It's Indy 500 Time!

I love the Indy 500!  It's so weird.  I don't watch IndyCar racing for much of the year, yet I get so excited for the 500 every time.  I can't explain it.  There's just something about this race.  I guess that's why they call it the "Greatest Spectacle In Racing."

We've got some extra fun at Indy this year, too.  There are six! former champions in the field, including Tony Kanaan, who finally got to sip the milk last year.  Also among those six former champions are Jacques Villeneuve, who's raced here twice before, finishing second in 1994 and winning in 1995.  He hasn't been back at Indy in 20 years.  I don't know where he was, but it's nice to have him back.  It's also nice to have back Juan Pablo Montoya, who you can chalk up as another IndyCar turned NASCAR turned failed NASCAR and went back to IndyCar driver.

Speaking of NASCAR, one of the six rookies in this year's race is some guy named Kurt Busch.  He's gonna try to pull off the double.  Indy, then Charlotte.  Nobody's done it since Tony Stewart in 2001.  Busch is obviously a NASCAR guy, and you've gotta think his top priority is the Coca-Cola 600.  He's probably not going to win Indy.  In fact, he had a practice crash earlier in the week.  But I love that he's making the attempt.  Maybe if he completes all 1100 miles, others will realize it can be done and try it also.  For that reason alone, I hope Busch finishes both races.  Not just finishes, but completes every lap.

One guy who sadly won't be in the field is Dario Franchitti.  Mr. Ashley Judd has won here twice in the last four years, but he had to retire after last season because of a back injury.  Don't worry, though.  He'll still be at the Brickyard.  He's driving the pace car.

The guy who'll be behind that pace car when the race begins is local guy Ed Carpenter, who's on the pole for the second straight year.  He carried that to a 10th-place finish last year.  It was an impressive performance by Carpenter to qualify on the pole again.  He's the first driver to grab the pole in back-to-back years since Helio Castroneves in 2009-10.  But I don't think he's going to win from the pole the way Helio did five years ago.  The field behind him is simply too deep.

Now that Kanaan's finally won, the title of "Best Driver Never to Win Indy" probably goes to either Will Power or Marco Andretti.  Power's in a great spot, starting on the outside of Row 1.  He's never finished higher than fifth, but I think at the very least, he breaks through that threshold.  Marco Andretti, meanwhile, came agonizingly close to winning as a rookie in 2006, and when he doesn't crash, he's usually a factor.  But there's that Andretti Curse.  It's been 45 years since Mario's win, the only one for that family of racing royalty.  They say that at Indy, the track decides who wins.  She finally let Tony Kanaan break through.  Is Marco Andretti next?  (After all, does anyone even remember anymore how long it took Dale Earnhardt to win Daytona?)

Then there's James Hinchcliffe, the other front-row starter.  He started second two years ago and finished sixth.  And how about Carlos Munoz?  As a rookie last year, he started second and finished second.  Is he the next guy destined for Indy glory?  Inside Row 3's not a bad starting position, either.  Starting on the outside of that row is J.R. Hildebrand, who had his own Indy heartbreak in 2011, when he crashed on the final turn of the final lap, allowing the late Dan Wheldon one last moment of triumph before he was tragically taken from us much too soon.

For some reason, I really like Ryan Hunter-Reay's chances despite his terrible starting position.  And you can never count out Kanaan or Scott Dixon either.  This race has gotten incredibly deep over the past couple years.  There are legitimately 10 guys who have a realistic chance of winning this race.

As for my pick, I've gotten remarkably lucky in recent years.  I picked the winner correctly in two of the last three years (Dan Wheldon in 2011 and Tony Kanaan last year).  So will my luck continue this year?  Well, let's give it a shot. 

Helio Castroneves is the gold standard at the Indy 500.  This is his 14th race.  He's won three times, and also has a second, a third and a fourth.  He's finished in the Top 10 in 11 of his previous 13 attempts.  Every year, you know he's going to be a factor.  And ever since his win in 2009, people have been wondering when and if he'll become the fourth four-time winner in Indy history.  Everything seems to be in his favor this year.  He's starting fourth and won the pit competition on Carb Day.  Starting fourth.  That's a significant number.  Because at the end of the day, Helio Castroneves will become the fourth driver to have his head placed on the Borg-Warner Trophy for the fourth time.