racedatabase

That was a very well run race.

Kudos also to Danica Patrick for giving the sexist naysayers a taste. I find it hard to understand how folks who have never strapped themselves into a race car can sit back and criticize someone who has made it as far as Danica and who has had the success she has had. She's no AJ Foyt and never will be, but she's evidently an accomplished driver who is gaining more and more respect each outing.

Having said all of that...someone needs to tell Helio how start a race properly. He jumped both the original start and the subsequent restart (which probably should have been restarted also), cheating the fans out of one of the most exciting moments in any race...the 3-wide start.

Now before people start saying that keeping them 3-wide until they pass the S/F is dangerous, I will admit that. However, they used to be able to stay 3-wide until the entire field had cleared the 4th turn. Today, Castroneves went single file halfway through the 4th turn, long before the Green fell and he did it both times. Is the talent pool in Indy car so shallow that they can't find 33 drivers who will actually race at the start...and then settle in for the long haul? That's how it was during the Golden Age of USAC and that's how it should be now.

</rant>

Just like in all racing, it`s about the team, the car...etc. Dale Jr is the exception

But srsly...this race had seen its hey day just before NASCAR took over all the tabloids/papers and sports sites...about the early 90`s....

100 years ago you entered a car, an engine and raced....14 years ago,,,,,you entered a car, engine and raced....today, you buy an approved Honda/Dallara(33 of them)..and race.

Not the spirit of this race, yeah..I`m bitter.....congrats to to twinkletoes though.

I have to admit that I have no use for Penske. He is a hugely successful businessman and smart as a whip but it was Penske who was primarily responsible for the USAC/CART split that pretty much ruined open wheel racing in the States. It was all about Control...that's all. Penske was successful with the USAC format so it wasn't like he couldn't abide by the rules and win, because he could and did.

Nowadays, it seems that if you are successful at Sprints and/or Midgets you are better off going into NASCAR because unless you have a sponsor, the IRL isn't particularly interested in you.

Ah, for the days of Bettenhausen, Ruby, Mears, Johncock, Granatelli, Bignoti, Unser, Foyt, Andretti, Ongais, Vaugn (Linda), Novis and Offenhausers, and even Cosworth Fords. LOL

While I still LOVE the Indy500, it's just not the same.

But it's still the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. By far.

Never hear a Novi in full song? Click here.

Now, imagine 33 of those bad boys going by at one time!