Memorial Day Weekend is upon us. Our traditional Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 doubleheader has an added twist this year. Now it's a tripleheader. The Monaco Grand Prix will be nationally televised on NBC for the first time. That's a lot of racing. With all due respect to Formula One and NASCAR, though, only one of the three races is called the "Greatest Spectacle In Racing." Only one has been going on for a century. The other two races are great in their own right, but Memorial Day Weekend is about the Indy 500.
I give IndyCar a lot of credit. Danica left and they haven't missed a beat. In fact, now that it's not all about her, the series might be stronger than ever. And with all of open-wheel racing once again unified under the IndyCar banner, it's only going to get better.
There are so many good drivers on the circuit these days. Helio Castroneves is finally more than just the "Dancing With the Stars" guy. Likewise, Dario Franchitti isn't "Ashley Judd's husband" anymore. As a matter of fact, they both have a chance to becoming Indy legends and join the Holy Trinity (Foyt, Mears and Unser) as four-time Indy 500 winners.
Normally there's one guy or one team that's so dominant during the month at the Brickyard that you'd say the number of drivers capable of winning is limited to a small handful. Not the case this year. I think roughly a third of the field can get it done, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it come down to some sort of crazy finish like it did two years ago, when J.R. Hildebrand crashed on the final turn of the final lap, giving the win to the late Dan Wheldon.
As usual, the storylines at Indy are aplenty. As I already mentioned, Helio and Dario both have the chance to become four-time winners, and Franchitti can become the first to win three times in four years. And how about 1996 champ Buddy Lazier, who came out of retirement at age 45 and qualified after just a handful of times in the car? Or Katherine Legge? She didn't have a ride 10 days ago. But she put together a one-race deal herself and got into the field as the 33rd and last car. Legge is one of four women in the field, joining Simona de Silvestro, Pippa Mann and Ana Beatriz. And that doesn't even count Sarah Fisher, who's made herself quite a second career as an owner.
The best story of all might be reserved for owner/driver Ed Carpenter. The Indianapolis native is the only driver who also owns his car on the series. He'll be starting from the pole. The other teams (Ganassi, Andretti, Penske) have more resources, and their drivers will be able to work together, so I don't think Carpenter will be able to win. But he did have the fastest car in qualifying, so who knows? And imagine how much more storybook this story becomes if he does win.
Starting right next to him is rookie Carlos Munoz. No rookie has won since Helio in 2001 (he also won in '02, and Dario would be the first back-to-back winner since if he wins). That could definitely change this year, though. Both Munoz and A.J. Allmendinger are starting in the front of the field, and both have looked great all month. And if Allmendinger manages to win, what a story that would be! This is the same A.J. Allmendinger that was in NASCAR until last year. He pulled the Reverse Danica.
I haven't forgotten about Scott Dixon, the 2008 winner, or Marco Andretti, who's still trying to break his family's curse at the Brickyard. As hard to believe as it is, Mario's win in 1969 remains the only time an Andretti has kissed the bricks. Then there's James Hinchcliffe, the talented Canadian driver who took over for Danica last year. And points leader Takuma Sato. And let's not forget defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay. Or Will Power, who's starting sixth, which is actually his lowest starting position in four years! Or last year's pole sitter Ryan Briscoe.
My sentimental favorite, though, is still Tony Kanaan. This guy led the race in seven consecutive years and has five career Top Five finishes. Yet he still hasn't won! The last two years, he's been fourth and third, so if the trend continues he'll finish second this year. But I wonder when the Indy gods are finally going to let him lead the last lap of the Indy 500. If there's any driver who deserves it, it's Tony Kanaan. And it would also be a very popular win. For fans and drivers alike.
See what I mean about this being one of the deepest Indy fields ever? Since it's so hard to pick among all these talented drivers, I'm going with the sentimental choice. Tony Kanaan finally gets his likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy, right next to his buddies Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon. And that's something that you know would've made Dan Wheldon smile.
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