The Greatest Spectacle In Racing turns 100 this year. I always get up for the Indy 500, but this year, the centennial makes the race that much more special. It's NOT the 100th Indy 500 (they didn't run a couple during the war years), but that's a minor detail that can conveniently be ignored this weekend (the 100th Anniversary World Series wasn't the 100th World Series, either). Besides, this is shaping up to be one of the best Indy 500s in recent memory.
The drama all started on Bump Day, the unique Indy 500 qualifying event that is actually a lot more entertaining than it sounds. Basically, the way they do qualifying is this: On the first day, everybody gets four laps. The top 24 make the race, while the top nine then go again for the pole. After the pole is set, the other eight are locked into positions 2-9. Then on Sunday, everybody who hasn't qualified yet goes for the other nine spots. Once the 33-car field is full, you can go back out there and "bump" the final qualifier if you post a faster speed than they did. If you get bumped, you have a total of three runs on the day, so you can try to bump your way back in until the track closes at 6:00.
To add to the fun, it rained on Bump Day. All but one driver had made their qualifying runs and the field was full when it started raining, and they didn't know how long the rain would last. But the person who hadn't gotten the chance to go yet happened to be Danica. Now, try to think of an Indy 500 without Danica Patrick. Fortunately, the inconceivable didn't come to fruition, since it stopped raining early enough for Danica to get out there and end up qualifying pretty easily. Marco Andretti got bumped with about 10 minutes left, and it looked like he might not get a chance to get back in, but he was able to get on the track at 5:59:45. Andretti posted a speed good enough to put himself back in the race, which knocked out his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay, who couldn't do anything about it. (Hunter-Reay will actually race because of some shady deal between team owner Michael Andretti and rival team owner A.J. Foyt, an Indy legend, that resulted in him getting to drive the car that Bruno Junqueira qualified. I'm still not really sure I understand how that all went down.)
If this year's Indy 500 can be anywhere near as exciting as this year's Bump Day, we'll have a hell of a race on our hands. And with one of the deepest Indy fields in years, I don't see any reason why it won't.
Alex Tagliani will start on the pole after posting a qualifying speed of 227.472 mph. Right next to him is Scott Dixon, the 2008 champion. Dixon is one of five former winners in the race. Defending champion Dario Franchitti (Mr. Ashley Judd) has drunk the milk twice, while Helio Castroneves (the Dancing with the Stars guy) is a three-time Indy 500 winner. The other former champs in the race are Dan Wheldon, who won in 2005 and has been one of the most consistent drivers at Indy throughout his career. Buddy Rice is the fifth former winner. He took it in 2004, the year before Wheldon.
Then there are the ubertalented drivers who've come close, but never won Indy. Let's start with my favorite driver not named Danica, Tony Kanaan. This guy's luck has to improve at some time, right? Kanaan set a record by leading the Indy 500 in each of his first seven starts (2003-08), but something always happened and his best finish was second in 2004. Last year, Kanaan started last and worked his way all the way up to second before finishing 11th. He clearly has the talent to win at the Brickyard. I hope he eventually does. This might be Danica's last dance at Indy if her misguided flirtation with NASCAR takes her to stock cars full-time next season. The only woman ever to lead the race (in 2005, when she finished fourth), Danica finished third in 2009 and sixth last year. In fact, she has five Top 10 finishes in six career Indy 500 starts. This isn't a novelty act. She's talented. She could win. Danica leads a record-tying four! women in the race. Simona de Silvestro was actually the fastest qualifier among the ladies, while Pippa Mann (unfortunately, it won't be this Pippa) and Ana Beatriz are in the back row.
And let's not forget about Marco Andretti, the latest generation in that great racing family. Marco's grandfather, the great Mario Andretti, won at Indy in 1969, while his father (and car owner) Michael, led more laps without winning than anyone else in history. Marco was the last qualifier, but he's in the race, which is really the only thing that matters. Anything can happen in the Indy 500. He finished second by just 0.0635 seconds as a 19-year-old rookie in 2006. Eventually the "Andretti Curse" will be broken. And I didn't even mention guys like Oriol Servia, who starts on the outside of Row 1 (mainly because I don't think he has a chance to win), or Will Power or Vitor Meira or Ed Carpenter. See where I'm going here? There are a lot of drivers who could win the 2011 Indianapolis 500.
Part of what makes the Centennial Indianapolis 500 so intriguing is that unpredictability. I could make something up as to how I think the race will play out, but I really have no idea. And I'm totally OK with that. As long as it's a good race, I don't really care. I'm not going to shy away from making a prediciton though. I really like a number of IndyCar drivers and would be comfortable with any of them winning. My heart tells me either Kanaan or Danica will get it done, but my head likes Dan Wheldon. Wheldon has finished second in each of the last two years and I like his starting position (outside Row 2). If I was placing a bet on the winner of the 2011 Indianapolis 500, he'd be my guy. But I'm smart enough not to bet on this race. Not this year at least.
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