Penske Racing Aims for 15th Indy Win

What do the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Yankees, Chicago Bulls and Montreal Canadians have in common? They all have been labeled dynasties of their sport. That being said, it is fair to declare Penske Racing at the Indianapolis 500 as perhaps the most dominating dynasty in the history of professional sports.

Simple arithmetic can support that. It is difficult to fathom how one team has been so head-and-shoulders above the rest of the competition at the greatest racing venue in the world.

Car owner Roger Penske has it all figured out. He has for a long time and he will continue to do so until God’s light shines down upon him.

24 different drivers have driven for Roger Penske at Indianapolis since 1969, and it took just three years for Penske’s dominance to take form when Mark Donahue won the Indy 500 in 1972.

Penske does not just hire drivers. He hires the best drivers. Occasionally, one or two drivers will fall through the cracks, but for the most part his drivers deliver championships.

There have been 91 Indy 500s run; 10 Penske drivers have combined to win 14 races, which is an astounding 15%.

But, that is all in the past. Penske has won only one Indy 500 since 2003, which is unacceptable in the Penske garage.

Will 2008 be the year when Helio Castroneves climbs the fence for the third time? Can Ryan Briscoe silence his critics about his inability to finish races and score an upset on May 25?

Let us dissect Castroneves, who needs no introduction. Spiderman leaped (literally) into the record books in 2001 by becoming just the eighth rookie to win the Indianapolis 500. He shattered the record books again the following year becoming the fourth overall and first driver since Al Unser, Sr. in 1970-71 to win back-to-back Indy 500s.

Castroneves has competed in seven Indy 500s and has compiled an impressive resume. Of his seven starts, he finished ninth or better in six with his lone DNF coming in 2006 after a crash with fellow Indy champ Buddy Rice. His average finish after his first three starts at Indianapolis was 1.333, which is a record that will not be touched for many years.

Castroneves starts the race as well as he finishes. He started his first two races in the middle of the pack (11th in 2001, 13th in 2002), but has started eighth or better every year since, including from the pole in 2003 and 2007.

To put it in laymen’s terms, Helio, the reigning Dancing with the Stars champion, likes the 2.5 mile oval. No matter if he starts 33rd in a back-up car, Castroneves will be a threat come race day.

His teammate Ryan Briscoe is another story. For the first time in his career with Penske Racing, Castroneves will be teamed alongside an unworthy driver. Castroneves has teamed up with Gil de Ferran (2 CART series championships, 2003 Indy 500 champ) and Sam Hornish, Jr. (2 IRL series Championships, 2006 Indy 500 champ). This season, Ryan Briscoe has taken over the No. 6 orange and white machine that was vacated by Hornish, Jr. when he was lured by NASCAR’s millions.

Briscoe is an unproven journeyman at best. He started driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005 and posted a 10th place finish at Indianapolis, but the rest of the season was nothing but pure disaster. Briscoe completed just six events out of 15 with an 8th place at Nashville his best result. His career with Ganassi came to an end when a terrible crash at Chicagoland Speedway left Briscoe unemployed as Ganassi hired Dan Wheldon for the 2006 season.

After a brief 3-race stint with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing late in 2006, Briscoe started 2007 on the outside looking in. Then, the light began to shine. He was hired by Penske Racing to compete in the American Le Mans Series, where he won three events and finished tied for third in the series standings.

Briscoe returned to Indianapolis in 2007 driving for Luczo-Dragon Racing, which was co-owned by Jay Penske, the youngest son of Roger Penske. Briscoe drove a Penske-leased machine to a 5th place finish. With rumors already putting Hornish, Jr. in a full-time NASCAR ride the following year, the 2007 Indy 500 was a try-out for Penske Racing. With a lack of marketable free agents on the open-wheel market, Briscoe was hired to replace Hornish, Jr.

Briscoe started the 2008 IndyCar season with a bang. He crashed his Penske machine at Homestead and St. Petersburg, but has regrouped with a pair of top-10 finishes at Japan and Kansas leading up to Indy.

Briscoe will be making his third Indy 500 start with his third different team. He has two top-10 finishes thus far, which defends any inconsistency issues Briscoe must face. Unfortunately for Briscoe, he drives for Roger Penske, who demands victories, not just consistent top-10 finishes.

In years past, even dating back to the 70s and 80s, Penske Racing was always a shoe-in for at least a top-3 finish. This year is not the case. Penske Racing will go as far as Castroneves can take them, but Briscoe is the black sheep of the team who will need an inspiring finish if he wants to remain behind the wheel of No. 6 car.

WHY A PENSKE CAR WILL WIN:

Roger Penske hates to lose. He especially hates to lose at Indianapolis. Penske has 14 reasons why he has been nicknamed “The Captain.” He dedicates his entire year towards the Indianapolis 500. He finds the best drivers to strap into his superior machines (this year might be the lone exception).

If a Penske car rolls into victory lane, it will occur only after Castroneves has climbed the fence for the third time in eight years. Unlike Ganassi Racing and AGR, Penske Racing has a weak link in that of Ryan Briscoe. Briscoe does not deserve to drive in the same car driven by names such as Mears, Unser, Unser, Jr., and Fittipaldi.

Castroneves will have to carry Penske Racing with his experience, killer instinct, and his ability to dance around his fellow competitors.

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.