Official 2008 Indy 500 Prediction

Yes folks, it is finally that time. The moment you have all been waiting for.

It is time for the DFresh prediction of who will drink the milk after the 92nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

33 drivers will start but only one will be recognized as an Indy 500 champion by day’s end.

Who will that driver be?

Well, the answer is very simple. It is more than simple. In fact, it is a no-brainer.

Let’s be realistic. More than half of this Sunday’s field does not have a prayer.

Marty Roth. Milka Duno. Enrique Bernaldi. A.J. Foyt IV. The list can go on. Thank you for showing up and helping fill the field, but it is past your bedtime.

The field consists of four former winners; Buddy Lazier (1996), Helio Castroneves (2001-02), Buddy Rice (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005). Will one of these gentlemen add another trophy to their mantle? Castroneves and Wheldon are both overwhelming favorites with Lazier and Rice on the outside looking in.

For the second straight year, three women will be given the command to start their engines. Sarah Fisher brings the most experience to the table with her seventh start. Milka Duno embarks on her second Indy 500 with another year of experience under her belt. Danica Patrick, making her fourth start, is oozing with confidence after her first IndyCar win in Japan last month. If any of these women are to make history on Sunday, Patrick would be the best bet.

The field is comprised of 11 rookies, most of which are a result of the off-season open-wheel merger between Champ Car and the IRL. Most of these rookies have zero oval experience which is a recipe for disaster, but there are a few picks of the litter.

Graham Rahal, son of 1986 winner Bobby Rahal, is considered the favorite of the rookies based on his appreciation and respect for the speedway. He drives for Newman Haas Lanigan Racing, which won the last four Champ Car series championships but years of disappointment at Indy should motivate young Rahal.
ODDS: 50:1

So, exactly who will win Sunday’s race?

Let’s start from the top.

Pole sitter Scott Dixon finished runner-up to Dario Franchitti in last year’s Indy 500 and has been fast all month, but starting from the pole does not guarantee a victory. Dating back to Rick Mears in 1988, only six pole winners have gone on to win the race, so history does not bode well for Dixon.
ODDS: 10:1

2005 Indy winner Wheldon should be a contender on Sunday, but his lengthy hair and new teeth will cause his car to develop a push in the turns, which means he will have to wait another year for a second win.
ODDS: 9:1

Penske newcomer Ryan Briscoe has had relative success at Indy, but it would be difficult to picture him in Victory Lane. Briscoe put his back-up car into the wall in practice this month, and odds are he will do the same with his primary car come Sunday.
ODDS: 25:1

Helio Castroneves is a victim of his own success. Two wins in two starts make Castroneves a contender year-after-year, but it has been six years since he climbed the fence in victory. The Dancing with the Stars winner needs to share the wealth and let somebody else drink the milk and kiss the queen.
ODDS: 5:1

Danica Patrick led 19 laps in her rookie run of 2005, but she failed to lead the most important lap. She won her first IRL event last month in Japan and is a legitimate contender on Sunday. The IRL will quietly be cheering for Patrick because a victory on Sunday would generate millions of dollars in sponsorships and revenue. Unfortunately, there are too many other top contenders for her to compete with so it will take another risky fuel strategy to steal a victory.
ODDS: 10:1

Marco Andretti finished second to Sam Hornish, Jr. in 2006 in the 2nd-closest finish in the history of the Indy 500, but that is as close as he will get on Sunday. Andretti’s cockiness and lack of appreciation is why he does not deserve an Indy win just yet. He has been fast all month, but after his runner-up finish in 2006 his immediate reaction was, “Second place is nothing. They don’t remember people who finish second here.” Marco feels he deserves a win here simply because of the notoriety of his last name. If you do not respect Indy, you end up in the wall or upside down, which is how Marco finished last year, and odds are that is where he will end this year.
ODDS: 100:1

Tomas Scheckter has nearly won this race twice already, but has not been competitive since a fourth-place finish in 2003. He led a race-high 85 laps as a rookie in 2002, but crashed out while leading the race with just 28 laps left. Scheckter is the biggest threat to the 3 power teams, but he will need to show more patience than in years past.
ODDS: 25:1

There you have it; the odds and predictions for the top contenders in Sunday’s race. Of course, there is one driver left, and that would be the winner.

DFRESH PREDICTION:

Tony Kanaan will end all of his disappointment and snake-bit luck on Sunday and will finally capture the only trophy that has eluded him throughout his career – the Borg Warner Trophy. Kanaan has been close year after year. He has led 202 laps since his rookie year in 2002 and he has shown no signs of slowing down. He drives for Andretti-Green Racing, which has produced two of the last three Indy winners, so experience is on his side. Kanaan has three top-five finishes on his Indy 500 resume, but he is tired of coming up short. Kanaan has the drive, the patience, the passion, the experience, and the killer instinct that is required to win this great race. 2008 is the year of Kanaan.
ODDS: 2:1

Good luck and Godspeed

Best of the Rest Indy 500 Preview

Best of the Rest Indy 500 Previews

Townsend Bell will drive the third Dreyer & Reinbold machine. Bell finished 22nd in his only previous Indy 500 start in 2006. He was the fastest third-day qualifier (second day rained out). Solid open-wheel experience should make him a genuine competitor on Sunday.

The Indy 500 welcomes another second-generation racer when Graham Rahal, son of 1986 Indy 500 champ Bobby Rahal, starts his first Indy 500. He rolls off the grid 13th for Newman Hass Lanigan Racing. Rahal poses perhaps the best threat of any Champ Car drivers based on his passion and appreciation for the speedway.

Darren Manning is hungry for his first IndyCar win, which could not occur at a more historic event like the Indy 500. A victory would be the second for car owner A. J. Foyt, who won in 1999 with Kenny Brack. Manning will be making his fourth Indy start with his best finish of 20th coming in 2007.

2002 pole sitter Bruno Junqueira returns for his fifth Indy 500 after a two-year hiatus. Junqueira had a solid run going in 2005 before a violent wreck broke his back just before the 200-mile mark. He is eager to improve on a pair of fifth-place finishes. He has led in each of his last three races, so if his Dale Coyne machine holds up he should be a contender.

Rookie Justin Wilson may not win the Indy 500, be he will go down as one of the tallest to ever cross the yard of bricks. Wilson, who stands 6’3, is eager to win the only trophy that eludes Newman Haas Lanigan; the highly coveted Borg Warner Trophy

Buddy Rice is one of four former winners competing in the 92nd Indianapolis 500. Rice looks to rebound after some recent bad lack at the speedway. He was unable to defend his championship in 2005 due to a practice accident, and then crashed out in both 2006 and 2007. Rice drives for Dreyer & Reinbold, which seeks its second IRL win and first at Indy.

Alex Lloyd is the reigning Indy Pro series champion and is making his Indy 500 debut in a joint effort by Chip Ganassi and Rahal Letterman Racing. Lloyd found the wall on Fast Friday, but rebounded to qualify safely for the race. Assuming his confidence has not been shattered, Lloyd could be a legitimate threat on Sunday.

Ryan Hunter-Reay is driving for the same Rahal Letterman Racing team that won the race in 2005, so the bar is set high for this 27-year old rookie from Dallas. Hunter-Reay crashed on pole day, but he has the backing of an experienced car owner to guide him through his first race.

John Andretti joins cousin Marco as the other Andretti in the field. He makes his second consecutive start after a 12 year absence. Andretti drives the second Marty Roth owned car, but managed to find speed immediately. Andretti has four top-10 finishes in his eight career starts, including fifth-place back in 1991.

For the first time in her Indy 500 career, Sarah Fisher comes to Indianapolis as a car owner. Despite a lack of support from several primary sponsors, Fisher qualified for her seventh race. Despite being voted most popular driver in the IRL three years in a row (2001-2003), she has failed to deliver successful results. Her best finish of 18th came last year, which means much room for improvement.

Will Power, a fiery Australian rookie to Indy, seeks his second IndyCar victory of the year after winning on the streets of Long Beach. He drives for KV Technologies, owned by former Champ Car president Kevin Kalkhoven and 8-time Indy 500 starter Jimmy Vasser. Does Power have the power to be the third rookie since 2000 to drink the milk?

Jeff Simmons straps into the second A.J. Foyt car for what will be his fourth Indy 500. Last year was his most impressive showing – he actually led a lap en route to an 11th place finish.

Oriol Servia makes his first start at Indianapolis, but he no stranger to open-wheel racing. In fact, this is his second trip to Indianapolis; he failed to qualify in 2002. Servia is best known for replacing an injured Junqueira in 2005 and finishing second in the Champ Car final season standings.

EJ Viso’s first appearance at the track came by way foot, not car, when he participated in the Mini Marathon. Viso drives for HVM Racing, which is a carryover team from Champ Car. Viso has displayed signs of potential thus far which makes him optimistic for Sunday.

Milka Duno became the fifth woman to drive in the Indy 500 last year, when she finished 31st after crashing out on lap 65. She returns to Indy with more experience and even more confidence so improving on her prior performance should be a simple task.

Mario Moraes, Enrique Bernoldi, and Jaime Camara are all rookies at this year’s Indy 500, and they fill up the 10th row. Moraes look for advice and leadership from Dale Coyne teammate Junqueira while Bernoldi and Camera are teammates are Conquest Racing and plan to surge to the front together.

It was an up and down bump day for 1996 Indy winner Buddy Lazier, but he survived and will start a race-high 16th Indy 500. Lazier’s resume is impressive, which includes the 1996 win and five top-five finishes. It will be a challenging charge from the rear, but there is no driver in the field more capable of overcoming incredible odds at Indy.

Last, but certainly not least, is Canadian Marty Roth, who survived the bubble and will start from the tail end of the pack in his fourth Indy 500. No need to waste space discussing Roth’s history. He has yet to finish an Indy 500 and there is a better chance of Milka Duno and Danica Patrick making out in victory lane than Roth has of winning the race.

Hopefully everybody is now more familiar with some of the newcomers and journeymen who will be competing in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. It should be filled with drama, suspense and excitement, and that is why it is the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Vision Racing Eyes Indy 500 Upset

Tony George became president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1989. He founded the Indy Racing League in 1996. He completed the open-wheel Triple Crown in 2005 when he founded his own racing team, Vision Racing.

Since its inception to the IRL in 2005, Vision Racing has endured tumultuous moments time and time again.

The worst moment occurred at the 2006 season-opening IndyCar event in Homestead, Florida. Vision driver Ed Carpenter crashed during a morning warm-up session and came to a rest at the bottom of the track. Out of nowhere, a car driven by rookie Paul Dana smashed head-on at full speed into Carpenter’s idle machine. Dana was killed while Carpenter escaped with only bruised lungs.

Controversy struck the Vision stable once again at the 2008 season-opening race at Homestead. Carpenter and Vision teammate A.J. Foyt IV qualified career-bests of 2nd and 3rd, but both runs were disqualified after the cars failed technical inspections.

Team manager Larry Curry was fired due to the violations, but hopes are still high heading into Vision’s fourth Indy 500.

Some experts – for unthinkable reasons – picked Carpenter and Foyt IV to be front row contenders. With Curry running the operations, that was a viable possibility. But, Curry’s demise sent Vision scrambling for solutions. After pole day, just one of three Vision machines was qualified. Carpenter qualified comfortably on the inside of row 4, but his teammates, Foyt IV and Davey Hamilton were still on the outside looking in.

So, who exactly are these three chaps who will be driving for Vision on May 25? Each comes from diverse backgrounds, but all carry a plethora of experience to give team owner George a win at his home track.

Carpenter, step-son of boss Tony George, is preparing for his fifth Indy 500 start with expectations of improving on his career-best finish of 11th, which he accomplished in 2005 and 2006. Carpenter is an Indy native who grew up minutes from the track so winning the race would result in one of the more emotional and memorial celebrations in history.

In four previous starts, Carpenter crashed out in two of them and finished a lap down in the others. He has yet to contend in any of his four appearances, so improvement is limitless.

Vision’s second car will be driven by the most famous names in Indianapolis 500 history.

A.J. Foyt IV, grandson of four-time 500 champ A.J. Foyt, is making his fifth Indy start. Despite carrying the famous name, Foyt IV is light years away from living up to grandpa’s legacy.

Foyt IV, whose best finish of 14th came in 2007, is best known for breaking Bruno Junqueira’s back in the 2005. Junqueira was running in fifth place when he attempted to pass Foyt IV’s on the outside on lap 76. He started to make the pass in turn 2, but he never made it to the turn 3; Foyt IV came high and touched wheels with Junqueira, which sent the Brazilian into the turn 2 wall. Junqueira broke his back and was forced to sit out the rest of the season.

If Foyt IV plans to carry on his grandfather’s legacy, Indy is the paramount place to start.

Veteran and journeyman Hamilton will pilot the third Vision machine on race day. Hamilton will be competing in his eighth race, but just his second since 2001 due to a horrific crash at Texas Motor Speedway that halted his driving career. Hamilton will be representing Vision Racing for a second straight year. He finished 9th last year, which was the third top-10 finish of Hamilton’s career. He finished 4th in 1998 and 6th in 1997.

Hamilton has probably moved into the No. 2 slot on Vision Racing’s board due to the multitude of issues Foyt IV has endured this month. Nevertheless, as it stands now, this is a one-shot deal for Hamilton so he needs to make the most of it. He needs to find the magic and confidence he drove with in the late 1990s before his accident if he hopes to accomplish his dream of winning the Indianapolis 500.

WHY A VISION CAR WILL WIN:

It has been nine years since CART invaded Indianapolis and they have dominated ever since with no signs of slowing down. If a non-power team is going to roll into victory lane, George will be sure it is one of his Vision cars. George, who has more money than God, will expend all possible resources to ensure his cars are competitive come race day.

Are they a long shot? Yes, but every once in awhile the long shot comes from nowhere to astonish the world.