Pseudo-Live Blog: ABC Supply Co. A.J. Foyt 225

Well, It's been 30 seconds and Marty Reid already seems to have messed up. We were led to believe that "fans have been coming through the turnstiles here since 1912." Okay, perhaps they didn't invite fans to the events for the nine years before that, but I have a feeling Mr. Reid was misinformed....good start.

3:32, pre race
Interview with Helio. Car just stepped out on him in qualifying and he needs to race for points...no crashes today.

3:33, pre race
Is there no Eddie Cheever today? That makes me sad...he knows what the hell he's doing in the booth...

3:37, pre race
Ryan Briscoe = confident...and he has pretty good reason to be after his result last year and his run in qualifying.

3:38, pre race
Poor Tony Kanaan! Very tough day ahead of him with the cracked ribs. A fan favorite if he wins, for sure.

3:39, pre race
Nine minutes in, first Danica interview. Pit stops are important today, especially after the tough times of last year in the pit lane.

4:40, pre race
Marco Andretti just wants to do well after last week's issues. Being very mature about the Mario Moraes thing a week on, thankfully.

4:42, pre race
Whoever runs the advertising department at Firestone needs to be hired by the IRL. All of their commercials are ALWAYS good. Crowd shot after the ad break...stands are FULL!

4:43, pre race
Hey look, it's A.J! Sad to see Vitor get hurt, but the show must go on. The team gave Paul Tracy a bad car for qualis, but he's a good driver and all that. Goood ol' A.J.

3:45, pre race
A.J.: lady and gentlemen, start your engines! ABC forgot to pick up the P.A., so we could barely hear...good work again.

3:46, pre race
ABC does a great job of putting NO anticipation into the start. VERSUS has the track marshals calling the cars "hot", the crowd roaring, and all that. Can't wait for them to be back next week.

3:48, pre race
Erm...double-box to watch Helio chill at the back on the start.

Lap 1
GREEN! Graham leads the field into 1, Kanaan BLITZES the front row to lead the lap!

Lap 4
First shot of Danica, plodding around mid-pack.

Lap 6
Dario fighting...SCHECKTER? Bet D&R's glad they hired him. He's strong so far.

Lap 10
Okay, Scheckter dropping like a rock now. Still, strong start for Tomas.

Lap 15
God, the camera work is awful during the side-by-side stuff. I can hear my director Jay yelling at the cameramen, were he the director.

Lap 19
Helio and Tracy fighting for....18th. Tough stuff for two of the best drivers on track

Lap 22
Rahal trying to use the lapped traffic as a balk for Briscoe, loses a spot instead.

Lap 26
Briscoe to the lead, Dixon follows him through. Let's see how "back-brace" Kannan can do here.

Lap 33
Kanaan dropping like a rock now. Maybe his back is starting to affect him now? He's down to 7th.

Lap 36
Helio trying to run far away from Briscoe to stay on the lead lap

Lap 42
Scott Goodyear with actual insight! Kanaan's head is lilting a bit to the right as he goes through turns. Car is very loose.

Lap 43
Dixon tried hard to get past Briscoe, but could NOT

Lap 45
Briscoe is very obviously staying back to keep his teammate on the lead lap, but Dixon doesn't want any of that.

Lap 50
It's been just about 20 minutes and we're 50 laps in with no yellows...this might be a quick race...

Lap 54
Helio told to go to fuel position 1, which is obviously helping as he's running away from the leaders.

Lap 57
YELLOW! Mike Conway finds the wall for the umpteenth time this year. Looks like he washed up the track and glanced off the wall. Helio gets to pick up the back of the pack.

Lap 59
Pit stops! Nobody picked up any spots, really. Helio stalled the car, but was lucky to escape on the lead lap.

Lap 63
Revs were apparently not up high enough when the car hit the ground and that was that. E.J. Viso never left the pits, by the way.

Lap 68
Restart! Danica to 5th, Dario looking for 3rd from Dixon.

Lap 75
We've settled into parade mode for the time being. That'll happen at this point on a mile track...

Lap 79
Replay of Tracy's crew putting about 900 turns into the front wing, since the car's so loose...must be awful for him.

Lap 93
Yawn. The problem with races like Milwaukee is that they are really tough to sit through on TV. That's why NASCAR's ratings are so bad.

Lap 97
Briscoe catching Helio again...let's see if he slows down againto keep Helio ahead of him.

Lap 103
I'm going to give Scott Goodyear some credit for at least trying to find something interesting in what's going on out there...

Lap 108
Briscoe puts the lap on Helio. Tough break for Helio, but Briscoe has his own race to run.

Lap 113
Past halfway. It's been just about 50 minutes, so it looks like ABC will get their TV window they want.

Lap 114
Dixon can't get past Helio. Briscoe....RUNNING AWAAAYYY

Lap 125
Green flag stops should be coming soon. That oughta spice things up a bit.

Lap 130
Kanaan pits. Still in the car. Lots of respect for the man with the busted ribs.

Lap 132
Dario in and out. No stuck fuel hoses today.

Lap 134
Briscoe got balked HARD on his way into pit lane. That could be the break Dixon needs...

Lap 135
Fire on Kanaan's car! I have no idea who ended up with the lead after everything...looks like Franchitti might've done it.

Lap 139
Kanaan not happy about the engine fire. Says he was fine during the race, but I bet he'll be feelin' in the morning.

Lap 150
Hot view through Marco's front suspension as he wrestles his car around the track. Things are settled at the front.

Lap 154
Lapped traffic balks Dario, Briscoe grabs lead. HUGE block thrown as Dixon tries to get past both of them.

Lap 160
YELLOW! Looks like a yellow for "debris". Barnhart must have fallen asleep in the booth and hit the yellow light button.

Lap 162
Pit stops! Briscoe, Dixon, Dario the top three off pit road. Marco picked up some spots farther back.

Lap 163
Helio didn't pit, got his lap back. He'll need fuel before all is said and done.

Lap 165
Serious air time for the street sweepers. Pickin' up the marbles and making the racing like wider is always a good thing.

Lap 166
Helio is drafting the pace car under caution...anything to save fuel for sure.

Lap 170
Helio FINALLY gets the wave-around. We're gonna go green in a bit.

Lap 172
GREEN! oh wait...no start. Brian Barnhart needs to get a life and let the drivers race.

Lap 173
GREEN! Briscoe dominates at the front. Lots of dicing towards the back.

Lap 175
50 to go. Some 3-wide action with Matos, Marco, and Danica.

Lap 177
Nothin' like Danica passing lapped cars to keep the fans enthralled.

Lap 179
We were green for exactly 5 laps before ABC went to commercial...dopes

Lap 186
The top three have a TEN SECOND advantage on Graham Rahal. Holy smokes!

Lap 190
How is he front of the field more interesting than the rest of the top ten? That almost never happens

Lap 191
Viso whitewalls his tires! No yellow, good work by Viso to get his car out of the way.

Lap 196
Ugly knot of lapped cars being dealt with by the leaders. Dixon still can't challenge Briscoe.

Lap 197
ABC goes to a full screen commercial at perhaps the most important juncture of this race....yay?

Lap 200
25 to go. Something must've gone wrong with Marco, 'cause T&S showed he lost a lot of ground.

Lap 201
"Great thing about side-by-side is that you didn't miss the pass" Turns out we were in a local break and EVERYONE missed what was probably the winning pass. lovely.

Lap 206
Briscoe is really dropping back. Dixon might find traffic before it's all over, but who knows if Ryan can catch up.

Lap 212
Ooooh, Helio came out of the pits not far in front of Dixon. Can Helio make his car a little extra-wide and help out the teammate?

Lap 216
10 to go, Dixon still running off...

Lap 217
Lots of traffic....can Briscoe catch?

Lap 220
Dixon actually PULLED AWAY in traffic...wow

Lap 225
White flag for Dixon. Miracle airstrike needs to happen for anyone to catch him.

Checkered Flag!
Domination of the last bit of the race for Dixon! Great win!

Briscoe, Dario, Rahal, Danica, Matos, Marco, Mutoh, Moraes, and Wheldon are the top ten.

There was no catching Dixon once he got around Briscoe. His car was absolutely hooked up at the right time and he could not be stopped.

My predictions ended up looking okay, despite getting the wrong winner. Briscoe did dominate the race, but he didn't have the lead when it counted. Still a great run for him. Dark horse pick Hideki Mutoh did pretty well and was knocking on the top five for a while, but he ended up falling a lap down to finish eighth. My ninja dark horse was completely wrong, as Paul Tracy apparently had little control over his car -- he finished last of the running cars, 6 laps down. My Danica watch, however, was spot on: she finished fifth to catch the tope five for the fourth time this season. Consistency equals points, and Danica's doing a great job there.

That's it for Milwaukee. Next, we move from old-school into high speed, side-by-side new-school at the 1.5-mile bullring at Texas Motor Speedway. It's usually an entertaining race, and hopefully the 2009 edition doesn't disappoint.

Yellow Shirt Preview: ABC Supply Co. A.J. Foyt 225

(photo courtesy of milwaukeemile.com)

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

Review: Indianapolis 500-Mile Race

A point: the flyover this year was the coolest I've seen at any event. Let's keep going for classics like the B-25s from yesterday in future years.

So the Greatest Spectacle in Racing has run its course once again. I'm sitting in my computer chair, still swollen up like Jabba the Hutt with awful(ly tasty), greasy food and beer and watching the 500 Victory Banquet on Channel 13. Helio Castroneves just pocketed over three million dollars -- hopefully his accountants crunch the numbers absolutely correctly on this one. The Kleenex advertising department NEEDS to be watching this and looking to throw the company name on the car.

I'm actually going to go ahead and start with my picks and predictions, all of which were completely wrong. Briscoe would've had a shot had Team Penske not made an uncharacteristic mistake on air pressures or something like that, which forced Ryan to pit under green and go way off-sequence on his pit strategy. My dark horse, Mario Moraes, found himself a little too close to Marco Andretti coming off the first turn and sat in the garage for the next 199 laps. My ninja dark horse, Paul Tracy, couldn't ruin the Hollywood ending this time around after a piece of Tony Kanaan's car broke something in the undertray of Tracy's car.

Even my Danica Watch proved deathly wrong. Of course, if you watched ABC's coverage of the race, you already know absolutely everything about every second of her day. If you didn't watch, she finished third. She didn't do anything spectacular, as I predicted, but the folks in front of her did a lot of things spectacular in the pit lane while she and her team did almost everything right.

Some other notes from the race:

-I couldn't see this from my post in Stand B, but I caught it on the TV broadcast. While there were some large amounts of aluminum showing in the grandstands, the best ticket in all of sports was bought many thousands of times over and the infield crowd was HUGE! There were people covering the viewing mounds in Turn 3 and the exit of Turn 4, there were people sitting on the back of the viewing mounds where you can't see the track, and some didn't even get that far and listened to the race on the radio and drank like tailgaters at an IU Football game. The return of the Snake Pit? Perhaps not, but still a great infield atmosphere to be sure. The Speedway needs to take a look at furnishing the infield with more spots where people can go, like they had in the late 80s and early 90s.

-It is going to be a wonderful time when they close Georgetown Road and Sixteenth Street next to the Speedway. Going into the track while people are still trying to drive to the parking lots is an amazingly treacherous venture and, though most seem to behave themselves on the crowded streets, it needs to change. There are a few appeals by local businesses to stop the renovation of the Town of Speedway, but that part of the world really needs to be uplifted and beautified.

And now, The First Annual Yellow Shirt Awards for 500-Mile Race Excellence:

The Lloyd Ruby Award for Bad Luck: Tony Kanaan. Can this guy get a break, seriously? Sometimes it's the weather. Sometimes it's the fact that he's behind really solid drivers and cars. Other times, this happens:



The Salt Walther "Holy !@#$" Award: Vitor Meira, with an assist from Rafael Matos. Let's just have the video do the talking here:



Imagine what went through my head when, after seeing sparks from the corner of my eye, I looked up to look directly into the cockpit of a car as it slid along the wall. Very scary stuff.

The Kevin Cogan Award for Brain Fade at Race Start: Tie between Mario Moraes and Marco Andretti. Marco was running on the outside, only a quarter of the way alongside Moraes at the exit of the first turn of the first lap and was entirely surprised when they collided with each other. One one hand, it was Marco's fault for being there, and on the other, it was Moraes' fault for moving up the track. Since fault belongs to both, it is both of their faults.

The Emerson Fittipaldi Award for Not Being Able To Drive Through Turn 4: Tie between Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal, Davey Hamilton, and Nelson Philippe. All four turns at Indianapolis were designed to be the same and, to the outside observer they look the same. Anyone who's ever driven the track will tell you that each turn is wildly different, with Turn 1 usually being cited as the most difficult. However, if you look over the history of the track, you'll find that some of the 500's most spectacular accidents took place at the exit of Turn 4. Dave McDonald's "Skateboard" skidded out of control and exploded there, Swede Savage did a pretty similar thing, and Emerson Fittipaldi skidded into the wall there to ruin a race. In fact, Graham Rahal's accident was a virtual copy of the accident he had last year.

The Al Unser Jr. Award for Emotional Outburst in Victory Lane: Helio Castroneves. This award will soon be named after Helio, as his emotional outbursts in victory lane are quite spectacular. The man is a ball of pure energy and, especially after all of the stuff that's happened to him this year, he should allowed to emote as much as he wants. Which, of course, brings me to my next point...

The Brian Barnhart Award for Not Understanding What Fans Want: Brian Barnhart. The race is over and everyone is happy, and we all know that Helio is going to hop out and climb the fence. But wait! ABC is telling race control that their schedule window is running out and they need an interview. So Brian Barnhart, the chief steward of the race, leaves timing and scoring to try and forcefully direct Helio away from the fence and into the winner's circle with the help of Security Chief Charles. Their minions were even seen placing Helio's steering wheel back on the steering column and shoving Helio back into the cockpit. This brings up a question in my mind:

ARE YOU @!#$ING SERIOUS?!

Here's what I have to say to AB bleeping C: screw off! The Indianapolis 500 was the biggest, baddest sporting event in all the land thirty-two years before ABC was even a radio station. The management of the Speedway does NOT have to bow to the wishes of a broadcaster, especially when that broadcaster has done it's absolute best to destroy the quality of television coverage for the series. They know they have an entirely complicit group of idiots who will bow to their any wish so as not to get bumped off affiliate stations by John Doe and Jane Q. Person and the 6PM local news. Well, you know what? It's time for Tony George, Terry Angstadt, and whoever should be replacing Brian Barnhart need to grow some cajones and either tell ABC to get over themselves or go get someone else to broadcast the race. They used to be one of the 500's great champions, but it might be time for the IMS/ABC partnership to end.

Sorry to end a fine, emotional race on such an angry note, but it needed to be done. Another successful 500 is in the books and we now turn our attention to the IRL season. Indianapolis might have the most well-known race in the country, but it does not have the oldest race. The Milwaukee Mile held its first automotive event in 1903, and it will be hosting another one next Sunday. I'll be back with a live blog then!

Yellow Shirt Preview: 93rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race

And so the moment has arrived. In the 1950s, when he needed a tag to inform affiliate stations that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network was taking an advertisement break, chief announcer Sid Collins took a suggestion from a WIBC staffer named Alice Green and coined a term that would perfectly sum up the 500-Mile Race:

"Now, stay tuned for the Greatest Spectacle In Racing."

To someone who has never been to Indianapolis, especially in a day that NASCAR runs several 500-milers and even a 600-mile race, it may seem like some sort of folly to call this the "Greatest Spectacle In Racing". After all, on TV it looks like just another big car race.

But it's not until you set foot on the most famous 320 acres in Indianapolis on Memorial Day weekend that you realize just how spectacular the event actually is. You drive down Crawfordsville Road to its intersection with Georgetown Road and 16th St. and you see a small office building of glass and dark red tile that, by itself, would look like any other suburban office building. But you look beyond the building and you see the grandstands; they stretch off for a quarter mile to the east and about half a mile to the north, seemingly endless, like a modern day Great Wall of China that hides some sort of great, spectacular riches behind it. You catch a brief glimpse of the new pagoda, looming beyond the wall of stands. As you go down either 16th Street or Georgetown Road, you'll come to a small break in the stands: a brief glimpse inside this great fortress of motor sport -- just enough to get your heart racing a little bit. Then you go inside and see the crowd, 300,000-strong, and the marching bands, the military parade, the eleven rows of three cars lined up on the track, and then, one of the most spectacular moments of this Greatest Spectacle, Jim Nabors and the Purdue Band performing "Back Home Again In Indiana" against a background of hundreds of balloons flying into the air in a rolling mass of spectacular color.

Oh, and did I mention the race itself? Another term coined by Sid Collins was a perfectly exciting phrase to sum up a perfectly exciting moment: "The World's Fastest Flying Start." The pace car pulls off the track, the green flag flies, the army of 300,000 fans roars its approval and thirty-three cars roar by as a pack, flashing across the most famous 3 x 50-foot strip of bricks in the world. The race itself, though usually around three hours long, never leaves the fans wanting. There is always some sort of drama as the 500 miles unfold to keep the fans entertained. There is always hardship and struggle as the drivers attempt to navigate 200 circuits of one of the most treacherous racetracks in the world. Finally, there is always some sort of drama towards the end that sends the fans crazy and leaves them with a euphoric feeling at having seen to its end one of the most famous events in all of sport.

Now, there isn't nearly enough time or space on this page to really sum up the history of the event and how spectacular it has been. So, because he is one of the three greatest orators to hold a microphone at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and because I love the theme from Delta Force (especially in a day where Fox ruined the world of theme music for televised sports with their NFL music), I give you Paul Page's TV introduction to the 79th 500-Mile Race, a race that holds a special place in my memory as the first that I ever had the honor of attending.



Even the topical matters of that video help sum up the drama and emotion of the 500-Mile Race. 1995 featured one of the few moments that the most successful team in the race's long history, Team Penske, actually made a mistake, with neither of their cars qualifying for the race. The race started with one of the more spectacular accidents in the race's history (which also happened to be my first live experience with Indy Cars at speed) and it ended with Jacques Villeneuve, who would be Formula One World Champion in two years' time, driving 505 miles to win the race after being penalized for passing the pace car early on and making up the two-lap penalty.

So, we come to the present. The 93rd Month of May at Indianapolis has been thoroughly dominated by the team that has thoroughly dominated the record books since the mid-70's: Team Penske. Ryan Briscoe sat atop the time sheets many times this month, and Helio Castroneves was generally right behind him. In fact, the two times that Helio was clearly faster than Briscoe were Pole Day qualifying and yesterday's final practice. Helio, though, has endeared himself as even more of a fan favorite than he was before after surviving a tax evasion charge from the Federal Government. Plus, Helio is looking to join one of the more exclusive clubs at the Speedway: the three-time winners' club. It would certainly be one of the more emotional stories in sports history should Helio land his car in victory lane.

My picks:

Winner: In spite of all of the momentum on Helio's side, I just can't discount how strong Ryan Briscoe has been this month. Like the kid living in the shadow of his charismatic, loud-talking big brother (kinda like Al Unser), Ryan has been quietly successful behind the back of his attention-grabbing teammate. He easily has the ability to win the race and, as long as the ghosts of Indianapolis don't jump out and bite him, he should be at the front when it comes down to the end.

Dark Horse: It has been rather difficult to peg down who exactly can be considered a dark horse in this race. Coming into the month, it was easy to call anyone other than a Penske or Ganassi driver a dark horse. However, it has become clear that some new contenders have shown up, led by Graham Rahal. The way I see it, Rahal is just too good at this point to even be considered a dark horse -- in fact, he's at the point where he can be on the list of favorites for the win tomorrow. As that is the case, I give the dark horse nomination to Mario Moraes for KV Racing: he was over-matched last year in Dale Coyne's car, but he has been extremely strong this year.

Ninja-Dark Horse: Dream situation: Helio Castroneves is leading at the white flag. Going down the back stretch into Turn 3, Paul Tracy passes him on the outside and wins the race. Come on, that would just be fantastic. Plus, Paul is a good driver in need of a full-time ride and he's with a team that, even though they're not the best, is more than competent enough to win the race.

Danica Watch: Probably somewhere in the top ten, assuming she doesn't have contact with another driver. She hasn't been a real challenger for the race win since 2005, which is mostly the fault of the cars that she has been stuck with. Assuming Andretti/Green gives her a halfway-decent car, she'll hang around in the top ten and make some moves here and there -- nothing spectacular, though.

Along with the many traditions associated with this weekend, there is one that is known about, but not talked about very much: parties. I've been watching old 500s all day, and now it's time to hang out, drink a little, eat some good food, and rest up for the greatest day of racing in the entire year.

Oh, and give a cheer for Indiana in the Big Ten Baseball Tournament. Go Hoosiers!

Yellow Shirt Preview: Grand Prix of Monaco

The Principality might be smaller than Central Park, but it is certainly way nicer to look at. While Central Park has big grey skyscrapers frowning upon it from all sides, Monaco has the hills of southern France and the bright blue Mediterranean providing one of the most spectacular backdrops for any race in the world.

One of the things that makes this weekend such a spectacular one for racing fans is that two of the oldest events in motorsports history are being run on the same day, mere hours apart; while the 500-Mile Race in Indianapolis is celebrating its 93rd running, it was 80 years ago that Anthony Noges first laid out a track on the streets of the Principality. Sure, Monaco has the fancy casino, the fancy hotels, the fancy shopping, and the fancy apartments. Hell, the Principality was represented internationally by actress Grace (a most well-deserved first name) Kelly, who was married to Prince Ranier III in 1956. However, would the Principality be where it is today without the Grand Prix, which showcases the riches and landscape of the place to an international audience? Formula One cars have a place in the landscape of this fabulous place in the same way that gambling, flashy jewelry, and well-tailored tuxedos.

There is only one problem, but it's a bit of a doozy: this is easily the worst race on the Formula One calendar. The streets of Monaco, already narrow when they were first shut in March, 1929, have been lined with ARMCO barriers, re-profiled numerous times, and constantly encroached upon by new construction. Where there was once a wide avenue between the Tabac corner and the ultra-tight Gasworks Hairpin, there is now a swimming pool that the track goes around and the Restaurant Rascasse, which lends its name to the hairpin turn that goes around it. Further upstream, where there was once a quick left-right chicane lined with car-friendly hay bails, there is now a tight, bus-stop-style complex. In fact, of all the "improvements" made to the track, the only one to widen the road and make the track easier to navigate was a re-profiling of the treacherous Ste-Devote corner, the first of the lap. This may be the shortest lap on the Formula One calendar, but it's also the slowest; the average speed usually hovers around the 100-mph mark.

In the long run, though, none of this matters. Monaco attracts the best of the best in sponsors and celebrities. The track is lined on one side with well-dressed people hanging off of apartment balconies, and on the other side by barely-dressed people on the fanciest of fancy yachts, and everyone is quaffing the best champagne or the best liquors possible. There is a mystique about the race through the narrow streets that is hard to match at any other event in the world. To win Monaco is to take the greatest crown in European motorsport.

Looking into the crystal ball (or weather.com), I discover that this weekend's race will likely not exhibit the one characteristic that makes an F1 race at Monaco interesting: rain. If the track is dry, the race will likely be predictable and easy to figure out once the cars are sorted through Ste-Devote on the first lap.

We should have known that, even though Emperor-Of-Pit-Lane Ross Brawn traded in his red robes for white ones, Brawn GP would be strong. However, even I thought the team would founder for at least a few weeks before turning into a Ross Brawn-led team. Instead, they only needed about a month to get a car up to speed before blitzing all but one of the opening 5 rounds. A quick look at the practice times from Thursday shows that, yes, the Brawn cars are fast. Even when they have been a bit off in practice, the veteran drivers and veteran team principal step it up a notch in qualifying and the race.

My ultra-official prediction: Jenson Button beats the crowd through Ste-Devote, never looks back, takes the trophy, and really solidifies his lead in the championship.

Sorry For The Delay, But...

I got really lazy with the weblog over the past few days. The simple fact is that I'm doing way too much stuff right now and certain things take precedent over ranting on about the racing.

Sure I watched Bump Day. I watched all six-and-a-half hours of coverage on VERSUS and loved every second of it. I also watched the radio booth camera on the 500's website the whole time. I pissed myself pretty bad when John Andretti's run was complete and the crowd went completely nuts for it. I felt bad for Alex Tagliani, then I felt nothing for him for stealing a perfectly good qualified car from Bruno Junquiera. I felt good for the "best-dressed driver" Ryan Hunter-Reay, who gets to parade Izod and William Rast around on Sunday. Yes, every emotion that was felt by everyone was also felt right here in this computer chair on Sunday.

The problem is: my friends wanted to have a cookout immediately after the Dia del Bumpage was over, so of course I went. Then I spent the next two days being in class and studying. So, here we are, with little bloggage and a tired, strung-out me.

Fear not, though! The best weekend in all of racing is upon us! I will be previewing F1 from the crown jewel of the Riviera, Monaco, tomorrow. Then on Saturday, a preview shall come for the one, the only, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the 93rd Running of the 500-Mile Race. Stay Tuned.

Oh, and because I didn't do the Bump Day blog, here's this:

93rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Starting Grid:

1. Helio Castroneves 224.864
2. Ryan Briscoe 224.083
3. Dario Franchitti 224.010

4. Graham Rahal 223.954
5. Scott Dixon 223.867
6. Tony Kannan 223.612

7. Mario Moraes 223.331
8. Marco Andretti 223.114
9. Will Power 223.028

10. Danica Patrick 222.882
11. Alex Lloyd 222.622
12. Rafael Matos 223.429

13. Paul Tracy 223.111
14. Vitor Meira 223.054
15. Justin Wilson 222.903

16. Hideki Mutoh 222.805
17. Ed Carpenter 222.780
18. Dan Wheldon 222.777

19. A.J. Foyt IV 222.586
20. Scott Sharp 222.162
21. Sarah Fisher 222.082

22. Davey Hamilton 221.956
23. Robert Doornbos 221.692
24. Townsend Bell 221.195

25. Oriol Servia 220.984
26. Tomas Scheckter 221.496
27. Mike Conway 221.417

28. John Andretti 221.316
29. E.J. Viso 221.164
30. M***a D**o 221.106*

31. Nelson Philippe 220.754
32. Ryan Hunter-Reay 220.597
33. Alex Tagliani 221.115**

*Señorita Duno may be elevated to a full spelling of her name soon; her qualifying run shocked the hell out of me.

**Tagliani in the car that was qualified by Bruno Junquiera, which means he's gotta start at the back.

Wrapup: Qualification Day 3

Okay, that photo only represents half of the day. After some early AM rain, a squall developed and blew through the area around 12:30. The rain wasn't so bad, and the track dried pretty quickly, but the real problem was the wind that pushed the squall through the area.

The qualification runs were all sorts of hairy, with drivers pushing up the track or getting wobbly on the exits of turns. Notable incidents: John Andretti pushed wide in Turn 2 and backed way off, M***a D**o ran high into Turn 1 and came within about an inch of hitting the wall, Nelson Philippe was all over the place on his qualifying run. While D**o's incident might've been her fault for not getting low enough in the turn, Andretti and Philippe were toyed with by the winds.

The interesting thing is that the weather is supposed to be spectacular tomorrow, which means that speeds are probably going to be decidedly higher than what we saw today. Not only will there be bumping, but there could be a reshuffling of the entire back third of the field. It should be interesting to watch.

Other notes from today:

-Bruno Junquiera will be putting together a one-day qualifying setup tomorrow with Conquest Racing. The car was painted up in the All Sport energy drink colors yesterday and today, and everything will be taken care of for tomorrow.

-Several bricks at the start/finish line came loose yesterday and viciously attacked the undertray of Mario Moraes' car. From what I saw, the mortar cracked, then got sucked up by the ground effects of the cars, which left the bricks themselves to jump around. They were replaced last night and everything was set for today.

-Sarah Fisher announced to the world via Twitter that she will be appearing on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Monday. You bet your left nut I'll be watching that.

-The fine folks at Indy500.com decided to put their streaming video to excellent use by placing a camera in the radio sky-lair during qualifying. I thought it was kinda fun to watch Mike King, Johnnie Parsons, Jr, Donald Davidson, and Dave Wilson do their thing. Plus, the reaction when M***a nearly hit the wall was hilarious to watch: three guys staring at a monitor, then jumping back in surprise.

-Most important of all: There are 33 cars qualified for the 500!

93rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Starting Grid (as of 5/16):

1. Helio Castroneves 224.864
2. Ryan Briscoe 224.083
3. Dario Franchitti 224.010

4. Graham Rahal 223.954
5. Scott Dixon 223.867
6. Tony Kannan 223.612

7. Mario Moraes 223.331
8. Marco Andretti 223.114
9. Will Power 223.028

10. Danica Patrick 222.882
11. Alex Lloyd 222.622
12. Rafael Matos 223.429

13. Paul Tracy 223.111
14. Vitor Meira 223.054
15. Justin Wilson 222.903

16. Hideki Mutoh 222.805
17. Ed Carpenter 222.780
18. Dan Wheldon 222.777

19. A.J. Foyt IV 222.586
20. Scott Sharp 222.162
21. Sarah Fisher 222.082

22. Davey Hamilton 221.956
23. Robert Doornbos 221.692
24. Townsend Bell 221.195

25. Oriol Servia 220.984
26. Alex Tagliani 220.553
27. Tomas Scheckter 220.212

28. Mike Conway 220.124
29. E.J. Viso 219.971
30. Ryan Hunter-Reay 219.502

31. John Andretti 219.442
32. M***a D**o 218.040
33. Nelson Philippe 218.032

Wrapup: Qualification Day 2

Well well, my first day at the Speedway this year turned out to be a very good one. Lots of interesting stuff happening on the track, other interesting stuff happening off of it, and one very happy Scott Sharp.

Let's start with the qualifying itself. You know Paul Tracy had to be completely hopping mad after he was unable to make the field on Saturday. Then, there was no way he could feel good about the way he was being bumped down the grid again on Sunday afternoon. So, he came out and blitzed everyone but Rafael Matos to put his car on the inside of Row 5.

Speaking of Matos, what a great run he had. There was never a hitch in the throttle, there were no bobbles in the turns, and there was a lot of speed in that Luzco-Dragon Racing car. If Rafa had put together a run like that one on Saturday, he would've been on the inside of Row 3, ahead of such folks as Marco Andretti, Will Power, and Danica Patrick.

There were a couple of awkward moments during qualifying runs, most notably when Sarah Fisher made the first run of the day at noon. She was looking pretty solid for a couple of laps, but she claimed the car just went wild on her at the south end (probably from a wind gust or something) and she ended up losing 5 mph on her average. Later on, she came out and put together a much more solid run that will see her start on the outside of Row 7.

The other awkward moment came from A.J. Foyt IV, who didn't seem to have full control of his car for any part of his run. The biggest moment came on his fourth lap, when he blipped the throttle exiting Turn 1, then washed up the track in Turn 2 to whitewall his tires on the exit. Foyt eventually made the field, and his teammate Vitor Meira, who had also had some struggles with his car, was able to plant his car in the middle of Row 5.

Outside of the qualifying runs, practice saw what could have been one of the scariest moments of the month. John Andretti, trying to pull more speed out of his Dreyer & Reinbold machine, lost the back of the car and crashed out of Turn 1. Graham Rahal was right behind him and, as Andretti drifted down the track, he went high to avoid the wreck. Then, physics decided to play a trick on everyone and Andretti's car drifted back up the track. Rahal slammed the brakes and jammed his wheel to the left, where the car slid onto the pit warmup lane with no more damage than two flat tires.

Let me just say one thing: Graham Rahal is officially a freaking amazing driver. I didn't see the wreck, but I saw Rahal's car with the flats, so I assumed Rahal must have driven through some debris or something. Then I saw the replay with my jaw dropped straight to the floor; it was one of the greatest pieces of driving I've ever seen, and it came from someone who was only in his second year at the Speedway. Instead of colliding, severely damaging two cars, and perhaps severely injuring two drivers, Rahal's snap reaction resulted in two flat tires and maybe a little suspension damage. Go buy a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and eat it in his honor, would ya?

The other major note of the day is a possible driver change for Dreyer Reinbold for the #24 car. Driver Mike Conway found his way hard into the Turn 1 wall in morning practice and ended up at Methodist Hospital with a bruised lung. (an aside: if the SAFER barrier weren't there, he would have broken his back at the least) Bruised lungs fall into the category of "serious" and Conway's chances of running the 500 are slim at this point. It's looking like Darren Manning will hop in on Thursday and try to put the car in the field over the weekend.

Also on Thursday, be on the lookout for Oriol Servia and Townsend Bell, as they'll both be hopping in their cars for a chance to make the race. There are still some entries that haven't been filled, so we'll all have to keep our eyes out for any other entries as the week wears on.

93rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Starting Grid (as of 5/10):

1. Helio Castroneves 224.864
2. Ryan Briscoe 224.083
3. Dario Franchitti 224.010

4. Graham Rahal 223.954
5. Scott Dixon 223.867
6. Tony Kannan 223.612

7. Mario Moraes 223.331
8. Marco Andretti 223.114
9. Will Power 223.028

10. Danica Patrick 222.882
11. Alex Lloyd 222.622
12. Rafael Matos 223.429

13. Paul Tracy 223.111
14. Vitor Meira 223.054
15. Justin Wilson 222.903

16. Hideki Mutoh 222.805
17. Ed Carpenter 222.780
18. Dan Wheldon 222.777

19. A.J. Foyt IV 222.586
20. Scott Sharp 222.162
21. Sarah Fisher 222.082

22. Davey Hamilton 221.956

And Now, A Rant...

A wrapup of day 2 of qualifications is upcoming, but I decided to raid the internet for reading material before getting to that.

In my travels along the information superhighway, I found this editorial by SpeedTV.com's Tom Jensen. It it, he offers a "modest proposal" to revitalize Pole Day at Indianapolis. His idea is to put the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on consecutive days over Memorial Day Weekend in order to allow drivers to run both of them, then offer a ridiculously large sum of money to the person who can win both races in the same year.

It's an interesting idea, certainly, and there is some merit to it, but there is also a certain degree of "what the hell is wrong with you?"

First of all, the problem with Pole Day is not the lack of names. IndyCar has name drivers piloting entries for name teams that are all very close when qulifying rolls around. Sure, it would be nice to have Stewarts, Gordons, and Allmendingers on the 500 entry list, but they need to take care of one thing at a time -- the first being getting money into the series to begin with.

Another major issue with this idea is the fact that NASCAR has its head too far up its butt to even consider doing this. Nothing in the past several years has shown that NASCAR would ever want to collaborate with the IRL to do anything that might be good for the sport as a whole. It's gone so far that NASCAR, through International Speedway Corp. does its best to make sure IndyCar races fail at ISC's tracks. NASCAR also has no appreciation for its own history, much less the history of other series. Otherwise, they would be rudely awakened to the fact that the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race has been, and always will be, a bigger event than the 600-mile gimmick at Charlotte.

What really is the likelihood that NASCAR would move its race from Sunday to Saturday or Monday? There's no reason that the 500 should be the one to move because, even though the 500 has moved days many times in the past, there is absolutely no way it would be moved from Sunday in favor of an inferior event. NASCAR won't move the time of their event because they're more stubborn than a barn full of mules.

There are two chief problems with Pole Day that Jensen has no idea about because he doesn't know what he's talking about: speed and television.

The people who came packed the grandstands to watch qualifying through the late 80's were there to see speed records fall. Sure people knew that an Indy Car could go 200 mph, but to see Tom Sneva make an average of 200 over the 2.5-mile lap of the Speedway somehow legitimized the speed. Same with the 150 mph lap of Parnelli Jones in 1963. People came to see how fast the cars could go that year, but the officials rightly decided that, as the speeds were reaching 240, the cars needed to slow down. There's no one calling, "it's a new track record," so there are many fans that don't show up. There is no reasonable solution to that issue because it would be nonsensical to put the drivers in danger for the sake of the show.

The other thing that keeps people away is the fact that they can crank on their television and watch every second of every attempt live on whatever channel they might be on, and one does not need to go to the track to watch the battle for the pole. The solution to that is the same solution that local Indianapolis station WRTV came up with to make sure locals go to the race: don't show it live! Do a condensed review show of maybe two hours after the fact and don't actually let fans watch live qualifying. Besides, live qualifying on TV is simply the most boring thing this side of drying paint.

Tom Jensen has proven that, not only does he not understand the problems involved, but he doesn't understand the complications (most of which would be NASCAR's fault) of implementing his own solution. Of course, I expected nothing less from the Speed Channel.

Wrapup: Pole Day

So I was busy graduating pretty much all afternoon and I managed to miss the crap out of Pole Day. Then I fired up my internet and found out that I missed some pure, hardcore craziness. Seriously, look at the car Tony Kanaan was driving today!

Turns out Tony was unhappy with his car after two days of practice, and the team agreed that something drastic needed to be done. One of the advantages of being part of a rich, four-car team is that there are a lot of extra parts sitting around from which to build an entirely new car. Thus, we have the tub, sidepods, and engine cover from Hideki Mutoh's garage and wings from his own and from that is created the sixth-place starter for the 500-Mile Race. Nice work by the AGR folks.

One of the many mondo-surprises of the day was the man (yeah, I'll call him a man, even if he's younger than me) who, if he were a rookie, would've waltzed off with the Teo Fabi Award. Graham Rahal qualified fourth, and showed that Newman/Haas/Lanigan is seriously for real and, if they play their cards right, could pull in their first 500 victory in many tries. We already know Graham is a killer-good driver and N/H/L has showed that they have some fight in 'em this year, so the possibilities are endless.

Unfortunately, the other N/H/L car has apparently started a love affair with, and can't seem to stay away from the Turn 2 wall. Robert Doornbos, who had the Teo Fabi Award for Rookie Qualifying Excellence practically on his shelf, washed into the South Chute wall yesterday and spun his backup car into the Turn 2 wall before qualifying started. At this point, Doornbos will be lucky to get his car in the field on Day 2 of qualifying.

The other refreshing surprise of Pole Day (apart from Mario Moraes keeping it real for KV Racing) was Alex Lloyd pulling together some pink-moxie and putting his car in 11th to lock himself into the field. The pink-mobile is alive and well and I have a feeling a lot of people will become fans of it on May 24.

Oh, and Team Penske is still better than everyone. Helio Castroneves tap-danced his way into a well-deserved pole position.

Oh, and it was windy. Speeds were down today because the south end of the track was nearly impossible to navigate and cars were twitchy through Turn 2 the whole time

93rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Starting Grid (as of 5/9):

1. Helio Castroneves 224.864
2. Ryan Briscoe 224.083
3. Dario Franchitti 224.010

4. Graham Rahal 223.954
5. Scott Dixon 223.867
6. Tony Kannan 223.612

7. Mario Moraes 223.331
8. Marco Andretti 223.114
9. Will Power 223.028

10. Danica Patrick 222.882
11. Alex Lloyd 222.622

In news that is completely, entirely awesome, I will be at the track tomorrow! I couldnt come to Opening Day because it was on a freaking Wednesday, and I couldn't get to Pole Day because I was graduating, so tomorrow will be my first time there this year. I'm looking forward to see what Paul Tracy does tomorrow, and I can't wait to see Sarah Fisher take to the track. Excitement abounds!

Wrapup: Day 4, Day 4.5

We've been through Fast Friday, and we've been through the day's practice before qualifying (Day 4.5), so let's get rollin' and put the top eleven cars on the grid!

The big news has got to be Teo Fabi Award candidate Robert Doornbos, who followed up his wall-clouting effort yesterday with another visit to the outside of the track today. Yesterday's impact was fairly sedate as wall shots go, as he just drifted up and tagged the wall in Turn 1. Today, he got loose and put it nearly nose-first into the wall. Ten years ago, he'd be severely injured. Today, he gathers himself up and gets ready to go for broke tomorrow.

Also finding the wall was Scott Sharp, who took a fun spin through the south end of the track before finding a tough impact in Turn 2.

I'll skip giving you top speeds, suffice it to say that the Penske cars were fast yesterday and fast today. Look for a lot of red and white at the top of the grid when the grid is set.

Just catching the beginning of qualifying and...erm...Justin Wilson stalled on the pit lane. Who knows, maybe he'll kick butt now that the car is on the track...

Nooo, Not Bobby D!

Robert Doornbos, easily my pick to win this year's Teo Fabi award for "guy who crashes everyone's qualifying party", just put his car all over the wall at the south end of the track. Not quite sure what happened, since none of the cameras were actually on him at the time, but he had just thrown down the fifth-best speed of the day. He must've been going a little too fast; it looks like he probably washed up the track in Turn 1, because he was in the wall long before he got to Turn 2, where the cameras picked him up.

I really thought Bobby D would be able to crash the top couple of rows and maybe even lead the field in qualifying, but now the N/H/L guys have to put the car back together, and having to recalibrate the whole thing between 9 and 12 tomorrow will make it difficult to put together a top-11 car. We shall see, though...

Wrapup: Day 2

Honestly, this is the first time I've looked at a picture of A.J. Foyt and said, "Man, he looks old." I'm sure he could still beat me up a hundred times over, but he's a lot greyer and more wrinkled that I remember.

Anyway, you see grandson A.J. IV all dressed up and today, thank goodness, he did have somewhere to go. There were scattered storms in the forecast, but the weather pulled a fast one and there was nothing but sun and dry asphalt for the entire day.

Marco Andretti surprised more than a few people by putting his #26 Venom Energy Drink car of black and red snakey excellence at the top of the charts ahead of the Penske cars and the Ganassi cars. Some are saying he might've had a draft to help him out, but the speed stands as the fastest of the month so far.

Also surprising was Robert Doornbos, who was only in his second day ever on the oval at Indianapolis. He was at the top of the charts early on and stayed near the top for the rest of the day. He and teammate Graham Rahal might be the big surprises on Pole Day, because those cars are damn strong.

My rundown is going to be the top eleven speeds because, well, that's how many cars get to qualify two days from now.

Day 2 Top Speeds:

1. Marco Andretti 225.478
2. Helio Castroneves 225.237
3. Ryan Briscoe 224.904
4. Scott Dixon 224.448
5. Dario Franchitti 224.160
6. Dan Wheldon 224.022
7. Robert Doornbos 223.592
8. Danica Patrick 223.253
9. Graham Rahal 222.996
10. Will Power 222.896
11. Hideki Mutoh 222.745

Other notes on Day 2:

-Townsend Bell and Oriol Servia are officially official for second week programs at KV Racing and Rahal-Letterman resectively.

-Sarah Fisher was looking really good as the afternoon wore down. She was knocking on the top 11 for a while before getting knocked down to 18th. Look for her to qualify on the second day.

-Danica Patrick is the latest face of the "Got Milk" campaign. The ad might inspire young boys, but not necessarily to drink milk...

-A.J. Foyt IV is going super old-school and rocking granddad's old helmet design: Straight-up orange with a gold "AJ". I completely approve.

-Ryan Hunter-Reay was the first driver to tag the wall this month, though it was a close thing. Not sure what happened, but it looked like he drifted into the grey area as he exited Turn 2, then put a little too much wheel into it and spun out. He just tagged the wall with his left-rear suspension, got a little air under the car, then settled down into a lazy spin towards the infield. No injuries, but Ryan's in trouble for getting good practice in tomorrow and qualifying well Saturday.

That's it for Thursday. I'm going to miss essentially the entire day because I have an exam and some work (setting up cameras for the graduation ceremony!). I'll try to learn what I can and provide a sufficient rundown tomorrow. Ciao!

Wrapup: Day 1

I really hope I don't have to use this photograph too much during the month. Sure, it's funny, but that's no replacement for race cars making fliers at "The Brickyard".

Top speed for today belongs to Ernie Triplett and Deacon Litz in that rowboat in 1933. Nothing else got to really take to the track after the rains hit this morning. As for tomorrow, it's actually looking good between about 9 AM and 4 PM, which means we should easily get some cars on-track for some hot laps. After 4, the chance for storms goes up (as it always does in this part of the world).

Some notes from today:

-Sarah Fisher is going to give away a ride in a 2-seater via twitter at some point in the month, so keep an eye out for that. Great move on her part.

-It's looking like Oriol Servia will be heading up Rahal-Letterman's effort this month. Expect an announcement tomorrow, says Curt Cavin.

-Sam Schmidt Motorsports, apparently because they were bored from watching the track get wet, came up with a new nickname for rocker-of-pink Alex Lloyd. Get ready, 'cause this one's a doozy: Pink Lloyd. Fantastic! Shine on, you crazy diamonds!

-Tony Kanaan found the best picture ever of Mario Moraes, flanked by his brothers, and I get the feeling that Tony will never let Mario live it down. Check it out...

-More from TK: a preview of what we might see when his hair gets a little longer. 'Frony Kanaan

-Curt Cavin got bored and ate some donuts.

Exciting day, for sure! Hopefully we'll get some action in tomorrow.

Wrapup: Day 0

Remember from yesterday: Day 0 is the wrapup of Rookie Orientation. Official Opening Day practice action will be considered Day 1.

So Day 0 got off to a pretty decent start. Three drivers (Lloyd, Phillippe, Barrett) all found their way onto the track to get some laps in. Phillippe managed to squeeze in enough quick laps to get the a-okay from the stewards and complete his Rookie Orientation. Stanton Barrett, after breaking the 210 mph mark, only was able to get in five laps before that other month-of-May tradition reared its ugly head: rain.

Unfortunately, the outlook is not good for this afternoon, as the Weather Channel says there's a chance of rain until about 4PM. Now, I know from experience that you can get this track dry in about 2.5 hours under good conditions, but it's hard to know what will happen today. More to come, for sure...

Day 0 Top Speeds:

1. Nelson Phillippe 217.688
2. Alex Lloyd 214.514
3. Stanton Barrett 211.644

Wrapup: Day -1

Since today's Rookie Orientation/Veteran Refresher Day is not being referred to as "Opening Day" by the brass, it is henceforth known as "Day -1". "Day 0" can be the conclusion of the rookie business tomorrow morning before we finally get to "Day 1". That has been clarified; let's move on to the on-track action!

Paul Tracy, being the complete badass that he is, came out of the pit lane and busted the 220-mph barrier after just two laps. He also gave us the on-track premiere of what is a very good-looking car. Paul's best speed of the day was 223.089 which, as I take a look at the back of my 2008 Starting Grid shirt, would put him 12th on last year's grid. Not too shabby for someone who hasn't seen this track since he tried to yank the Borg-Warner Trophy out of Helio's hands in 2002. Tracy was joined by fellow returning vet Scott Sharp, who nicely represented the Patron Girls with a top speed of 221.878.

As for the rookies, it is pretty obvious that Robert Doornbos is the guy to beat. Under normal Rookie Program procedure, a driver is supposed to do 10 laps at 200-205 mph, 10 at 205-210, 10 at 210-215, and 10 at 215-220. Doornbos got impatient at all of this procedural hogwash and decided to blow into the 218 mph range within about 10 minutes of being on the track. He eventually bettered Paul Tracy's initial 220 mph lap with a 220 of his own, then a 221.735. He's within about half an eyeblink of the most veteran driver in the field (Sharp) and this was the first time he had ever been on the track. I suppose it doesn't hurt that he's with a damn good team (Newman/Haas/Lanigan).

Also of note was the paint jobs on the various autos on the track today. You've already seen Tracy's red and blue gecko-mobile. We also have some sort of police caution tape/green thingy for Nelson Phillippe, and the always good-looking Tequila Patron car of Scott Sharp. There's the "King Tut" car of Alex Tagliani, which I think was a huge miss -- I think they should've painted the whole thing with blue and gold stripes and heiroglyphs...oh well.

The most notable of the notable paint jobs, though, is the pink-mobile of Alex Lloyd. Fantastic look for the young Englishman, no? Before we mock, though, let's remember the last fellow to rock the pink at Indianapolis. He already had two F1 Drivers' Championships and he was on his way to two 500 wins. Maybe Alex can take Emmo's pink-moxie and make something of it...

Day -1 Top Speeds:

1. Paul Tracy - 223.089
2. Scott Sharp - 221.878
3. Robert Doornbos - 221.735
4. Raphael Matos - 218.613
5. Alex Tagliani - 218.333
6. Mike Conway - 217.063
7. Nelson Phillippe - 214.786
8. Alex Lloyd - 213.032
9. Stanton Barrett - 207.522

S-S-S-Silly Season!

Put down the chairs and start the music! It's time to see who will land in a seat for the 500-mile race!

Let's go after some of the news that has popped up in the last couple of days:

-Alex Tagliani has his ride and a new paint job at Conquest, but it's also being rumored that Conquest's second car might have a pilot.

-Curt Cavin is saying that Townsend Bell has been inked for the third KV Racing car (#8) to team with Moraes and Tracy

-Rahal Letterman has not confirmed a driver, but they have a car en route to the track.

-It's not news, but it is pretty silly: Alex Lloyd is bringin' back the pink and rockin' it with style. Rock the Pink! Recall that the last fellow to rock the pink was some Brazilian guy named Emerson Fittipaldi...There's something in his bio about F1 Championships and a couple of Indy wins...something about orange juice...

-An update on some stuff for today's Rookie Orientation Program/veteran refreshers: Paul Tracy is definitely going to be taking some laps (nice car, btw), and there are a ton of vets who are eligible to go out. I'll let you know who decided to do it when I wrap up the day later on.

-One other thing: I totally spaced on the fact that there was an Indy Lights practice today. Sebastien Saavedra topped the charts with a 191.278-mph lap. Wade Cunningham, Martin Plowman, J.R. Hildebrand, Andrew Prendeville, Ana Beatriz, James Davison, Daniel Herrington, Junior Strous, and Richard Philippe round out the top 10.

More to come as the day wears on. Being a lowly college student, i have a final exam at 7:15, so I probably won't wrap the day up until later on...but I'll do it, I swear!

The Track Is Open!

...Okay, it's open tomorrow. Still, a great day for all fans of American racing.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 5, is the first day of on-track activity in preparation for the 93rd running of the 500-Mile Race. Now, it's not opening day, as the Speedway brass decided to make opening day the first day on which everyone -- rookies and veterans alike -- will take to the track. Tomorrow is the Rookie Orientation Program/veteran refresher lap day. It used to be that Opening Day would be when the rookie laps were done, but the bosses realized that maybe people don't want to show up to watch a bunch of unknowns run slow laps while they figure out the nuances of the Speedway.

I've listed all of the rookies here. I haven't seen any confirmations of who might be taking refresher laps this time around. There was a suggestion at the Paul Tracy/KV announcement that Tracy might, to which he now infamously responded, "I don't think they let former winners do that." I haven't seen any word on whether or not he will actually be out there, but he is certainly eligible; he hasn't been on the track since the famous disputed finish in 2002.

On Track, 5/4/2009 (as far as I know...):

2. Rafael Matos
24. Mike Conway
31. Nelson Philippe
34. Alex Tagliani
98. Stanton Barrett
06. Robert Doornbos

Because You Can't Get Enough Donald...

Not only has Donald Davidson returned to bless the Indianapolis airwaves with his spectacular Talk of Gasoline Alley radio show on 1070 The Fan (formerly 1070 WIBC), but he has also put together some brief videos for the Indianapolis Star's Speedway Centennial page.

That page on the Indy Star is amazingly large, and I have to get to work, or I would explore the crap out of it. There are aerial photos of the Speedway through the ages and downtown Indianapolis through the ages. There are maps galore (Speedway and Indy), including a map of what became Speedway City before the purchase of the land by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company. This is some fantastic historical stuff and, if you don't have time to go through Donald's Autocourse book or the vast photo library on the Speedway's website, this serves as a great primer.

Cheers, and happy Month of May.