BREAKING NEWS: Richard Petty Steps Into IndyCar Series
Dateline: Indianapolis, IN.
“The King”, as most NASCAR fans know him by, Richard Petty, will make history at the 2009 Indianapolis 500. For the first time in his storied career, Petty will make his first step into the IndyCar series. Even though the team owner is a rookie to “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, his driver is not. John Andretti will pilot the # 43 machine with the familiar Petty number and colors in the May classic. John Andretti has raced in 9 Indy
500′s with his best finish (5th) coming in 1991.
John Andretti and Richard Petty know each other pretty well, John drove for The King from 1998 to 2003 in the NASCAR Cup circuit.
As an avid IndyCar fan I have to wonder if this truly a turning of the tide. Is the popularity of NASCAR decreasing so much that IndyCars are once again where it’s at? Regardless of the reason, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has to be pleased with an announcement that can only help ticket sales. One other though to ponder here… Petty’s the first NASCAR owner to declare an entry into this years “500″, but will he be the last? I hope not.
RACE RECAP:
The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg concluded with a familiar name and team on top. Ryan Briscoe drove the Team Penske #6 machine to victory circle. It’s back to back wins for Briscoe dating back to the season finale in 2008. The momentum carried through the off-season showed that Ryan is going to be a force to be reckoned with. For a driver who was on the hot seat last year, I think Penske has to be comfortable with where things are in 2009.
Ryan Hunter-Reay had a second place finish for Vision Racing. Vision racing is co-owned by Tony George (the ICS founder) and TV star Patrick Dempsey. Reay has been with the vision team for less than two weeks, so the team has to be very impressed with his ability to date. I wouldn’t have expected to ever say this…but, I can see Vision Racing with a Ryan Hunter-Reay victory coming this season. I predict at Mid-Ohio, but it may come sooner.
One other note about yesterdays race: Dario Franchitti showed he is back where he belongs. Racing with Target Chip Ganassi he drove home a 4th place finish. He had left the series for a one year debacle in NASCAR, but we’re glad to have him back in the fast cars. Clearly, he will do well in 2009.
Here are the top 5 in yesterdays Grand Prix:
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Justin Wilson
Dario Franchitti
Tony Kanaan
The next race in the IndyCar Series is the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 19th at 3:30PM Eastern. Available on VERSUS.
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