Thirty three racers will be joined by 300,000 spectators and millions on radio and television around the world this weekend celebrating the Centennial Era at one of the world’s most notable raceways.
One of the crown jewels of motor sports, the Indy 500 has always had compelling storylines and this year will be no different. Helio Castroneves (this year’s pole sitter and a two-time winner, above) and Danica Patrick (the sport’s glamour girl, right) will be headliners, especially from non-race fans for off-track stories, but there are 31 other drivers that are every bit as ambitious and many teams that will do everything they can to make sure they’re the ones that come out of the 500 the new champions. Steady Scott Dixon could easily come away with another win.
Yes race teams like Ganassi and Penske play a vital role in prepping the machines, but in the end it often comes down to the nerve and verve of the drivers and out there on the track going 225 mph, stories are developing around each of the 200 laps and what makes the race even more compelling is that there are room for dark horses to take that checkered flag, like Mario Moraes who started 28th in his first Indy 500 last year and finished 18th after leading 3 laps.
There is also the genes quotient like AJ Foyt IV and on top of that list would be Graham Rahal who can absorb all the advice from Bobby, but it really comes down to experiencing the track and race for himself. Here is a young man on the rise who is maturing rapidly and should learn from his rookie mistakes. Of course the famous Andretti name will be present, Marco Andretti finished 2nd in his rookie year at Indy, barely being beaten by Team Penske’s Sam Hornish. John Andretti, starting in row 10, has four top-ten finishes at Indianapolis in nine races with a best finish of fifth.
With rule changes like common suspension lengths and taking away some of the options for the bigger teams with the larger budgets to find some areas to improve their car that would not be available to the teams that are in the middle or in the back end of the pack, the sport’s administrators have done good work in bringing a rules package together that has produced one of the closest fields in many years for the 2009 Indianapolis 500.
“Ladies and Gentlemen…… start your engines.”
Broadcast
ABC Sunday May 24 12 Noon ET
lap-by-lap announcer Marty Reid will be joined by analysts Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever
patrick better start getting some wins. She’s in the kournikova class now.
Scott Dixon is the ice man, he will cooly take the field apart for another checkered flag.
Helio! THAT is concentration. That is focus.
Hey Danica did a fine job. She is closing in on that checkered flag.
Give Danica credit, she finished the highest any woman has at the Indy 500.
Helio, my main man does it again through turmoil.