27 April 2009

There's No Place Like Home

Scott Dixon won yesterday's Road Runner Indy 300 at Kansas. Dixon and Ryan Briscoe had the best cars throughout the race, and once Dixon got out front, the race was all but over. However, behind the leader, the field was bunched pretty well, with movement throughout, even though high winds eliminated some opportunities to pass on the high line of the track.

Tony Kanaan continued to collect top 5 finishes, tallying his second straight podium and taking over the overall points lead, by a single point over Briscoe.

Young Graham Rahal, the pole sitter, ran well, but seems to have an issue with braking hard at inopportune times. Entering the pits, Rahal appeared to hit the brakes early, forcing Dario Franchitti high and into the outside wall. From the Indianapolis Star's recap:

"It caught me by surprise how early he braked," Franchitti said. "We were running in sixth gear and he was hard on the brakes."

Said Rahal, who finished seventh after starting from the pole: "With the speed he was carrying, he wasn't going to make it anyway, whether I was there or not."

Maybe, maybe not. However, Rahal also hit the brakes extremely hard at St. Pete, checking up the entire field behind him in the first turn. The 20-year old blamed Kanaan at the time for running into the back of him, but it was Rahal who created the chaos by not accelerating into the first turn even though he was on the pole.

So, Graham, it may be time to reexamine some of your braking just to make sure you aren't the reason the veterans are crashing. Just a thought, especially before you break out your "Super fast car" at Indy.

So, with three races behind us, we can move on to Indianapolis. One of the best times of the year for race fans is now upon us, the the city of Indianapolis will kick off their celebrations with the Mini-Marathon on Saturday (I'll be in the field - after all, you get to run about 2 miles on the track).

Official practice (or the first full-field practice) lands on May 6, with Pole Day arriving on Saturday, May 9. So, let the excitement begin.

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