order on Saturday, finishing ninth in the Sunday race. It looked like Williams' Toyota-engined cousins from the factory team might find their way onto the top step of the podium for the first time ever, but ultra-consistent Jenson Button and ultra-excellent Sebastien Vettel could not be beat.

The big story going into this week (Wednesday, the 29th, in fact) will be the announcement of the penalty for McLaren's shenanigans at the Aussie GP. Just to recap, engineer Dave Ryan, who has since been sacked, and driver Lewis Hamilton claimed to the FIA that Lewis had not been told to allow Jarno Trulli to pass him under a safety car after Jarno spun for no reason. A subsequently-released radio transmission showed that Lewis had been told to let Jarno by. Jarno, who had been penalized for passing Lewis, was reinstated to his spot and Lewis was excluded from the results.

Bernie Ecclestone has said the FIA's über-penalty that will be revealed on Wednesday will be considered "fair", but he did not specify what it might be. It can range anywhere from a points reduction (doesn't the exclusion from the Aussie result count as a "points reduction"?) to a one-race suspension. If you ask me, I think this is all a lot of unnecessary smoke that's being blown. The FIA seems to be miffed that they were lied to about something that ended up being rather insignificant. Whatever helps Max Mosely sleep at night...

Bahrain Grand Prix Result:

1. BUTTON Brawn 1h31m48.18s
2. VETTEL Red Bull +7.1s
3. TRULLI Toyota +9.1s
4. HAMILTON McLaren +22.0s
5. BARRICHELLO Brawn +37.7s
6. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +42.0s
7. GLOCK Toyota +42.8s
8. ALONSO Renault +52.7s
9. ROSBERG Williams +58.1s
10. PIQUET Renault +1m05.1s
11. WEBBER Red Bull +1m07.6s
12. KOVALAINEN McLaren +1m17.8s
13. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +1m18.8s
14. MASSA Ferrari +1 lap
15. FISICHELLA Force India +1 lap
16. SUTIL Force India +1 lap
17. BUEMI Toro Rosso +1 lap
18. KUBICA BMW +1 lap
19. HEIDFELD BMW +1 lap
20. NAKAJIMA Williams +9 laps

Swing for the Fences!

Making one of the more remarkable images of Sunday afternoon, Carl Edwards' #99 flipped off the nose of Ryan Newman's car and into the track's crash fence on the final lap of the Aaron's 499 at Talladega.

For some reason, it's not nearly as surprising to me to see an IndyCar or F1 car flip because they look small, light, and fragile. A NASCAR stocker, especially when it goes airborne at a place like Daytona or Talladega, looks like a 3-year-old picked up a matchbox car and threw it. There's a surrealism to seeing a sort-of-normal-looking car flipping through the air under control of nothing but the wind that is very hard to describe -- until the surreal grace of it turns into the violence of a racing accident, that is.

The violence of the contact was the story of the race, in spite of the rookie winner and the two earlier large wrecks. Edwards' car tore out a decent bit of the crash fencing, spewing bits of debris into the crowd and injuring eight fans. The key thing here is that, in spite of being hit by a 3,500-pound car, the fence did its job and the car landed on the track.

There were two aspects of the reaction to the accident that seem to be typical of NASCAR these days. First of all, there was complaining of the highest caliber. It's always understandable in the aftermath of an incident such as this that there will be comments on the safety of the sport. Tony Stewart has something to say after every race about the safety of the tires or cars or other drivers on the track. Anyone who is in an accident has something to say about the other guy. It's just natural.

The other thing typical of NASCAR that came out of this, notably from Carl Edwards himself, was ignorance of history. Edwards, citing the pack racing and speed of restrictor plate racing, says the following: "We're going to keep doing this until someone is killed." Edwards obviously doesn't know the incident that brought about the use of restrictor plates: Bobby Allison's wreck in 1987. Doesn't that look familiar? It's about 20 mph faster, and a little further down the track, but it looks a lot like exactly what Edwards did yesterday. Besides, it wasn't plate racing that caused the wreck, it was Edwards trying to throw a block and spinning out. Not only is he ignoring history, but he's trying to pass blame for the incident onto someone else. Claaasssssy.

Now, we also have to give some credit to the fence that tops the retaining wall around Talladega and many other racetracks around the nation. Back in the early days of motorsport, spectators would die as cars came off the track and into the crowd. Fences became the norm into the '40's and the fans have been grateful ever since. In IndyCar racing, the most notable incident has to be Salt Walther's flip into the fence at the start of the 1973 500-Mile Race.
Walther's car exploded on impact, showering fuel into the grandstands on the front stretch. Luckily, the fuel didn't ignite until the car was pinwheeling down the front stretch, or there may have been a Le Mans 1955-esque disaster. In the Walther situation, though, the fence kept more substantial pieces of debris (say, a whole car) from finding its way into into the crowd.

In fact, catch fences are almost too strong these days. On TV, the fence at Indianapolis looks like...well, a fence. In person, it is a tangle of big, steel cables and giant posts that will stop anything that comes anywhere near it. Tony Renna's car was shattered and he was killed when his car hit the Speedway's catch fence in a tire test in 2003. At Texas, Kenny Brack's car was annihilated when it ran into the fencing in 2003, and Ryan Briscoe had a similar experience at Chicago in 2005. Still, it must be noted that nothing but splinters of carbon fiber went past the fence, even though there weren't spectators at the site of either one. All substantial pieces of car were kept within the bounds of the competition.

Okay, there was no particular message or complaint to this post. I just wanted to comment on safety fences and the fact that they, y'know, protect the fans. I love 'em and they give me the confidence to sit in the lower sections of the B Stand when the 11 rows of 3 come flying down the stretch for the start of the 500-Mile Race.

Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 Pseudo-Live Blog

Hold onto your hats, folks! The wind is a-blowin and the skies are ugly above Kansas City, KS, but they're still lining the cars up and getting ready to roll.

A brief look into the radar scope tells me that there is a giant, nasty thunderstorm not too far to the west of Kansas Speedway, but the wind is sending all of that northeast past Kansas City. However, there is a big green blob of rain on the radar that has been splitting off to the east of the main storm and that looks to be what will cause problems. No tornado warnings like yesterday, but lots of wind and possibly some rain.

All reports and highlights of the Indy Lights race that I've seen show a massive war of attrition against the wind. Turns 3 & 4 looked like a parking lot/junkyard as cars were spinning, crashing, and flipping all over the place. If the IndyCar drivers are all winding around in their trademark crazy packs of cars, there could easily be many problems. More to come as the race moves along...

4:28, pre-race
Danica's hair is all over the place as she interviews Robbie Floyd about her win last year at Motegi. Obligatory shot of her Shape Magazine cover -- yellow bikinis and airbrushed muscles ahoy!

4:30, pre-race
Obligatory package about Helio. From what I've heard through various sources, he was in some sort of court case...something about money and the government not getting enough and coming up with elaborate conspiracy theories to get $5 mil...


Video of Helio's reaction to the Danica Patrick magazine cover. He tries desperately to avoid a harassment lawsuit and says, "She look fit...nice magazine" Something like that.

4:36, pre-race
Hey, it's Rick Mears! If he jumped in a car and got a few refresher laps, how many of the current drivers do you think he'd whip? I'd say a lot.

4:43, pre-race
As an owner, Robbie Buhl does not like the wind. He also points out some captain obviousness and says you don't want to wreck your car because you don't want to spend the early part of May fixing it. Good work...

4:44, pre-race
Predictions! Arute: Dixon, Thackston: Kanaan, Floyd: Wheldon, Beekhuis: Dixon, Buhl: Dixon, Jenkins: Castroneves. Everyone sees Doornbos as having the best shot of the non-winners except Jenkins, who is looking at Sarah Fisher for that honor.

4:47, pre-race
The Washington Capitals won game 6 of their first round series against the Rangers! Good show, Caps! Give 'em hell!

4:50, pre-race
"Transformers, robots in disguise!" It's still cloudy and windy...can barely hear the command to start engines and it sounds like the IRL officials calling the "hot" engines are struggling through the wind.

4:53, pre-race
Cars are rolling. It really feels like Barnhart is hurrying the start so we can get as much action in as possible

4:54, pre-race
Looks like pressdog and the defender should've brought a few more friends; the stands don't look too great. I suppose there are some road blockages and such from the storms to the west.

Lap 1
We're green! The red cars of...er...N/H/L lead the pack through 1 & 2. Dixon already through to 2nd.

Lap 3
Carpenter holding his own against Dan Wheldon...surprise to me

Lap 5
Kanaan thought about going three wide...not a good plan in this wind, friend.

Lap 7
He goes 3-wide anyway...

Lap 9
Dixon past Rahal for the lead! Who would've thought? He's already faaar away from Rahal.

Lap 12
The front runners are spreading out a bit. Maybe Barnhart said they should stay cool because of the wind.

Lap 15
YELLOW! Vitor backs off and Helio sticks his front wing where it don't belong. Wings all over the track, but Helio might be able to continue.

Lap 17
Looks like Vitor got loose in a gust of wind and Helio had nowhere to go. Tough break for all. Helio pits to remove debris, will change nose on the full-on pit stops.

Lap 18
Pit stops! Butts are whipped mercilessly by Robert Doornbos. Looks like in his haste to get out, he knocked Graham Rahal's tire all over a crewman.

Lap 19
Doornbos bent over Barnhart's knee, spanked thoroughly, and sent to the back of the field.

Lap 22
Restart! Dixon leads....for the moment. Rahal impatient and tries the outside in 1 & 2

Lap 23
Dixon holds the spot

Lap 24
"Look how close they are at 208 mph!" Bob Jenkins has a Scott Goodyear moment there...stop that!

Lap 28
Danica lost a couple spots when the lapped E.J. Viso drifts up the track towards her in Turn 3.

Lap 33
Helio is on a mission...a mission from God. He moves up from the back, broke his wing, then moved back up to 11th.

Lap 36
Helio moves to the top 10

Lap 37
We do they only do the full-screen advertisements during green flag racing? Even as a member of the industry, I do not understand...

Lap 43
Viso throws in the towel. Maybe suspension damage when that wing hit him?

Lap 46
Kanaan showing us how difficult is it to go high in 3 & 4...lots of wheel-sawing and loose car-ness.

Lap 49
Meira says Hideki Mutoh balked him, which led to the slowdown, which led to Helio punting him off the track.

Lap 52
Holy nuts...Wheldon climbed waaaay up the track in a wind gust.

Lap 56
3-Wide madness on the back stretch. Danica, Helio, and some other tiny car on the side-by-side. Kanaan passes Rahal for 2nd.

Lap 64
Kanaan is definitely closing the gap to Dixon...must really want to shave Dario's head. Briscoe looking for third from Rahal.

Lap 69
Pit stops ahoy! Seemingly everyone but Dixon and his magical fuel system into the pit lane.

Lap 72
Dixon in the pits! Let's see where he comes out as Helio also on his way in...

Lap 74
Dixon leads after pit stops by over 3 seconds...please, no more suspense!

Lap 80
Jack Arute tells us that the rains are inching ever closer. Looks like they'll beat halfway and maybe get to Lap 150.

Lap 83
Remember how Dan Wheldon seemed to have a different paint job every week last year? Yeah...that's still the same now that Dario's in the car.

Lap 87
Dixon has lapped up to 14th position. This has quickly dissolved into more of a parade than the street races...

Lap 93
Briscoe all over Kanaan for 2nd. Looks like he'll get him.

Lap 97
Rafa Matos apparently found some wall action. Right-front tire not pointed in the right direction at all. He lost the air following Moraes, drove right up the track into the wall.

Lap 99
Pit stops! Right at halfway, too. Briscoe beats everyone, followed by Kanaan, Dixon, and Castroneves.

Lap 101
Halfway through! If it rains now, it's all over. The race is only 52 minutes old...

Lap 102
Arute tells us that, in order to win a race, it's good to be up front...Thanks, Jack.

Lap 104
I assumed we'd be green two laps ago. There was like...no debris on that wreck.

Lap 105
Restart! Dixon wants second and takes it. Lots of side-by-side back in the pack. Dario loses a lot of ground.

Lap 112
Jack Arute definitely just smashed an egg in his hand. Art of the highest caliber there.

Lap 118
The top 8 are in a big straight line. Where's the urgency over the rain? I want silly, Viso-esque crazy moves!

Lap 121
Helio tries to pass Kanaan, but can't. Settles back into the line of monotony.

Lap 124
Dario takes 8th! How interesting is that? Yeah, I feel like I'm being lulled to sleep right now.

Lap 131
VERSUS cuts away right as Castroneves sticks his nose up the back of Kanaan's car. According to timing and scoring, Helio took the spot...I'm glad I got to see it happen...oh wait

Lap 138
Well, as least they went back and showed us the pass. Hey look! M***a D**o is slow as crap!

Lap 140
Dario wants 6th from Danica, but Barrett balks the nuts off of him and Dario falls waaaaaay back.

Lap 143
Danica playing the "Jaws" music for Graham Rahal. Carpenter decided he doesn't like Wheldon being in 8th and takes it.

Lap 149
Being in traffic must be a problem, 'cause everyone who leads runs away

Lap 151
Dario must be hella fast and....he's so fast he runs up into the wall. Timely wreck, Dario. YELLOW! Ryan Briscoe was slowing to pit and he got screwed by the yellow.

Lap 152
Dario was following Rahal to the pits, Rahal slowed a lot, and Dario actually locked his brakes on the backstretch. That doesn't work on ovals.

Lap 155
Pit stops! Dixon out first, Helio follows behind, then Kanaan, Briscoe, and Marco.

Lap 157
I was ABOUT to say that Dario was really hauling. He had passed Danica and probably would've been by Rahal with about 45 laps left. Then he kind of...went a little too fast.

Lap 159
Ah, a retrospective about Tony Hulman. The man is almost single-handedly responsible for making the sport what it is...oh, and there's a race in Kansas.

Lap 161
Some of the most beautiful words I've heard all day: "no conserving fuel"

Lap 165
Danica apparently slaughtered Marco on the restart. he's waaay behind right now.

Lap 170
30-ish to go, it's Dixon, Helio, Kanaan, Briscoe, Danica. They're far adrift of the res of the field and, in fact, starting to split up a bit themselves.

Lap 177
Jack Arute mentions that the wind has died down some. That bodes well for the race for the finish.

Lap 180
20 to go. It's looking like Dixon vs. Helio at the moment, the next three have lost some ground to Dixon.

Lap 184
We could use a "debris caution" to liven things up a bit here. Dixon makes oval racing so boring sometimes.

Lap 185
Rahal desperate for 7th, goes three wide with Mutoh and a lapped Barrett.

Lap 190
10 to go. Dixon still far adrift of the field. Yawn.

Lap 195
5 to go, same story, different lap.

Lap 200
Dixon takes the white flag, still running away with this one.

Checkered Flag
Scott Dixon wins going away! Castroneves, Kanaan, Briscoe, Patrick, Andretti, Rahal, Mutoh, Carpenter, Wheldon.

The wind make this a rather uninteresting race -- well, I think it was the wind. It seemed like, if you got close to any other cars, yours would go silly and lose touch with what you wanted it to do. I'm really hoping it had nothing to do with the chassis or the wing settings or whatever, because that would take away one of the IRL's most marketable aspects.

My predictions: I certainly got the winner right. It's usually not a good idea to bet against Ganassi racing, especially when a driver like Dixon had been having a bad season so far. Good work there by those guys.

Dark Horse: Graham Rahal didn't do too badly for himself in 7th, but he was nowhere near the top guys. Newman/Haas/Lanigan is a good team, but they're still behind on the ovals.

Ninja Dark Horse: Robert Doornbos looked like he would be fast and running near the front...until he ran all over Graham Rahal's tire in the pit lane. The penalty for doing that took him out of the lead and stuck him in a no-man's-land of turbulence and traffic.

Danica Watch: ...was pretty spot-on. She did all the right stuff, stayed out of trouble, didn't bite anyone's head off, and finished fifth. She was in the lead pack towards the end, but this race was not conducive to pack racing and she didn't really have a shot at the lead. Good work for her, though.

Sarah Watch: She kept the car clean and completed 199 of the 200 laps. The car is in one piece and you can bet she'll be ready for May 6, opening day of practice at Indianapolis.

That's it for Kansas. It was a lot more controlled than the Indy Lights race apparently was, and only one of the incidents could really be attributed to the wind. (Matos washing out and drifting into the wall) The IndyCar series is off for the next four weeks because, finally, it is the month of May. The next race is the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. Oh lord, I cannot wait.

Yellow Shirt Preview: Road Runner Turbo Indy 300

Well, it's Little 500 weekend here in Bloomington, (if you don't know what that is, rent the movie "Breaking Away") so I really was not able to write coherently yesterday and do a good preview.

Fear not, my friends, because I have recovered my senses, woken myself up, and cranked up my DVR to start a massive day of sports goodness: F1 from Bahrain, Capitals vs. Rangers Game 6 (Let's Go Caps!), and the IRL's first oval event of the year. I must say, that last one excites me to no end because it feels like the IndyCar season really has officially started. We're ditching the street carnivals and unleashing 22 cars in anger on a 1.5-mile bullring.

The IRL made one really fantastic decision for oval events like Kansas: they condensed the event into two days, saving smaller teams like Sarah Fisher Racing untold amounts of money and making the weekend feel much more succinct.

Now, when things picked up yesterday, the practice sessions seemed pretty straightforward; all the right people were making noise at the top of the charts and the established order seemed to be in place once again and all was right with the world. Then qualifying came and...Graham Rahal won pole?! It almost seemed like an afterthought when he came out to make the last run of the day, then he slammed down the accelerator and put in a fantastic four-lap run. Rahal will certainly be set up for a good run at a track where you might not expect him to: a big, banked super speedway.

On to my picks for the race. Race winner: Scott Dixon. Dixon has had more bad luck than I did when I tried to ford rivers in Oregon Trail. In St. Pete, Will Power's brain freeze put Dixon in the back of the field, where he ended up locked in a battle he didn't need to be in which put him into the wall. In Long Beach, he punted E.J. Viso off the track, then got nailed under caution by Ryan Briscoe. He's back in his element on a big track with aero, drafting, and slamming your right foot down being the important things and he should thrive.

Dark Horse: Graham Rahal. That qualifying run couldn't have been pure luck. There is speed in gigantic gobs in that McDonald's car and, with a top-ten time in morning warm-up, I'm guessing Graham will be able to hang with the lead pack for much of the race. At a track like Kansas, if you're anywhere near the leader, you've got a chance to find your way into the lead.

Ninja Dark Horse: Robert Doornbos. I almost neglected to mention the fact that Bobby D is starting second, locking off the front row for Newman/Haas/Lanigan. He's back in 12th on the time sheets for morning warm-up, but things may change when he and his teammate lead the field to the green. It'll be very interesting to see how Doornbos does with his very first oval race, but I think a driver of his caliber can get used to it fast and make some noise by the end.

Danica Watch: The outlook is very good for Danica today, with a starting spot on the second row of the grid. If she can just stay out of trouble and play the fuel game correctly, she could easily be in the top five at the end...perhaps even in the top spot overall.

SARAH Watch: Sarah Fisher is back on the track, and what a great thing that is! It's going to be fantastic just to see her take laps and make her presence known on the speedways. If she can just finish the race and get a little camera time for sponsor Dollar General, it will be fantastic. I trust her to get her car to the end of the race, but I don't trust the drivers around her; she is starting next to Milka Duno, after all.

Should be a fun time. (weather permitting, I should point out) It's great to have an oval race once again, and it's great to know that we are but four weeks away from the greatest of them all. May is coming, folks; let's finish off April with a bang!

The SAFER Barrier

Every once in a while, an incident occurs that makes us look at the SAFER barrier that exists around nearly every paved oval in America and thank Tony George and the University of Nebraska for inventing the thing.

In a practice session for the Indy Lights race at Kansas, Richard Phillipe got loose and pulled a dirt track-style slide through the turn. As he was straightening the car out, he just barely tagged the car of Ali Jackson, whose car gave a wiggle, then speared nose-first into the outside wall.

Look here, click "Firestone Indy Lights" on the left, and pick "Kansas Crash" on the menu at the right.

Were there a solid concrete wall in front of Jackson, he could have been heavily injured, if not killed outright, and his car would probably be a total write-off. Instead, Jackson is currently recovering in the paddock, the team is rebuilding the car, and they hope to have Jackson on the track for qualifying.

Racing still isn't completely safe by any means, but in about 20 or 30 years, we've gone from injuries being expected to serious injuries being a rare occurrence. Good work by all who have brought this change about.

Yellow Shirt Preview: Bahrain Grand Prix

After two straight rounds of waterlogged F1, it's wonderful to jump into the desert and see these cars get driven to their max.

For once, it seems like the focus this weekend might be on the race itself, which is certainly refreshing. Of course, there will be a major story within the race that will certainly affect the outcome: the heat. The first image you see when the cameras are switched on will be heat haze by the ton-and-a-half. The heat will make the track slick, it will be death to the tires, and, most importantly, the engines will be mighty toasty. These cars are designed to take the heat, but you can only run an engine at 19,000 RPM in a dry heat so much before problems start to occur. In practice, there were a few instances of drivers backing off to get some free air in order to keep the engines cool. Look for attrition in the form of smoke coming out of the cars for sure.

As for the race, it's hard to know for sure what will happen. I will point out that, in spite of the fact that I'm posting on Saturday afternoon, I still have no idea what has happened in qualifying -- gotta keep in the spirit of all my other previews, y'know. In hundred-degree weather like this, I like to look at who holds the most consistency through the two practice sessions. Judging by the results of the Friday sessions, I see the Williams-Toyotas looking very strong for Friday. Nico Rosberg certainly has winning in his blood, with his father Keke making noise in Frank Williams' first cars. Since this year is all about firsts -- first wins for Brawn and Red Bull -- I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Williams finds its way back onto the top step of the podium with Nico Rosberg.

Review: Chinese Grand Prix

Holy wonton soup, Batman! The Formula 1 boys can't seem to escape the rain anymore! Those poor, water-logged folks in the stands sure got a fun show, though.

When I made my picks for the race a few days back, I wasn't quite aware that rain was in the forecast for Sunday in Shanghai. I figured Brawn GP would be all over it again, with their trick diffusers and their voodoo magic. I didn't quite count on F1's new Regenmeister Sebastian Vettel beating the snot out of everyone in Red Bull Racing's well-deserved first victory.

Now, I only call Vettel "Regenmeister" because both of his F1 victories came in awfully wet conditions (the first was last year in Monza). However, that doesn't mean he needs it to rain to take home a victory. In his first-ever F1 race, replacing an injured Robert Kubica for BMW-Sauber at Indianapolis in 2007, he took home points. Last year, he took a notoriously bad team (Toro Rosso, formerly Minardi) and made it one of the "best-of-the-rest" behind Ferrari and McLaren. This year, he has looked strong before some untimely accidents, but he put up a stunning pole position (in the dry, mind) at Shanghai.

This kid is easily the second coming of Michael Schumacher, except he actually seems to have a personality. He has brought maiden victories to two different F1 teams (Toro Rosso, and Red Bull) -- Jackie Stewart was the last driver to manage that one (Matra and Tyrrell). He was technically a BMW man on loan to the Red Bull teams, but it's entirely feasible that he end up with Red Bull exclusively. If Adrian Newey keeps making good cars, Vettel could easily go on to bigger and better things.

As for the race itself, it was kinda difficult to watch. Rain races are fun, but I never like seeing one right after the last one had to be stopped early for weather. Wet races are fun and can be a nice change, but they get old fast. We've hear all this great stuff about new aerodynamics and the trick diffusers (which, i neglected to mention, Red Bull did not have) and KERS and all this other stuff, but we haven't really gotten good looks at this stuff. The 1.1-kilometer straight at Shanghai would've been the perfect showcase for the new stuff.

Instead, there were crashes galore, electrical glitches, and total domination from Red Bull Racing. Good thing we're in a desert next week...I could use a break from the rain.

Result: Chinese Grand Prix
1. VETTEL Red Bull 1h57m43.49s
2. WEBBER Red Bull +11.0s
3. BUTTON Brawn +45.0s
4. BARRICHELLO Brawn +1m03.7s
5. KOVALAINEN McLaren +1m05.1s
6. HAMILTON McLaren +1m11.9s
7. GLOCK Toyota +1m14.5s
8. BUEMI Toro Rosso +1m16.4s
9. ALONSO Renault +1m24.3s
10. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +1m31.8s
11. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +1m34.2s
12. HEIDFELD BMW +1m35.8s
13. KUBICA BMW +1m46.9s
14. FISICHELLA Force India +1 lap
15. ROSBERG Williams +1 lap
16. PIQUET Renault +2 laps
R. SUTIL Force India +6 laps
R. NAKAJIMA Williams +13 laps
R. MASSA Ferrari +36 laps
R. TRULLI Toyota +38 laps

Forty

That is the number of cars that, should all of them find pilots, will try to qualify for the 93rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

All things considered, that's a pretty spectacular number. It has been some time indeed since we've seen this many available rides this early in the process. In the darkest of days, they would qualify 30 cars, then some magical voodoo work would be performed by Tony George and we would have 33 cars after Bump Day. Recently, we've had 32 or 33 in the field before Bump Day, then a few drivers would spend time tossing each other off of the starting grid.

Now, I understand fully that, in all likelihood, not all 40 cars will be filled by the time Bump Day rolls around, but the possibility of it is kinda fun to think about. Of note in the entry list:

-Sarah Fisher has spent her time well since getting knocked out last year by Marco and Kanaan's little tiff in Turn 3. She has two chassis for herself (67, 67T), plus another (68) that she will probably give to the highest bidder to qualify.

-Hemelgarn Racing is back! The old #91, which took victory in 1996 with Buddy Lazier at the helm, will be back. The entry names a fellow called "TBA" as the driver, but I think he will be replaced by the much more experienced Lazier when the gates open at the Speedway.

-KV Racing Technology has entered three cars. (5-Moraes, 15-Tracy, 8-TBA) Honestly, I'm not sure what to take out of this. Jimmy Vasser has stated explicitly that he does not plan to run the 500. Who gets the nod for the 8 car, then? I'll get back to that in a bit...

-Dale Coyne is feeling optimistic after the good showing by Justin Wilson in St. Pete. He's put in two entries (18, 19). "TBA" is listed as the driver there as well. (he gets a lot of nods on the 500 entry lists, it seems)

-A.J. Foyt Enterprises, as expected, entered a car for grandson A.J. IV (41). However, he has also thrown a third car (48) onto the list just for kicks. A.J. made a great move hiring Felipe Giaffone, who was out buying baby clothes, back in 2005. Maybe we see Giaffone, or someone like that, jumping into the #48.

-Dreyer & Reinbold, who are good at teaming up with other organizations to enter lots of cars, is one of two four-car teams on the entry list (the other is Andretti/Green, natch). The 24 (Conway), 43 (J. Andretti), and 44 (Hamilton) are filled, but it remains to be seen who will sit in the 23 car. The arrangement was supposed to be Darren Manning for the twisty tracks and M***a D**o for the speedways, but that's obviously up in the air for the 500.

-Roth Racing has two entries (25, 52), but Mad Dog Marty is (thank the high heavens) not listed the driver for either. I'm guessing Marty will end up in one of the cars eventually, but you never know. I couldn't begin to tell who would end up in the second car.

Drivers NOT listed in this group (that I can think of off-dome):

-Tomas Scheckter: His sponsor, Rockstar Energy Drink, decided to pull the plug on Tomas' ride with 3G after they decided 3G's part-owner Stanton Barrett was a bad driver and, therefore, had a bad team. I don't know about all that, since that's mainly down to Barrett's lack of skillz, but 3G has only put one entry into the 500. If Jimmy Vasser doesn't pull himself out of a hat and drive the #8 KV Racing car, I see Tomas getting put in there to make one of the most underrated three-car teams in the race.

-Buddy Rice: Dreyer & Reinbold's decision to drop Buddy and go with Mike Conway has obviously paid great dividends for them (check the points table to the right). I don't see D&R trying to make things right with the #23, but I do see Buddy's old boss Bobby Rahal giving him a ring and putting him in the #17. Remember, Buddy was Rahal/Letterman's most successful driver, taking the rain-shortened 500 in 2004.

-Buddy Lazier: As I mentioned earlier, I see Lazier getting put in his old digs: the #91 Hemelgarn car. Lazier gave this team so much success in the earlier years of the IRL, and I wouldn't mind seeing a nice, nostalgic reunion of those two.

-Arie Luyendyk, Jr.: Arie Jr. nearly put a car into the field in 2005, but he was bumped out by better car/driver combos. He also got essentially no practice that time around, which is probably what beat down his attempt. Perhaps he can take some time from his Indy Lights broadcasting and give the 500 another shot. Who knows where he'd end up, though.

-There are lots of others out there, like Giaffone, Alex Barron, and some other folks I can't think of. I have a feeling these guys could get looks at rides, and I also think we might see some Indy Lights drivers find their way into the race.

All in all, the 500-Mile Race is shaping up to be a good one, and I for one can't wait for that first digit in the date to switch over to "5". Heck, it even looks like we might have the first interesting Bump Day in many years -- maybe since 1995, when Team Penske failed to make the field.

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Pseudo-Live Blog

Hello one and all. I got in a little late because I had to return some rented camping gear (the weather was beee-autiful last night...until the wind and rain picked up), but I've cranked up the VERSUS and I just heard a spectacular diatribe from Danica from St. Pete to her car owner, Michael Andretti, about how dumb Rafa Matos' move in Turn 11 was. It's one thing to make fun of her for saying she would be less angry, then going off on Matos like that, but I think if Mahatma Gandhi had been driving the car, he would've been steamed.

I checked the weather for Long Beach -- sunny and 90 degrees -- and I looked out my own window -- cloudy, rainy, 55 degrees -- and I an entirely jealous of the people who are there. Looks like a spectacular day for racing, and I'm looking forward to watching them take to the track

4:09, pre-race
The picks are in from the VERSUS crew. "Roulette" Arute: Will Power, "Action" Thackston: Franchitti, "Full House" Floyd: Franchitti, "Professor" Beekhuis: Franchitti, "Dice" Buhl: Briscoe, "Black Jack" Jenkins: Franchitti. Hell yeah, Jack Arute. Everyone on the VERSUS squad is also saying Will Power has a huge chance to take the win.

4:13, pre-race
Pretty sweet tribute to the awesomeness of Long Beach by VERSUS. Still not as good as the Sam Posey F1 intros, though...

4:15, pre-race
"Drivers, start your engines!" 21 cars hot and ready to go.

4:17, pre-race
Will Power's car kinda..forgot to go from pit lane. Like Helio last year at Indy, he can get restarted and have his spot back. He DID get rolling, so all is good.

4:20, pre-race
Will's having trouble with the radio. Sounds like it's unplugged or something. Pit board man is out to help him out.

4:21, pre-race
Tony Kanaan's maroon Dr. Pepper car weirds me out. It'll be awkward picking him out of the crowd without the familiar green and white.

Lap 1
We're green in Long Beach. Down they come to the first corner and...Will Power beats everyone through by a mile and everyon'e through clean. Awkward side-by-side with Helio and Kanaan in the fountain turn. Matos to second. Everyone through the back stretch and hairpin clean.

Lap 2
Everyone and their mothers impressed with the fact that all of the cars are still running at the moment.

Lap 3
Matos got ahead of Wilson quickly, but Wilson really, REALLY wants that spot back. Jack Arute just said Stirling Moss is dead...did I miss something?!

Lap 6
Franchitti through on Justin Wilson for 3rd. Jenkins seems to have forgotten how the in-car cams go out when the cars go under the convention center.

Lap 8
Ah. A lovely shot of the old R.M.S. Queen Mary. What a spectacular location Long Beach is...

Lap 9
Spectacular overhead shot of the start and how Will Power goosed Franchitti into being asleep on the start. Looks like Franchitti backed off to stay in line, then Power smashed down the accelerator.

Lap 11
Helio holding down a solid 8th right now. Graham Rahal can probably hear the "Jaws" music playing in his head with that red and white car behind him. Jon Beekhuis provides amazing insight, noting how Wilson is backing off early in the tighter turns to save fuel. Nice work, Jon.

Lap 14
Reasons I love street racing: Tony Kanaan is under pressure from Mario Moraes in the KV Racing car.

Lap 15
Dario putting on pressure for second and taking it in Turn 1!

Lap 16
Mike Conway gets tangled up in the tires at Turn 1. No yellow as of yet. Franchitti, assuming there was a yellow forthcoming, is in the pits. Nice ribbing of Conway's owner/VERSUS broadcaster Robbie Buhl in the booth.

Lap 17
Something crazy happened to Will Power, he slowed, and E.J. Viso got punted into the wall, catching a little air. YELLOW!

Lap 18
Dario almost looked like a fool for coming into the pits because the IRL held the yellow flag for Conway's wreck. However, with the Viso wreck, Dario and fellow early-pitter Danica (who just had a silly VERSUS ad. "This isn't Miniature Golf") look to be in the right spots at the right time.

Lap 19
Power slowed for no reason in Turn 5, then on the run to Turn 6, Power cut off Dixon a bit who ran into Viso. Pit stops coming!

Lap 20
Will Power and Helio Castroneves first out of the pits (because they're on the best team). Several cars did NOT pit, led by Kanaan, who is now in 1st.

Lap 21
Jon Beekhuis is explaining what brake bias is and how it works on an IndyCar. Nice explaination. Cars that didn't pit: Kanaan, Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Doornbos, Andretti, Meira, Dario, Carpenter, and Danica.

Lap 22
Restart. Briscoe thinks about the lead, but doesn't do it. Kanaan now pulling away a bit on Seaside Way.

Lap 23
Hunter-Reay slips out of the hairpin and Doornbos takes advantage in Turn 1. E.J. Viso no happy about Dixon moving into his business and breaking the car. HEY-OOO! HUGE wreck at the hairpin. Domino effect of collisions and five cars ended up stacked on each other in the middle of the track. Not much damage here, though...

Lap 25
Dixon was the first to make contact and has a little gonk on his wing. Moraes hit him, Wilson hit Moraes, road blocked up fast. The track is cleared now, though. It's nice that they decided to wreck in such a slow turn.

Lap 26
Wilson in the pit with an obviously-broken right rear suspension. Tough break for the tall man from England.

Lap 27
Some of the folks who didn't pit before are in now. Notable in their absence from pit lane are Marco Andretti and Ed Carpenter who, I believe, never came in. Maybe they did, though...Cool shot of Wilson's suspension going out as he came around from the wreck...

Lap 29
Marco adds to the long line of Andrettis to lead in Long Beach. Good show for the kid.

Lap 30
Stanton Barrett getting freight-trained because he was too close to the front for everyone's liking.

Lap 31
*Looks at timing and scoring* How long has Hideki Mutoh been parked? I'd like to hear what that's about.

Lap 33
Marco and Carpenter into the pits. Danica was all over Ed for third, but now she moves to second behind Dario.

Lap 34
Danica must've been held up bad by Carpenter, 'cause Dario has faaaaded into the distance.

Lap 36
Danica actually caught up a bit on the last lap. She's got quite a train of cars behind her, though.

Lap 37
Barrett inexplicably parked again for the second straight week. Looks like Dario is conserving fuel since he has a huge gap on Danica. She has to drive a bit harder because of the train behind her.

Lap 39
Highlight of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race (one of the coolest events ever). Al Jr. took the pro division at his favorite racetrack in the world. Keanu Reeves bored the audience by taking the celeb division.

Lap 40
T&S tells me there's a yellow, and we return from the ad break to see Ed Carpenter's yellow machine parked in the tires.

Lap 41
After seeing an F1 car get broken by a styrofoam number board last night, it's good to see that so many cars are hitting tires and still going today. Nice tribute to Al Unser and his awesome '87 Indy victory there.

Lap 42
Restart! Dario runs off from Danica a bit. Not much action further back -- perhaps Brian Barnhart has gotten on the radio and told people to chill out.

Lap 44
I didn't watch qualifying yesterday, so I hadn't seen Danicas wreck. She's doing great, all things considered.

Lap 46
Lots of overtake action just happened. Looks like Vitor Meira was the big loser in that one. Not sure who else was involved 'cause it was in the little side-by-side commercial break.

Lap 50
We seem to have settled into parade mode. 35 laps to go, though, so the action will start piling on soon to be sure.

Lap 51
According to Indy Downforce commercials, a day with Viso includes him riding around on a unicycle and having a snake...I'd hang with Viso if that was the deal. Danica and Will Power pit for some reason. They nearly had a Michael Andretti 1991 moment, which is the reason we have speed limits on pit lane in IndyCar.

Lap 53
Power passes Danica, putting him in great position. Dario pits too, putting freshly-acquitted Helio into the lead. Mike Conway finds the wall tough in Turn 8. YELLOW!

Lap 56
Pit stops! Graham Rahal nearly burned a few folks leaving early out of the pit box and breaking the fuel hose. Tagliani had a similar deal, but with no drama. Is it me, or do Dario and Danica's crews have some sort of ESP? They've both pitted just before full-course yellows twice, putting them near the front both times.

Lap 58
Replay shows that Conway had put the accelerator on early or something, which is what put him in the wall. Graham Rahal has some junk hanging off the back of his car, but it's nothing important.

Lap 59
Restart! Dario kills Will Power on the jump -- a little payback to Dario's rough start on lap 1. Everyone racing clean so far.

Lap 60
Marco put a pretty nice move on Helio on the last lap. Some of his dad and grandad's LBGP magic working for him. Doonbos forcefully shoved Carpenter out of the way in Turn 9.

Lap 61
Matos racing tough with Ryan Hunter-Reay, which earned him a blocking warning. Replay shows that the contact in Turn 9 was between Helio, Marco, RHR, and Carpenter. Lots of brake-locking and such.

Lap 65
Not much is happening on the track right now. Dario running off from the field right now.

Lap 71
VERSUS gives some love to Dan Wheldon, who is quietly holding down a good 5th position.

Lap 73
Franchitti is so much faster than everyone else, yet he is apparently fine on fuel? Gotta be some funny business there. Mario Moraes decided it would be fun to add a tire barrier to his nose. YELLOW!

Lap 74
Replay shows Moraes getting crazy loose and parking it in the wall. Jon Beekhuis points out the giant rumble strip on the inside of the turn that will send any car that hits it straight into the wall. For one reason or another, Ed Carpenter parked next to the track right by Moraes' car. He seems done for the day.

Lap 75
Well, I was wrong about Carpenter. He's restarted and back on the road. Couldn't tell you why he parked, though...kinda odd.

Lap 77
Ryan Briscoe, for reasons beyond comprehension, ran into Scott Dixon on the main straight under caution. Dixon a lap down now and Briscoe had to get a new nose. I hope to high heaven that Brian Barnhart parks Briscoe for the rest of the race for that one...there NEEDS to be a penalty for that.

Lap 78
Restart! Dario runs awaaaay again. Briscoe called in for a penalty, and rightly so.

Lap 79
Obligatory shot of Ashley Judd in the Ganassi pit box, as her husband is killing the field.

Lap 80
Dario has already pulled out two seconds on Will Power. It looks like Power is holding up the field to me. If Kanaan and Danica were on the prowl, things might be closer.

Lap 81
Marco ran into Dan Wheldon trying to pass (for whatever reason) in the hairpin. Marco got the spot at the end of the front stretch anyway, but that was an exceptionally dumb pass attempt.

Lap 83
There are WAY too many commercials on the VERSUS broadcast this week. Was it this bad at St. Pete?

Lap 85
White flag! Dario can only mess himself up here...he's so far ahead that it's silly.

Checkered Flag!
Dario wins running away! Power, Kanaan, Patrick, and Wheldon make the top five. Vitor Meira is parked in the tires somewhere, so he'll be crammed back in the back in the results. Obligatory Ashley Judd interview from Lindy Thackston.

Dario and his massive hair happy to be back in victory lane after that silly foray into NASCAR. Good deal for Dario.

My picks were...not correct, really. Power was strong, but he never looked well after his weird slowdown that led to Viso's wreck. Helio was...well...seventh -- competent, but not terribly strong. He'll be back in form by the end of May for sure, though. Ninja dark horse Ryan Hunter-Reay was mired back in 11th after being locked in a great battle with Alex Tagliani. My Danica Watch was SO wrong -- a great pit call early in the race put her in prime position for a great top-five finish. Well done, all. We'll be back for Kansas next week!

Yellow Shirt Preview: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

After 13 years of having its grandeur ruined by the open wheel split, we have finally gotten EVERYONE -- Penske, Ganassi, the Andrettis, and Tony George along with all of the old Champ Car folks (Gerry Forsythe notwithstanding) -- back to the harborfront at Long Beach. Yes, America's premier street show is back on top of the world.

I must say that this is easily my favorite street course to be found anywhere -- even better than Monaco. Monaco has the harbor, the celebrities, the sunshine (for the most part), and the noise of the cars. Long Beach has all of this, plus a couple of prime passing zones. It also doesn't have the bourgeois exclusivity of Monaco. At Long Beach, the fans are everyday Los Angeleans and didn't have to take out $10,000 from their Swiss bank account to attend the race. Regular Joe Race Fan can come down to the paddock and check out the cars being worked on and interact with the crews and drivers. No way in hell can you do that in Monaco. Plus, watching the overhead shot as the cars zoom along Shoreline Drive with the R.M.S. Queen Mary in the background ranks just below 33 cars coming across the Yard of Bricks on Memorial Day Weekend.

The mondo-major story of the weekend has got to be the #3 car, which will be piloted by Helio Castroneves. Helio, after being acquitted of conspiracy to commit tax evasion, hopped aboard a plane and headed for Southern California. He says he wants to drive and Roger Penske has the car ready for him, so he'll be putting it in the show tomorrow. Many felicitations to Helio for making it through this case in one piece. Now he can go back to climbing fences instead of climbing through the muck of legal proceedings.

My pick to win: Will Power in his new #12 Verizon car. He won the last Champ Car race ever held last year in Long Beach, and it's obvious that, even though the car is dramatically different now, he hasn't lost any of the skill that won him last year's event. He led the second practice time sheet and sat fourth on the sheets in the first practice. It doesn't hurt that he has a rejuvenated Penske team and two spectacular teammates backing him up.

Dark Horse: Helio Castroneves. Some out there are saying that it's not the right time to put Helio back in a car, with the race coming almost exactly 48 hours after his acquittal on the other side of the country. However, it's still Helio. He's a fantastic driver and I'm sure he can make some magic happen after he gets some laps under his belt in practice. He might come out with something to prove and use the emotions of the court case to blow the field away. Plus, like Power, he's got the best organization in the business backing him up.

Ninja Dark Horse: Ryan Hunter-Reay. I really should give Ryan a better chance based on his result last week, but I'm mostly basing this on practice times, and his aren't terribly impressive. But he is probably the best road racer in the IRL and he's got a pretty decent team behind him to boot. Plus, he got engaged before Friday practice, so what better gift to give (apart from this, I guess) than a big, shiny trophy and a winner's check?

Danica watch: She'll end up in the same place she was at St. Petersburg. In both practices, she was just ahead of the two worst road racers in the league (Carpenter and Barrett) and I'm fairly certain she'll get punted into the wall again.

Race coverage starts at 3:30 on VERSUS on Sunday. Get your remotes out, kids!

Yellow Shirt Preview: Chinese Grand Prix

Once again, the action happening on that lovely, "shang"-shaped track in China is not the story of the week in Formula 1.

This time, the controversy-du-jour is the FIA's decision on the rule-bending diffusers that are sported by the cars of Toyota, Williams, and the team that has taken the first two races: Brawn GP. The diffusers on these cars extend out from behind the car more than those on other teams' cars, thus creating more negative pressure under the rear of the car and more grip for the tires. The leader of the dissent was Ferrari (as they seem to be when any loophole is found in the rules...) and there were apparently some words between Ferrari designer Rory Byrne and his old co-worker and now leader of his namesake team, Ross Brawn.

After all was said and done, the FIA decided that the loophole could stay in the rules and the longer diffusers were legal. It's a bit late to see parts appear on the cars for Shanghai, but expect them to show up on the cars when they travel to Bahrain.

As for the race itself, it's so very tough to tell if Ferrari and McLaren will actually pop up and make their presence known to the upstarts at Brawn and Toyota. Lewis Hamilton showed very strongly in the first practice with the fastest time, but he dropped all the way down to 13th in practice two. Practice times are tough to pick out because we don't know what fuel loads the teams are running or if they are in qualifying or race trim, but that inconsistency does not bode well.

On the other hand, the models of consistency that are Brawn GP are riding high with the 2nd and 3rd fastest times in practice one and the 1st and 3rd times in practice two. As hard as it is to believe their success coming from the ashes of Honda, I'll have to say Jenson Button and Brawn GP are going to ride the top step at Shanghai.

Race is deep in the night Saturday night/Sunday morning on the Speed Channel. I haven't checked, but I'm sure there's a replay coming Sunday afternoon. (DVR it so you can watch Long Beach, though...)

So Sayeth Curt Cavin (again)...

According to one Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star, via Twitter, Helio Castroneves has been acquitted of his tax evasion/conspiracy charges. More on this sure to come...

According to Curt Cavin...

...The entry list for the 93rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race will be released on Monday. Therefore, Paul Tracy fans will not be celebrating this weekend as Robin Miller promised. However, expect a red and white, maple-flavored explosion on Monday...especially from MeeshBeer.

The Fate of the U.S. Grand Prix

So, earlier this week, Bernie Ecclestone decided to open his big, rat-infested mouth and start talking about the United States Grand Prix.

Part I

The USGP was put on hold because it turns out it wasn't the only sporting event in Indianapolis, so there were actually people who weren't interested in it. Naturally, that offended Bernie so much that he decided to essentially price the Speedway out of the market for the race. After the Michelin tire debacle in 2005, many had expected the race to die, but Bernie certainly didn't help. He has new Middle Eastern and Asian friends with lots of money who can fill the space in the schedule nicely.

It's unfortunate that Bernie is the only one who actually controls which venues appear on the schedule, because everyone else on the planet wants a U.S. Grand Prix (or, at the least, a return to Canada). The teams are clamoring for it, the drivers want to see it, and the fans would certainly show up for it.

Bernie, in his infinite wisdom, decided to share his thoughts with us on Monday. First off, he said that a return to the United States was partly contingent on the teams agreeing to allow for more races on the calendar. I suppose that's fair, even if it's unnecessary to have a poorly-attended race in Bahrain and an unfinished track down the road in Abu Dhabi, or a gimmicky night race on an impossible circuit in Singapore a few hundred miles away from Malaysia. Bernie doesn't want to lose his oil-drilling friends or his wannabe-Monaco friends because they cough money directly into his face.

My issue comes with another thing he has said: the teams should be willing to accept less money from FOM if they want to race in America. See, that statement is just offensive on all counts. The teams want money because Formula 1 has expanded in such a way over the last 25 years that they need tons of money to keep the show alive. The major problem is that Bernie and CVC Investments take exactly half of the money for themselves and let the teams squabble over the rest.

Now, I understand that Bernie is worth a lot to the sport because of the way he built it into the commercial empire that it is today. However, when he and a bunch of bankers take half of F1's money, then say the teams need to be willing to accept less to go to the United States, that's just absurd. In this economic climate, people have needed to make some concessions in order to go about with their lives. However, Bernie doesn't understand the idea of sacrificing just a little bit of his own fortune for the greater good of the sport. Until he either learns to do that, or passes away, (the latter is sure to happen first) F1 will likely not be in the United States.

PART II

As I mentioned before, Bernie isn't entirely cool with the city of Indianapolis or the fact that Tony George doesn't place the utmost importance on Bernie's freak show. Tony, though he certainly puts all Speedway events in high regard, certainly had to think of the futures of the 500-Mile Race and the Allstate 400 before that of the USGP because of attendance. (500: ~300,000; 400: ~225,000; USGP: ~120,000) Plus, if your track is famous for, and has been holding, the most famous race in America for nearly a century, everything else plays second-fiddle.

Bernie might not understand that, but what he does claim to understand is that Indianapolis, currently, is the most suitable race course for Formula 1 -- especially now that they've taken the oval turn out of the road course for the motorcycles. That's a fair assumption to make, since it fits with Bernie's idea that you need to have a city nearby and a relatively large airport to handle the fans. Plus, Indianapolis' road course is the only one in the States that was originally designed specifically for Formula One and, if the fans would buy, there are 200,000 seats around the track in F1 configuration.

Bernie wants a race in New York city (if he has to go there, I say build a track in the Meadowlands parking lot) because he thinks it would be the most economically viable, though I suspect it's because there are nice hotels and restaurants for him to drop his dough on in NYC. However, I think Bernie is looking at the wrong end of the United States on this one.

If he needs a race on the coast, near a big city, why not go to a place that's done it all before: Long Beach, CA? After Monaco, Long Beach is the pre-eminent street race in the world. It has the waterfront, the R.M.S. Queen Mary, the beaches, Los Angeles, and many other things that Bernie usually loves. The track itself is quite picturesque and has lots of good passing zones. Plus, you can easily get 100,000 people to show up for an F1 race there.

Think about it, Bernie. Stop wasting everyone's time with your posturing and your insistence on New York and just give us our race back.

That Sound You Hear Is Canada Celebrating

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the news has finally been dropped. Paul Tracy, who probably wanted to stab someone for taking away a 500 victory he thought was his in 2002, will return to the Speedway for the month of May.

Robin Miller, who dropped out of Ball State and somehow became the most listened-to guy in IndyCar reporting, put the word out on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (y'know, between mentions of the minor legue NASCAR race in Nashville) that Paul tracy's name will appear on the entry list for the 500 when it is published this week. He did not mention which team will be putting Tracy in the car, but he seemed pretty sure that "The Thrill From West Hill" will be on track.

Canada now has two drivers flying its flag in Indianapolis (assuming Tagliani and Conquest stick around), and The Defender now has someone to hate on when the green flag drops.

Review: MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar

Oh wait...they haven't run it yet.

Dorna (the motorcycle equivalent of Bernie's FOM), the FIM, and the riders all decided that the race should decidedly not be run because of the treacherous conditions on the race track.

It turns out that, when it rains at a night race, the lights have a fun tendency to reflect brightly off of the wet track surface and the riders can't see a thing. While they can easily do a rain race during the day (they raced in the remnants of a hurricane at Indianapolis last year), the fact that they can't see the track at night could probably pose some issues.

So Dorna has rescheduled the race for 9PM local time tonight, which works out to (*quick math*) 2PM in the east of the U.S.



Unfortunately, this is likely what viewers of the Speed Channel will be seeing when the race is run. See, Speed has this cool deal where the kings of the network are either stock cars (one of several reasons I resent NASCAR) or a bald guy forcing idiots to race their muscle cars. Much in the way that there is no longer "music" on "Music Television", there is not much "speed" on the "Speed Channel". So, I'm most likely going to post the result and say "I bet that was a fun race to watch...too bad I couldn't watch it."

Update! Results are in from Qatar:

1 C. STONER Ducati Marlboro Team 42'53.984
2 V. ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team + 7.771
3 J. LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team + 16.244
4 C. EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 24.410
5 A. DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team + 27.263
6 A. DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini + 29.883
7 C. VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 33.627
8 M. KALLIO Pramac Racing + 34.755
9 T. ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini + 39.481
10 R. DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP + 42.284
11 D. PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team + 48.526
12 N. HAYDEN Ducati Marlboro Team + 48.883
13 S. GIBERNAU Grupo Francisco Hernando + 52.215
14 M. MELANDRI Hayate Racing Team + 56.379
15 Y. TAKAHASHI Scot Racing Team MotoGP + 1'00.286
16 J. TOSELAND Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 1'14.978
17 N. CANEPA Pramac Racing + 1'15.028
Not classified
L. CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 15 Lap

Must have been fun to watch. Still no word on whether or not Speed Channel will come to its senses and show us the race...

Yellow Shirt Preview: MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar

Sure, I love my open-wheel auto racing, but that doesn't mean I don't like the stuff that goes on two wheels as well. When "them furriners" from Formula One decided to up and leave IMS's schedule, they were replaced by "them furriners" in MotoGP -- one of the most exciting racing series on the planet. Those MotoGP fellows are all set to take to the bright jewel of the deep, dark deserts of Qatar, Losail International Circuit.

Last year was the first time that someone realized it was feasible to set up lights around a road course, and MotoGP got the jump on the nighttime fun last year at Qatar, with Casey Stoner winning on his Ducati.

This year looks like it could be fairly similar. Stoner blasted into the weekend on his bright red Ducati by putting it on the top of the time sheets in practice, then taking pole from defending champion Valentino Rossi by nearly half a second. Those two will sit next to each other on the first row and I'm sure will run away from the rest of the field with their battle for first.

It's something we saw a lot of last year, notably at the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, where Rossi pulled a Zanardi-esque move through the dirt at the Corkscrew to get past Stoner before Stoner got crossed up and went off in the last corner (video). Even though Rossi ended up running away with the championship last year, the battles between he and Stoner were really fun to watch. Take their dramatic battles of a year ago and throw in a dark sky and bright lights and it should be magical.

If I have to pick one rider to win, I'm going to go with Stoner. He has been strong all weekend and has been very good in the past in Qatar.

The race is on Speed Channel at 10PM eastern tomorrow night. Watch it!

More Economic Stimulus

Naturally, many people were impressed by Ryan Hunter-Reay's second-place effort in St. Petersburg this past weekend. Luckily for Hunter-Reay and Vision Racing, one of those people had some cash in their pocket.

William Rast, purveyor of fine, overpriced clothing with the help of Justin Timberlake, has decided to throw its name and crazy logo all over Ryan's car. (photo) As some astute IRL fans might know, Townsend Bell used to fly the William Rast logo for Dreyer & Reinbold. But now, the latest in American road-racing heroes will carry the name -- next to major-domo sponsor Izod, ironically -- for what seems like the remainder of 2009.

Honestly, I had never heard of William Rast before the name appeared on Bell's car. However, if they've got enough money to plaster Justin Timberlake on their website and sell the same jeans you can find at Target for five times as much, then I suppose they're a good sponsor.

Of course, with both Izod and William Rast on his car, Ryan Hunter-Reay can lay claim to the title of "best-dressed driver".

Lookin' Sharp

News of the day for Thursday, 4/9: Scott Sharp will be driving at Indy! Curt Cavin tells us via Twitter and the team confirms that Panther Racing will field the #16 Patron Car for Scott for the 500-Mile Race. Two good things to be taken from this: There's another car with a good driver at the 500, and Panther will have the most underrated two-car effort once May rolls around. Seriously, with veterans like Wheldon and Sharp working for them, Panther will be scary good and John Barnes might finally be able to make the magic happen in Indy.

The REAL Problem

...is not the ratings for the VERSUS broadcast from St. Petersburg. So IndyCar got a .2 rating, what's the deal. Most of the tubes turned to ESPN2 last year were in bars anyway (that's where I watched the Motegi race last year when I was out with friends). Some people want to see IndyCar turn into a sport that is considered "legit" by ESPN, meaning it gets about 900 hours of coverage until we're bored with it. Screw that! I'm a hockey fan, and I don't watch any regular season games on TV anymore, but I still love going to games when I have the chance. Let's see IndyCar turn into that: a series that's valued more for the live show than what some TV station can do with it.

Of course, that means they need to market the races better...perhaps they should replace Angstadt with Eddie Gossage...just a thought.

Now, the REAL problem: what the hell is Gian Paolo Dallara and his crew doing over there in Italy?! Why is 16th & Georgetown telling me that there are teams that want to race, but can't get their hands on a Dallara chassis? It's apparently a problem that multiple teams are facing, including Richard Childress' rumored Indy 500 run and 3G's entry for Tomas Scheckter. So last year, we were apparently running out of Dallaras at the beginning of the season, but we still managed to put 26 cars on the grid. This year we have fewer entries, but we're still short on cars. What gives?

I understand that part of the problem is that Marty Roth is being a poopie-pants about the way he was treated by the IRL. I don't have time to go into how stupid that bit of Napoleon Complex is, but I do have time to rip him a new one for sitting on FOUR chassis in his shop. Marty, let's get real. Unless he finally realizes that his lot in life is to be a team owner and not a gentleman racer, there's no reason to watch Dallaras collect dust. He is apparently offering them for sale, but for some ridiculous sum that nobody wants to pay. Marty, either enter a car (maybe in conjunction with D&R...that's been a popular move lately) or let some others have fun.

The other part of the problem is obviously that either Dallara has gone on a union-mandated two-year break, or they are charging WAY too much for the car. If it's the former, then get off your ass and start building! If it's the latter, how on Earth can they overcharge for a six-year-old design that's sold thousands of units? I understand that the economy is rough, but you can't charge your customers more to cover the losses -- the customers are feeling the crunch too. Dallara has a virtual monopoly on the IRL chassis business and they know it, so they're extorting the teams by killing their pocketbooks. Dallara Automobili seems to be in the business of killing the IRL at this rate.

I really hope some desperate team picks up an '05 or '06 Panoz, tunes the crap out of it, and beats everyone.

Economic Stimulus

Dreyer & Reinbold seems to have figured out how to deal with the lack of a cohesive economy. A week ago, D&R had a one-car team with a rookie who, even if he's been good in Europe, has had his troubles so far this season. Tonight, they're a three-car team.

Last Wednesday, D&R picked up Darren Manning to pilot a second car at St. Pete. (he finished a solid 8th) The current rumor that is flying around is that Manning will be in the car for the twisty tracks, while she whose name is relegated to four-letter-word status (Mi**a D**o) might be in for the ovals.

In a Monday announcement at IMS, Richard Petty Motorsports joined forces with D&R to put John Andretti in a car for the Indy 500. So, a poor team (money-wise) whose owners also run a BMW dealership (not a good business to be in these days) has managed to put together a possible three-car effort for Indy. Other teams need take note of what these guys are doing.

In sort-of-related news, the NASCAR team that MIKE KING!!! was alluding to last week may be Richard Childress Racing, with Robby Gordon as the pilot (though I think it'd be cooler to drag Kevin Harvick out of that marathon in Charlotte and have him throw around an IndyCar). RCR is one of those ultra-NASCAR organizations, and is indeed one of the first names in NASCAR ownership. To have them come to the 500 would be spectacular, and Robby Gordon deserves another shot at the Borg-Warner.

...However, I would like Childress to not win because I don't want to hear NASCAR folk talking about how easy IndyCar is.

Belated Review: Malaysian Grand Prix

Yep...that pretty much sums up the day. Unfortunately for Barrichello, he was only in fifth when the deluge broke out over the Sepang Circuit. However, his Brawn GP teammate Jenson Button was heading the field and doing as much of a rain dance as the cramped confines of an F1 cockpit would allow.

As my prediction for the race stated: if a late-summer monsoon hit, all bets were off on the result. Therefore, one of Brawn's awesome-looking cars tops the grid again, Nick Heidfeld puts BMW back near the top, and Timo Glock ties Toyota's best-ever result of third. Ferrari and McLaren take home one point between the two of them, and that goes to Lewis Hamilton.

Now, the major storyline (apart from the rain) is the fact that nearly every driver on the grid is complaining to high heaven about the starting time of the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix -- and rightly so. Bernie, because he values TV ratings in Europe over the opinions of the drivers, decided to time the races so that they would start at 10 or 11 AM in Western Europe. That meant that, in Melbourne, the sun was going down in the drivers' faces and severely hampering their ability to, y'know, see where they're going. Malaysia has a similar weather pattern to Florida this time of year: it rains every late afternoon like clockwork.

As the race started and went through its early stages, the TV camera at the end of the pit stretch showed ultra-dark grey clouds building in the background. Just after halfway, the skies opened up and, for the first time I remember, an F1 race was called due to weather. The culprit was not just the rain, but the impending darkness (it was near 7PM in the Southern Hemisphere...it gets dark around then, yo). If it had been a 1 or 2PM race like GPs normally are, a) the rain wouldn't have happened during the race, and b) if it had, there would have been lots of daylight remaining to finish the race. Both the drivers and the fans were cheated.

But hey, Bernie's bank account grew a bit more, so what does he care. Honestly, I'd rather not have him back at the Speedway -- F1 can come back, but leave Bernie out of it.

Malaysian Grand Prix - Result
(race called after 31 laps)
1. BUTTON Brawn
2. HEIDFELD BMW +22.7s
3. GLOCK Toyota +23.5s
4. TRULLI Toyota +46.1
5. BARRICHELLO Brawn +47.3s
6. WEBBER Red Bull +52.3s
7. HAMILTON McLaren +1m00.7s
8. ROSBERG Williams +1m11.5s
9. MASSA Ferrari +1m42.1s
10. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +1 lap
11. ALONSO Renault +1 lap
12. NAKAJIMA Williams +1 lap
13. PIQUET Renault +1 lap
14. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +1 lap
15. VETTEL Red Bull +1 lap
16. BUEMI Toro Rosso +1 lap
17. SUTIL Force India +1 lap
18. FISICHELLA Force India +2 laps
R. KUBICA BMW +30 laps
R. KOVALAINEN McLaren +31 laps

F1 Drivers Stadings
(*half points given at Malaysia -- didn't reach 3/4-distance)
1. Jenson Button Brawn GP 15
2. Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP 10
3. Jarno Trulli Toyota 8
4. Timo Glock Toyota 8
5. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 4
6. Fernando Alonso Renault 4
7. Nico Rosberg Williams 4
8. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 2
9. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 2
10. Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1
11. Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 1

Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete Pseudo-Live Blog

Well, I woke up a little late and had to catch the end of the Formula 1 race on my DVR...more on that in another post. Let me just say that if it rains like that in St. Pete, I am going to be PISSED!

I turned on the St. Pete coverage on VERSUS and almost thought I was watching an ABC race; there was Jack Arute schmoozing Danica Patrick on the starting grid. Then I realized I was watching an actual pre-race show and remembered that, maybe, the IndyCar Series is seeing better times for its TV coverage. I will point out that having Jack Arute actually host the pre-race is pretty damn good. He might act completely ridiculous at times, but he's pretty damn good at what he does.

Luckily, it looks like the Malaysian Grand Prix used up all of the rain for today, and the weather in St. Pete looks like...well, the weather in St. Pete. More to come as the race actually gets moving.

2:35, pre-race
The VERSUS people have made their picks for the race win, along with introducing their fly new nicknames. "Roulette" Arute picks Graham Rahal, "Action" Thackston picks Dario, "Full House" Floyd picks Kanaan, "Professor" Beekhuis picks Rahal, "Dice" Buhl picks Kanaan, and "Black Jack" Jenkins has Justin Wilson. Cheers on the nicknames AND having the reporters pick winners (take notes ESPN).

2:39, pre-race
I think VERSUS' transformer-esque intro is really cool. Much better than ESPN's.

2:40, pre-race
"Drivers, start your Honda engines!" And we've got race control radio calling that all of the cars have started.

2:42, pre-race
Cars are rolling for the first time in '09! I'm getting the jitters just watching it!

2:46, pre-race
Nice helicopter shot of the pyros following the cars down the pit stretch on the warm-up laps.

Lap 1
Green, for the first race of 2009! Justin Wilson leads a 4-wide charge into the first turn, Graham is spun out but continues. Mike Conway parks it in the outside wall in T2, but hit lightly enough to continue with help from the safety crew. YELLOW!

Lap 2
Replay from Kanaan's front wing camera shows that he is the culprit that hit Rahal. No fault of his...it's the first turn on a street course. From the #9 car's onboard, it is obvious that Mike Conway's first race will end with a broken right rear suspension.

Lap 4
Still yellow. Rahal and Kanaan both changing front wings as Kanaan punted Rahal and Rahal had been grazed by Tagliani. Conway is wheeled back to the garage.

Lap 5
Back to green! Single-file restart works nicer than the original start. Kanaan and Rahal blitzkrieging the field from the back.

Lap 8
Since we're early on in the race, there's not much happening in the way of overtakes. ESPN's side-by-side has been renamed "IndyCar Non-Stop" for VERSUS. pretty much the same story as side-by-side.

Lap 13
I haven't seen the black-and-blue #7 once in the race. Instead, they're focusing on Tagliani, Doornbos, and any other team starving for attention and sponsor money.

Lap 14
Speak of the devil! First mention/focus on Danica for this race. She's on the "red" tires, but it's not helping right now.

Lap 16
When I see Franchitti following Wilson around, I hear the theme from "Jaws" in my head. It looks like it's only a matter of time...

Lap 19
Lapped traffic time! Sure, Marty Roth is gone, but that blue #98 of Stanton Barrett is filling in nicely. Hideki Mutoh makes an early pit stop.

Lap 21
Viso in the pits as well. Lindy Thackston explains that Viso did not like the red tires, so he used them early. Jon Beekhuis adds that a lot of the drivers feel the same as Viso.

Lap 22
Lindy also lets us know that Justin Wilson will be in the pits in about 6 laps. We also learn that the TCGR guys will be in about five laps after that. Vitor Meira pits.

Lap 24
VERSUS did a cool lead-in to a commercial break with the IMS Radio Network call of the first turn smash. It always seemed like the ESPN people thought the radio broadcast was some sort of plague to be avoided.

Lap 27
Kanaan and Rahal are P14 and P15 now, following Matos and Moraes around. Kanaan is having a hard time getting past Moraes.

Lap 29
As a TV camera op myself, I have to say I like the use of a jib camera in Turn 1. Nice view down the front stretch and of T1, with the bay in the background of it all. Did ESPN ever do that.

Lap 30
Kanaan is slowed by Moraes and Rahal is getting a bit impatient. Wilson still hasn't pitted. Doornbos slides around in front of Danica.

Lap 31
I hate it when commercials rip "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and change the words. Leave it alone, damnit. Firestone's "Take Me Out To The Brickyard" ad is no exception. Bring back the one from the last couple of years.

Lap 33
Briscoe and Wheldon start the pit road parade. Matos finds the wall hard at the 11/12 complex. YELLOW!

Lap 34
Turns out Matos got opportunistic trying to go around Danica Patrick, and those two found their way HARD into the tires in Turn 12. Danica, who vowed to be "not as angry" in pre-race, was seen giving Matos a piece of her mind and glowering at him -- and rightly so, I might add.

Lap 35
Replay shows that Tagliani got a flat tire somewhere along the way on Meira's wing endplate. Moraes spun out as well ('cause of Mutoh), nearly collecting Justin Wilson from the lead.

Lap 36
Pit stops! Will Power misses his box, Scott Dixon has to brake to miss Power and gets delayed, moving waaaay back. Briscoe has the lead after all is said in done. Wheldon second. Viso third.

Lap 40
Green again! Not much drama on the restart.

Lap 46
Marco Andretti pits. Routine stop. Justin Wilson and E.J. Viso working on Dan Wheldon for second.

Lap 51
Past halfway, we are. Graham Rahal is working on Dario, who's working on RHR for 5th. The leaders have spread out a bit.

Lap 52
Viso slips in Turn 1, Wilson passes him for 3rd in Turn 4.

Lap 54
Giant mess of cars behind Stanton Barrett in the Turn 10 braking zone. Everyone makes it through fine.

Lap 55
Stanton Barrett is inexplicably parked. YELLOW!

Lap 56
Not many takers for pit lane. Will Power and E.J. Viso decide to come in...fuel strategery perhaps?

Lap 57
Restart. Wilson nearly catches up Wheldon on the way to T1 for second. Couldn't quite make it happen, though. Briscoe...runs awaaaayy.

Lap 60
I would like to point out that the last yellow was only TWO LAPS! Is the IRL learning how to clear the course, finally?

Lap 66
Viso in again. Trouble getting the fuel hose out AND Viso is on the reds he doesn't like...interesting...

Lap 67
Power in as well. He throws on the alternates as well.

Lap 68
Briscoe and Wheldon in from first and second. Wilson and Hunter-Reay take the lead. Kanaan in as well.

Lap 69
Viso, way behind now, almost didn't allow Wilson to lap him. Replay shows Mutoh and Tagliani nearly running over Graham Rahal.

Lap 70
Rahal, Franchitti, and Meira in the pits. Rahal pulls directly in front of Scott Dixon...near calamity.

Lap 71
Wilson in and out, and manages to come out in front of Briscoe. Briscoe can't get him in Turn 4. Great stuff for the Coyne crew.

Lap 72
IndyCar Non-Stop shows that someone has contacted the wall in a bad way. It's a yellow car, so I think it's Carpenter. YELLOW!

Lap 74
It is indeed Carpenter, who spun at Turn 3 and found the wall. There is no replay, apparently. He was the only driver who hadn't pitted yet, so who knows.

Lap 75
As we parade around during the cleanup for Carpenter, the top ten is: Wilson, Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Franchitti, Kanaan, Andretti, Mutoh, Power, Doornbos. Viso in the pits again; looks like they're having trouble making that car work now.

Lap 77
Viso interviews with Lindy, says his steering was messy during the last several laps, shows his blistered hands. As the cars get ready for the restart, Briscoe will certainly be looking to get the jump.

Lap 79
Restart. Not much at the very front, but the battle for 3rd was NUTS. Everyone passed Wheldon, Franchitti got crossed up, Kanaan ended up in fourth and Ryan Hunter-Reay beat everyone to third.

Lap 80
Replay shows that RHR and Dario three-wided Wheldon, then RHR got loose and Dario had to back off.

Lap 81
Franchitti past Kanaan. Dixon in the wall in Turn 3. YELLOW!

Lap 82
Replay shows that Dixon got hit by Mutoh as Dixon tried to pass him, breaking something in Dixon's left-front. Cars don't turn right very well if the left-front is broke.

Lap 87
Restart. Briscoe gets a good restart, Briscoe to the lead in Turn 1. Doornbos tries to get inside Wheldon in T4, Wheldon finds the outside wall and Marco Andretti gets wedged under him. Mutoh also found some contact. YELLOW!

Lap 88
Replay showing Wheldon lost momentum trying to pass Kanaan, Doornbos got a little opportunistic and caused the problem. Mutoh's broken car found the wall somewhere else on the course. RHR apparently got by Wilson before all the chaos broke out, so he's in second.

Lap 91
Highlight package of the Indy Lights races, which were both won by Junior Strous (huh?). Replay shows Wilson sliding loose and RHR passing him before the wreck.

Lap 93
Restart. Ryan Hunter-Reay nearly makes the move on Briscoe in Turn 1. Great restart for RHR, but he couldn't quite get it.

Lap 96
Five to go. Briscoe holding a steady advantage over Hunter-Reay. Real battle is for third, where Franchitti is all over Wilson.

Lap 97
Tagliani and Andretti tangle in Turn 10. Andretti stalls in the middle of the track. YELLOW! Replay shows Tagliani trying a move he couldn't have possibly finished and Andretti getting caught out.

Lap 98
There was no contact, so no debris. Can we get a quick yellow and a restart? I'd like to see RHR get another shot...

Lap 99
Restart. Single-file into T1, with Wilson thinking about making a move for 2nd. Briscoe looks to be in good shape.

Lap 100
White flag is out! RHR not close enough in Turn one to make the move. Can he bonsai towards the end of the lap?

Checkered Flag!
Briscoe makes a solid drive to take the victory! Hunter-Reay second, Wilson third, Franchitti fourth, Kanaan fifth. Twelve cars take the checks, including Doornbos and Stanton Barrett, who had their troubles earlier in the race. Tagliani, in tenth, may have a visit to the stewards in order by the end of the day for his incident with Andretti.

The small guys tried their best, but Briscoe and the Penske team were just too good. Much credit to Hunter-Reay, who turned his first laps with Vision Racing on Friday, and Wilson and the Dale Coyne team, who have certainly had their struggles of late.

As for my predictions: Dario was good in fourth, but he couldn't get by my dark horse, Justin Wilson, for third. Ninja dark horse E.J. Viso was defeated by a broken steering rack and ultra-blistered hands. My Danica Watch turned out to be 100% correct -- she had a fairly low starting position and got knocked out by Matos' rookie uber-mistake.

That's it for St. Pete 2009. Many congrats to Ryan Briscoe, who is obviously in strong form. The IndyCars are in Long Beach, CA, in two weeks. Bye y'all!