Target Tandem Strikes Fear in Field

Here is a blast from the past. Think back to 2000 when Chip Ganassi brought reigning CART series champion Juan Montoya to the Indy 500, who turned the brickyard into his own personal butcher shop as he carved the competition into pieces.

That same sequence of events could take place yet again this year in the 92nd Running of the Indianapolis 500.

Same Team. Different Drivers. Same Results.

It has been eight years since the successful Montoya experiment. Montoya and teammate Jimmy Vasser combined to lead a mind-boggling 172 of 200 laps as Montoya became the first rookie since Graham Hill in 1966 to win the 500.

This year, the combination of 2005 Indy winner Dan Wheldon and 2003 IndyCar series champion Scott Dixon will be the team to beat as they strive to bring home a second Indy 500 win for owner Ganassi.

Wheldon and Dixon are off to a superior start of the 2008 IndyCar season. Each have scored a race victory and are coming off one of the most dominating performances in IRL history.

In the race leading up to the Indy 500 – the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 – Dixon and Wheldon were unmatchable. Wheldon started from the pole but it was Dixon who took the early lead. Dixon led 145 of the first 151 laps but an ill-timed pit stopped forced him to a third place finish. Wheldon picked up where Dixon left off to lead the final 49 laps for the win.

Dixon was also dominant at the Indy Japan 300 by leading 101 of the 200 laps but had to settle for a third place finish.

Dixon seems to dominate everywhere EXCEPT at Indianapolis. Since joining the IndyCar series in 2003, he has racked up 11 wins to accompany his 10 poles. On the other hand, the Indy 500 has not been as generous to Dixon; six starts, 32 laps led, 1 top-5 finish, two DNFs due to accidents.

Despite his previous track history, Dixon will be driving one of the more reliable and faster machines, which makes him one of the drivers to beat.

Wheldon is no stranger to success at Indianapolis. He drove from a sixth-row starting position in 2005 to battle with Danica Patrick in the final 20 laps on his way to Victory Lane. The victory was the first for Michael Andretti as a car owner.

Despite joining Ganassi Racing in 2006, Wheldon was still strong during the Month of May. He led a race-high 148 laps, but some late race setup changes went south and settled for fourth place.

WHY A GANASSI CAR WILL WIN:

Simply put, Chip Ganassi hates to lose. If a driver is not pulling his weight, he will replace him with somebody who will. He has deep pockets with a financially dominant sponsor that allows him to purchase the best drivers money can buy.

Ganassi is a long-time Indy 500 veteran car owner. He was co-owner with Pat Patrick of Emerson Fittipaldi’s first Indy 500 win in 1989. He started his own team in 1990 with rookie Eddie Cheever as his driver. Others to drive for Ganassi at Indianapolis include Arie Luyendyk, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Juan Montoya, Tony Stewart, Bruno Junqueira, and Tomas Scheckter; in other words, the best of the best.

Ganassi will win this year’s Indy 500 because of two words: Wheldon & Dixon. They are the two hottest drivers in the series with a wealth of success and experience. All they need is a little luck.

Ladies and Gentlemen.....

There is a renewed excitement on the west side of Indianapolis.

The sky is bluer.

The grass is greener.

The aroma of burnt rubber and gasoline is overwhelming.

Alas, the month of May has finally arrived.

The Indianapolis 500 brings excitement and enjoyment to millions each year, but this year’s race will add a new twist as this is the first unified Indy 500 since 1994.

Champ Car’s finest will attempt to shock the world at the yard of bricks on May 25. Many teams lack experience when it comes to oval racing so the veteran drivers will need to keep one eye ahead of them, one eye to the side of them, and another eye, well…..

Needless to say, the spotter will be as deserving of the victory wreath as the driver himself.

For die-hard race fans (such as me), the race feels like forever away. But for the race teams, the long and grueling month seems too short.

For veteran IndyCar teams such as Target/Chip Ganassi, Penske and Andretti-Green Racing, the month will be like clockwork. The three aforementioned teams have combined to win 17 Indianapolis 500s, including 7 of the previous 8.

The power teams could skip the first two weeks of practice, show up on the final day of qualifying, fill up the final three rows and would still be challenging for the lead 50 miles into the race.

For middle-of-the-pack and rookie teams, it will be a grueling and stressful month as they search for speed. Not just enough speed to qualify, but enough speed to stay competitive for 500 miles and not be just a safety hazard for the front-runners.

Missing from this year’s Indy 500 are two prominent names that have helped transform the Indy Racing League into the prominent open-wheel series it has become.

Defending Indy 500 and IRL points champion sold out his car owner, Michael Andretti, to test his driving abilities in NASCAR. What a great idea that turned out to be. Franchitti is currently sitting pretty in 37th place in the series rankings with an average finish spot of 31st place. His best result came at Martinsville when he finished a whopping 22nd.

During Franchitti’s run towards the IRL series championship, he failed to finish just one race to go along with four victories. Perhaps Franchitti felt racing in the IRL was too easy.

Another key name missing from this year’s field will be 2006 Indy 500 champion, Sam Hornish, Jr., who like Franchitti, is testing his talents in NASCAR. And, just like Franchitti, he is struggling just as much. Hornish. Jr. is 33rd in the standings with a top finish of 15th.

Andretti-Green Racing replaced Franchitti with an unproven rookie, Hideki Mutoh while Penske Racing replaced Hornish, Jr. with journeyman Ryan Briscoe.

Two relatively inexperienced drivers behind the wheels of two very fast machines could spell havoc on race day, but they could also steal a victory as well. Only time will tell.

Here are just a few of the many storylines that will develop this month.

Will Helio Castroneves climb the fences in celebration again, becoming just the sixth man to conquer Indy three times?

Will somebody open their eyes and give Paul Tracy a ride? Remember, one of Castroneves’ victories belongs to him.

Will Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon follow in the footsteps of Juan Montoya and Jimmy Vasser as Indy 500 dominators for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing?

Which driver or team has the best chance to come out of left field to kiss the bricks?

These and many more questions will be answered by month’s end. Please check back from time to time during the month of May as I offer opinions, predictions and ideas for the 92nd Running of the Indianapolis 500.

…Start Your Engines.

Danica Does Not Qualify

Danica Patrick finally silenced the critics last weekend with her victory in the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. Ever since her arrival onto the IndyCar scene in 2005, it was not if she would win but when.

She finally took the checkered flag in dramatic style. She used a risky fuel strategy to pass Helio Castroneves with three laps to go as Castroneves was running low on fuel.

Patrick’s victory is ground-breaking in terms of IndyCar, but a female winning a professional auto race is nothing new. Patrick’s victory did nothing but sell tickets for upcoming events on the IRL’s schedule, including this weekend’s race at Kansas where she will receive all the media attention – win or lose.

And then comes the Indianapolis 500. Patrick is a consistent top-runner at Indy. In her three starts, she has a fourth-place finish to go along with a pair of eighth-place finishes.

With the Indy Japan 300 victory under her belt, does Patrick now have the confidence and killer instinct to win the Indy 500? That question will be answered on May 25.

As great an achievement as it was for Patrick to win her first race, it has been difficult to tell this week if she is a race car driver or a democratic presidential nominee based on all of her media attention. She grabbed every headline in every major newspaper. She has appeared on talk show after talk show. Just for winning a single race?

Let’s set the record straight. Patrick is a race car driver. She gets paid to win races. Why does she deserve a parade thrown in her honor just because she lacks the traditional genitals?

Patrick’s victory, although historic in every sense of the word, does not fall into the realm of historic.

So, without further ado, here are the five most significant, newsworthy, and ground-breaking races and performances in the history of the IRL.

5. Hornish, Jr. Upsets Helio

Heading into the 2002 IRL series finale at the Chevy 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway, two drivers were left standing. In one corner, we had Sam Hornish, Jr., the reigning IRL series champion. In the other corner, we had the two-time reigning Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves, who was finishing up his rookie season in the IRL.

Hornish, Jr. vs. Castroneves.

Panther Racing vs. Penske Racing

David vs. Goliath.

Any non-observant race fan would pick Castroneves to capture the championship 10-out-of-10 times simply based on Penske’s history, reputation, and obsession with championships.

How could Hornish, Jr., driving for a low-funded and under-sized team manage to compete with the open-wheel monopoly that is Penske Racing?

Forget sponsors. Forget money. Forget history. Forget experience.

Hornish, Jr. – with the chips stacked against him – flopped a straight flush and got the job done. He passed Castroneves with just a handful of laps remaining in the Chevy 500 and held on for the victory as David defeated Goliath.

The victory proved that IRL founder Tony George’s vision for the series was still intact; a small and low-budgeted team had equal opportunity for success as a well-funded and experienced team did.

Unfortunately for the IRL, this was the end of an era. Fellow power teams from the rival CART series – Target Chip Ganassi, Andretti-Green, Rahal-Letterman – have staggered into the IRL and have since dominated the series.

Despite Hornish, Jr. being the last driver from a non-power team to win the series championship, he still went toe-to-toe with Goliath and slayed the great giant.

4. IRL Races With Heavy Hearts

When the sun set on March 27, 2006 after a beautiful, sun-filled day in Homestead, FL, the flags flew at half-mass.

A day that started with optimism ended with sadness.

The 2006 IRL season was lost before it even started.

Paul Dana’s death during a morning practice crash on March 27, 2006 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway forced his fellow IRL competitors to race with heavy hearts on that sunny afternoon.

Dana was killed when he slammed head first at 175 mph into an already-wrecked Vision Racing car driven by Ed Carpenter. Dana’s machine snapped in half and he was pronounced dead in a hospital two hours later.

To race or not to race?

Dana’s car owner, Bobby Rahal, withdrew his two remaining cars driven by Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice, but the remaining teams decided the best way to honor Dana was to put on the best show they could.

And what a show it was.

Reigning Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon impressed new car own Chip Ganassi by nipping two-time Indy 500 Helio Castroneves at the finish line by 0.0147-seconds, which was the ninth closest finish in IRL history.

After the close and inspiring finish, Wheldon was unable to celebrate the victory with his new team. Instead, he joined his fellow competitors in grieving the loss of their friend and brother, Paul Dana.

3. Michael Andretti Finally Swigs Milk at Indy

The Andretti name is historically a synonym for heartache, frustration and disappointment.

Michael Andretti competed in 16 Indianapolis 500s with a best finish of 2nd in 1991, but the disappointments overwhelm the achievements.

Four times (1989, 1992, 1995 and 2003) Andretti dropped out of the Indy 500 while leading. In 1992, he led a race-high 160 laps before his fuel pump malfunctioned with just 11 laps to go.

The Andretti family suffered double-heartache in 2006 when Michael returned from a two-year hiatus to be a teammate and mentor to his 19-year-old rookie son, Marco.

The storybook ending was in place. The Andrettis – Michael and Marco - were running first and second with four laps to go. Would this be the year the Andretti curse ends?

Marco passed his father on a late restart to take command of the race, only to lose to Sam Hornish, Jr. by 0.0635, the second closest finish in history. The Andrettis went from first and second to second and third in a matter of minutes.

The curse had struck again.

In 2005, Michael Andretti was finally on the other end of the spectrum. His prized fighter – Englishmen Dan Wheldon – was tearing up the IRL, winning three of its first four races of the season heading into Indy.

A poor qualifying run forced Wheldon to start in the middle of pack. Instead of charging to the front from his sixth-row starting position, he laid low and waited for the perfect opportunity to make his move.

The first three-quarters of the race were dominated by Hornish, Jr. and Wheldon’s teammates, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti. When Hornish, Jr. hit the wall and Kanaan and Franchitti sputtered, it was Wheldon’s time in the spotlight.

Wheldon’s pass of rookie Danica Patrick on a restart with a handful of laps left propelled both Wheldon and car-owner Michael Andretti into Victory Lane, where alas, Michael swigged the milk.

2. Disney World Host Inaugural IRL Race

The Indy Racing League was born on January 27, 1996 at Disney World in Orlando, FL.

IRL founder Tony George opted to establish his own open-wheel racing series instead of abide by CART’s sanctions and rules.

The premier teams opted to remain with CART; the IRL was stuck with what was left.

George was blamed by drivers, car owners, and the media for the decline in popularity of open-wheel racing.

11 years later, the teams that originally opted for CART have since stabilized the IRL while CART changed names a handful of times and eventually filed for bankruptcy.

All hail King George.

IRL’s inaugural race did not include the Andrettis or Unsers that open-wheel fans had become accustomed to cheering for. Instead, the Disney World Speedway was populated by such drivers as Mike Groff, Johnny O’Connell, and John Paul, Jr, but that did not deter the quality of racing.

Two relative unknowns competed down to the wire; each wanted to be crowned champion of the inaugural IRL race. Buzz Calkins and Tony Stewart’s battle brought back memories of Mears and Johncock in 1982 and Unser, Jr. and Goodyear in 1992. When the smoke cleared, Calkins was the IRL’s first winner.

Many of the IRL’s initial entries have since dissipated, but the career of Tony Stewart was launched. Stewart lost the inaugural race, but he rebounded to capture the series championship in 1997 before moving onto NASCAR in 1999, where he done a decent job of making a name for himself.

Stewart was NASCAR’s rookie of the year and won a pair of series championships, but his career – as well as the career of the IRL – was born at Disney World.

And the top ground-breaking race in the history of the IRL……

1. CART Invades & Dominates the 2000 Indy 500

The 2000 Indy 500 turned out to be the IRL’s worst nightmare. For four years, the IRL followed through on Tony George’s vision for the Indy Racing League; cheaper budgets, more American drivers and races, and increased competition.

When Target/Chip Ganassi Racing broke the open-wheel barrier and invaded the 2000 Indianapolis 500 with his primary CART drivers, he left little doubt as to which series had the superior equipment, sponsors, and talent.

The IRL’s finest were in for a long, painful month as soon as Juan Montoya arrived at Gasoline Alley. Montoya outshined the field from the track’s opening ceremonies until the checkered flag waved on the 84th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Montoya was consistently atop the speed charts in practice and had his Target-sponsored machine on the pole for the majority of Pole Day, until Greg Ray edged him in a late attempt.

Montoya was joined by CART teammate Jimmy Vasser, who at the time had four Indy 500 starts under his belt. Vasser and Montoya were the odds-on-favorites to take the top two finishing spots with the edge going to Vasser based on experience.

When the race started, Montoya laid low as a rookie should. Instead of being overly-aggressive, he allowed the race to come to him. Ray commanded the race for the first 26 laps before giving way to Montoya, who did nothing but lead 145 of the next 148 laps without so much as a challenge.

After the final round of pit stops, Montoya reclaimed the lead from teammate Vasser on lap 179 and cruised to a 7.184-second victory to become the first rookie to win the Indy 500 since Graham Hill in 1966.

It is difficult to put into words the flawless performance by Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. The last time a single team dominated Indy in such a manner was in 1994 when Penske Racing’s dream team of Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser, Jr. combined to lead an astonishing 193 laps. Montoya and Vasser combined to lead 172 laps.

The Target/Chip Ganassi invasion of the 2000 Indy 500 opened the floodgates for fellow CART teams to follow in their footsteps. The following year, Target/Chip Ganassi was joined by Penske Racing and Michael Andretti from CART, who claimed the top six positions with rookie Helio Castroneves climbing the fence in victory.

In fact, since Montoya’s jaw-dropping performance in 2000, every team to win the Indy 500 was originally a non-IRL team. Perhaps the powerful CART teams smelled blood in the IRL and wanted to attack the defenseless prey.

Montoya’s dominance shaped the future of the IRL. Without Montoya’s invasion, the power teams probably remain in CART and the IRL struggles with sponsors and finances and would have been forced to file for bankruptcy.

Thank you Chip Ganassi and Juan Montoya. Your 2000 invasion saved the IRL and Indy 500.