Dixon's Rain Dance Earns Nashville 3-Peat

NASHVILLE, TN - Tony Kanaan had the Firestone Indy 200 victory in his crosshairs on Saturday night, but an untimely pit stop and a gamble by Scott Dixon left Kanaan on the outside looking in at possibly the final Nashville IndyCar event.

Kanaan led a race-high 59 laps, but on lap 148 – with rain on the way – gambled and pitted in hopes the race would go the full distance. Instead, it was Dixon’s gamble that paid off and landed himself in victory lane at Nashville for the third straight year.

Dixon was initially instructed to follow Kanaan into the pits as well, but a communication error with his pit crew left both Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon on the track. Thunderstorms hit the area on lap 166 and the checkered and red flags waved on lap 171, awarding Chip Ganassi Racing a 1-2 finish.

Despite leading 53 laps, Dixon was not the deserving winner. Kanaan was the class of the field. Kanaan worked his way into the lead on lap 87 after he took advantage of a slower car (Mario Moraes) and rocketed past Dixon and proceeded to dominate the middle portion of the race. Kanaan looked like a lock to capture his second victory in three races, but another poor pit strategy by AGR cost him the win.

Fellow Brazilian Helio Castroneves did not fare much better either. The pole sitter for a record 24th time in his IndyCar career, Helio led the first 54 laps and appeared to have a strong enough car to end his 25-race winless streak. No dice. Streak extends to 26.

Outside pole sitter Danica Patrick was a surprising threat. Instead of being timid, Patrick exuded an aggressive driving style that turned heads. Patrick, the obvious crowd favorite threw everything at Helio except the kitchen sink. On lap 44, Patrick was ready to lead an IndyCar race for the first time since her Japan fluke when Helio turned down and blocked her heading into the first turn.

On the next lap, Patrick and Helio were side-by-side heading into the first turn, but Helio protected his lead by coming down, which forced Patrick out of the throttle. Dixon and Kanaan screamed past Patrick as she fell from second to fourth in one lap.

Helio relinquished the lead for good on lap 54 to Dixon. Helio – like Patrick – also lost momentum and fell from first to fourth in less than a lap. Despite leading the first 54 laps, Helio settled for third place– his ninth top-five of season.

It was not fun and games for all of the usual suspects. Marco Andretti was up to his old tricks again on the third lap when he lost control of his car and collected an innocent Ryan Briscoe before slamming hard into the outside backstretch wall just past turn 2. Marco settled for last place while Briscoe drove his car to pit lane where he was rewarded with a 25th-place finish.

Marco continued his HIT-and-miss driving style by adding another machine to the junk pile in 2008. How much more patience can daddy take before yanking the immature Marco? It’s time to cut the cord.

For the third consecutive week Briscoe was an innocent victim. Only two top-10 finishes since his first victory at Milwaukee and the monkey on his back has started to grow once again.

Can Briscoe shake off his funk at Mid-Ohio this weekend? Briscoe, a sports car specialist, should be the heavy favorite this weekend, but if we have learned anything this year about IndyCar, it is this: expect the unexpected.

As for the Nashville winner Dixon, rock on!

Familiar Face Returns

I woke up this morning to great news. This juicy nugget is just what the IRL needs to bolster the support and credibility of the series. Out with the new; in with the old.

A new and refreshing era is returning to IndyCar.

It is time to roll out the red carpet as Paul Page makes his long-awaited and much deserved return to the broadcast booth for Saturday night’s Firestone Indy 200 in Nashville.

Page was IndyCar’s lead television announcer from 1988 until 2004 when he was unjustly replaced by Todd Harris, whose thrill-level rivaled the hair on my big toe.

The reappearance of Page is fantastic news because it signals the end for current IndyCar lead announcer Marty Reid. Reid ranks second in my book in terms of IndyCar Martys (Yes, Roth trumps Reid).

Apparently the IRL did not mind the constant blunders, gaffes, and mistakes with Reid at the helm.

If you think I am being too ruthless then let me give you a direct quote from Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen.

“Mario Moraes with his best run going at NINTH, then there’s Graham Rahal in NINTH….”

Oh, it got even better. Just a few seconds later, Reid uttered the following:

“…Then Danica Patrick is 12th and RYAN Dixon is 13th and Ryan Briscoe is 14th.”

IndyCar is an unparalleled passion in my life and that is why I demand perfection. To call the reigning Indy 500 champion by the wrong name is intolerable and disrespectful.

Nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes, but if Reid exuded even a remote amount of enthusiasm during a broadcast then his shortcomings would be more tolerable. Listening to Reid’s habitual mistakes and mind-numbing explanations makes me want to find a 9-foot length of rope and jump off a bridge.

Reid is not the only IndyCar broadcaster heading for the unemployment office. Brianne Pedigo is out the door as well. Her immature and unprofessional reporting continued to throw IndyCar behind the 8-ball. Thankfully those days are past.

Dr. Jerry Punch – the best doctor in the business – is also making a long overdue return to IndyCar’s pit lane. He will be joined by Jon Beekhuis and Gary Gerald. They will be reunited with the always electrifying Jack Arute and the best pit reporters on the planet will be back in the saddle come Saturday night in Nashville.

The revival of Page & Co. means a superior class of broadcasting and first-class professionalism is on the horizon.

The year of unification has just begun, but there is one slight problem.

You know that feeling when you are lying in bed with a Playboy Playmate and are abruptly woken up and your heart sinks because you realize it was all a dream?

Ryan Hunter-Reay: King of New York

This year’s Camping World Grand Prix at Watkins Glen screamed Patriotism. An American driver with an American sponsor won his first race to cap off America’s birthday celebration.

Ryan Hunter-Reay passed Darren Manning on a restart with nine laps left and never looked back on his way to his first IndyCar win.

I predicted his first victory was just around the corner and now RHR is a bona fide star.

Some fans might say RHR’s win was a gift. The usual suspects had their share of trouble, but RHR started third and ran up front with the leaders most of the day.

If anything, RHR had to work harder for his win today than any other driver has done this season. He played a high-speed game of follow-the-leader behind Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon for the first 40 laps. Then, after Dixon and Briscoe tangled with 12 laps to go, RHR used his superb driving skills to avoid the trouble.

The victory vaulted RHR into 9th place in the season standings. He is the first car behind the power teams and it would be a spectacular accomplishment if he can crack the top-8.

Today’s victory will be the first of many for RHR. He received a traditional wreath following today’s win, which is a sign of things to come because the next time he dons a similar wreath will be in victory lane at 16th and Georgetown.

Aside from RHR, there was not much left from Watkins Glen to brag about.

What happened to the so-called road course specialists? Will Power? Justin Wilson? Oriol Servia? They were hyped as shoe-ins for podium finishes, but IndyCar regulars swept the top-five spots. Four transition drivers did crack the top-10, led by Bruno Junqueira who finished sixth.

Today’s race kicked off the second half of the 2008 IndyCar season; let’s hope the remaining races are less appalling than today’s. It was great to see RHR grab his first win, but the IRL displayed an inferior product for the second straight week.

The IRL needs to start penalizing their guys for poor driving. E.J. Viso, A.J. Foyt, IV and Milka Duno have no right running next week after their actions today. Viso pulled a Kyle Busch and blatantly knocked Vitor Meira into the tire barriers while IV and Donut tangled UNDER A CAUTION?!?!?! Yes, Dixon also fouled up under a caution which consequently eliminated himself and Briscoe from victory, but the series point leader has plenty of “get out of jail free cards” in his pocket.

The IRL not only needs to eliminate the amount of cautions, but shorten the length of cautions as well. Why was there a three lap caution for Helio’s stalled car? He touched nothing nor was anything leaking. A three lap caution on a 3-mile road course for a stalled car on pit road is ludicrous.

The worst moment of the race came on lap 41 when Danica Patrick over-accelerated her machine on pit road and nearly took out Dixon’s pit crew. To show their displeasure with The Menace, the pit crew – instead of offering to help – placed her dislodged front wing on the nose of her car, which was priceless. If Dixon thought she was a menace before, what does he think of her now? My guess is it rhymes with “stupid witch.”

Up until now, I have chosen my words carefully in regards to Patrick because I think she is a true asset to the series, but the gloves have come off.

Today was Patrick’s second pit road incident in as many months that has endangered opposing crew members. Thus far, she has received zero penalty.

The IRL needs to do something drastic to teach her a lesson.

Yes, I will say it: The IRL should take away Patrick’s keys for next Saturday’s race at Nashville.

It is bad enough to be a menace at 200 mph, but to allow her to habitually endanger the lives of vulnerable crew members is an act of lunacy. The IRL needs to put safety ahead of dollar signs. Please do the right thing and bench the menace.

If today’s race is any indication of how the remaining four road courses will go down then expect the unexpected.

See you in Nashville, literally. Row 42, baby!