A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Ok, GoDaddy, we get it – you like to put hot girls on your commercials and promise that we can see, um, more of them by going to your site.
This year’s Super Bowl commercial is no exception, as NASCAR (and former Indy car) driver Danica Patrick is back, this time with fitness expert and fellow Go Daddy spokeswoman Jillian Michaels, and this time they’re painting on a nude woman.
Dan Wheldon, who suffered fatal injuries in a 15-car crash at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, twice won the Indianapolis 500. But neither time was his victory the story of the race.
Last month freshman wrestler Cassy Herkelman made national news when she won her opening match at Iowa’s state championship by forfeit. Her male opponent refused to wrestle her.
This week, Chantal Sutherland became the first female jockey to win the prestigious Santa Anita Handicap, riding Game On Dude, and Danica Patrick finished fourth in the Nationwide Series race in Las Vegas, the best ever finish for a woman in a national NASCAR race.
As a general rule, sports are an institution where the sexes don’t mix, but recent events have shown us that situations are now arising where men and women, girls and boys are competing with and against each other – and in many cases the girls are holding their own.
The question is, when are coed sports OK?
“Danica Patrick” doesn’t sound right anymore; to most she’s simply Danica, the fiery Go Daddy Girl, IndyCar and NASCAR driver who is also known as a non-stop merchandise and domain selling machine.
And she’s the most sought after person at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week, constantly being moved from one location to another.
Since breaking into IndyCar as a rookie in 2005, she has become the face of the IndyCar series. Her merchandise is more popular than the merchandise of three-time winner Helio Castroneves. She gets mainstream media attention and “Average Joes” talking about a racing series that could use the exposure.
With a third-place finish in last year’s 500, Danica has proven she can drive, but she is still considered by some as a part-time driver, full-time marketer.
(Vitor Meira is uninjured by a pit lane BBQ during the Indy 500 – photo from Gawker.com)
Dateline: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
By now, if you have interest in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, you already know the highlights of the event. On the World’s biggest stage, Helio Castroneves becomes part of an elite group of race car drivers who can say they have won the Indy 500 three times. Only three men: Rick Mears, Al Unser and AJ Foyt have won it more with 4 victories.
It’s not much of a story that the fastest guy all month, the pole sitter, the pit stop champion, and a two time winner gets to drink the milk in victory lane. That’s the way it should go down, especially on one of the sports wealthiest teams in Team Penske. What makes this 500 one that will go down as a legendary race? The fact that just 7 weeks ago, Helio Castroneves was submersed into a Tax Evasion trial with the Internal Revenue Service, helps a bit. On the day those verdicts were read, if Helio would have been found guilty, he could very well have been in a Federal Prison on Memorial Day. Instead, he ran a brilliant race and stayed near the front all day. With about 50 laps to go, he made a pass for the lead and was off to the races. No one would be able to catch the fiery Brazilian, but it didn’t even matter that he won by nearly 2 seconds over Dan Wheldon, it was the victory itself that was so mesmerizing.
Also of note is that Danica Patrick, who finished third behind Wheldon, became the highest finishing female driver in Indianapolis 500 history. If she could have gotten around Wheldon, who knows what she would have had for Helio…but she didn’t and wound up in third. Major MSF props go to Danica and the Boost Mobile #7 of Andretti Green Racing. You guys were fun to watch all day long.
Alex Tagliani, who was inserted in the 33th position when he replaced Bruno Junquiera in the Conquest Racing car, finished 11th and walked away with Rookie of The Year honors. Way to go TAGS!
The race was slowed by over 60 laps of yellow flags from accidents and debris, but fortunately most of them were single car accidents. One of the not so lucky ones was Vitor Meira (pictured above). Vitor Meira and Rapha Matos tangled going into turn one and Meira took a hard impact into the SAFER barrier, sliding alongside the wall on two wheels. He stopped skidding in front of where we were seated in the entrance to turn two. Vitor is out for the year, he suffered a broken back which is not going to require surgery, but will have him in a back brace and therapy until the 2010 season. Matos escaped with little injuries. Tony Kanaan was involved in a very heave single car accident when something in the right rear of the car broke, throwing his 7/11 Andretti Green car into the retaining wall. He suffered a few broken ribs and some pretty rough bruising from the accident.
The weather, almost always a factor on race day, was perfect. Sun shined on turn two for the majority of the event and I have the sunburn to prove it. The forecast had called for as high as a 60% chance of rain throughout the day, yet in reality we didn’t get a drop of rain until Monday morning. This year’s weather is just another thing that made the race so special. When the forecasters, just the day before, are concerned about the race getting in…or being delayed because of weather, you can always feel a bit of apprehension in 
the crowd. From the moment we arrived in the “Coke Lot”, the weather would not be an issue…and was just perfect.
In the theater of drama, known commonly as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there are so many things I take away when we leave the famous intersection of 16th and Georgetown behind, and head for home on the north side of Indy. This year, I will remember sitting by my sister the most. Though she has been to the 500 before, we had not sat together until Sunday. I think, that’s the thing about Indy. It’s a race…it’s a party…and it’s a family. My family has three generations that have now been to that wonderful place during the month of May, and it really is a special place to us. As Taps began to play, just minutes before the command to start engines, I got teary eyed. I looked over at my sister, sitting to my right, and saw she too had teared up. We smiled, wiping our eyes dry, thinking quietly that I couldn’t believe we were crying because of a race…but I know it’s much more than that. In many ways, it’s who we are.
Here are the full results of the 93rd Running of the Indianapolis 500.
Next Up:
The ABC Supply Co. AJ FOYT 225 at Milwaukee
Qualifying: Saturday May 30 (6pm on VERSUS)
Race: Sunday May 31 (3:30pm on ABC)
We will have a pre-race update right here on Midwest Sports Fans!
After you make your UFC 98 odds picks for Saturday night, you can get in on the Indy 500 betting action Sunday afternoon for the “Greatest Spectacle In Racing,†which will begin at 1:00 PM ET. Scott Dixon is the defending race winner and favorite in your online sports book, but another former winner will take the checkered flag.
Dixon has Indy 500 odds of +350, and the defending series champion will roll off fifth, in the middle of the second row. Dixon hasn’t finished lower than sixth in his last three 500s. He also won the last IndyCar race at Kansas after two disappointing results at St. Petersburg and Long Beach, and another win would give him a lot of momentum heading into the summer months.
Ryan Briscoe isn’t the most well-known IndyCar driver, and he’s probably most recognized for tangling with Danica Patrick on pit road in last year’s 500, taking them both out of the race. Briscoe has Indy 500 odds of +600 after winning at St. Petersburg and coming in fourth at Kansas, and he ran fifth at the Brickyard in 2007. He starts in the middle on the front row.
Points leader Tony Kanaan, who starts on the outside of the middle row, and 2007 500 winner Dario Franchitti are rated at +700. Kanaan has a series title from 2004 and he’d love to add an Indy win to his resume with four top-10s in seven trips to the Brickyard. Franchitti returns after sponsorship problems ended his NASCAR stint, and he’ll be looking for a good run after an 18th-place result at Kansas. Franchitti also won Long Beach, and starts on the outside of the front row.
Of course, you have to mention Danica Patrick Indy 500 odds, which are set at +1000. She’s follow
ed up a 19th-place run at St. Petersburg with two straight top-fives, and she’s good at Indy as well, racking up a pair of top-fives and an eighth-place result in three visits to the Brickyard. IndyCar’s most popular driver rolls off 10th, on the outside of the fourth row.
However, this year’s winner is accustomed to the tradition of drinking milk in Victory Lane at Indy, as Helio Castroneves is the last driver to win back-to-back 500s in 2001 and 2002. Castroneves thought he’d be watching this race from a jail cell, but he beat his tax-evasion case, and came back with a seventh-place and runner-up finish since then. No one is happier to be back in the driver’s seat than Castroneves, who is starting from the pole and rated at +400, and he gives you a solid chance to win. Take Helio Castroneves’ Indy 500 odds on Sunday.
(Pictured: Milka Duno, Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick)
Dateline: Indianpolis Motor Speedway
The Women:
Once again there will be three women starting the Indianapolis 500. In this edition of our Indy 500 preview we will take a look at those women as well as their starting positions and my opinions on there chances of winning the Indianapolis 500.
league open wheel racing event in 2008 where she won at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. Back again with the Andretti Green team and with rumors abound of a jump to NASCAR at seasons end, I expect to see Danica finish in the top 5. She has done well here, and when she controls her outcome she has an average finishing position of 6. Last year due to contact and the infamous pit lane stroll down to Ryan Briscoes pit stall after some contact, she finished 22nd. If there were ever to be a woman to win the Indianapolis 500, I think it could be Danica. So if you’re looking for a longshot, look no further than the #7 car sponsored by Boost Mobile.Dateline: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Winners:
Here, we continue our look into the starting field of the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500. In this edition we look at the four previous winners who will be fighting for another shot at immortality on the Borg Warner Trophy (pictured above) and a nice cool drink of milk in victory lane. The Indianapolis 500 is at 1pm this Sunday, May 24th. It’s on ABC and the pre-race starts at Noon Eastern, with the scheduled start of 1pm.
The 35th edition of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach started this afternoon with two practice sessions for the IndyCar drivers. One noticeable difference between today’s activities and tomorrows will be the activity surrounding the pit stall of Team Penske, which has reloaded with some additional firepower. Helio Castroneves will be taking back the helm of the #3 machine with Will Power moving to the #12. Will Power had been hired to fill in for HCN while he dealt with his tax evasion case that wrapped up earlier today. Ryan Briscoe maintains the #6 machine and Team Penske beefs up to three drivers for the weekend.
Under beautiful track conditions today the top five drivers overall were:
Will Power at100.424mph / Scott Dixon at 100.255 mph / Raphael Matos(R) at 100.033 mph / Dan Wheldon at 99.922 mph and Mike Conway(R) at 99.789 mph.
For Power, being at the front in Long Beach should come as no surprise. He won the event last year which was the last race ran under the CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) banner before the merger of the Indy Racing League and CART. In the IndyCar Series (the flagship of the IRL), it was this weekend one year ago where Danica Patrick made history in Japan to become the first woman to win a major open wheel auto race. The race in Japan was at Twin Ring Motegi, an oval, and because of the time it took for drivers to make the trip to the far east, there was no way anyone could compete in both races.
For most of the legacy IndyCar Series drivers this is likely there first time to the famed circuit in Long Beach.
TV times are as follows:
ONLY ON 
Qualifying show: Saturday April 18th @ 6pm EDT
LIVE Race: Sunday April 19th @ 3:30pm EDT
Check back Monday for a race recap and a special posting about the 2009 Indy 500.
During the race you can set your twitter radars here for live updates throughout Sundays race.
Dateline: Indianapolis, IN
The IndyCar Series fires up the 2009 racing season at St. Petersburg this weekend. The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the first race of the 2009 campaign, is scheduled for 2pm Eastern on Versus this Sunday. In advance of the chaos, here are a few things to keep in mind for the coming season.
Same Bat Time: Different Bat Channel:
This year marks the start of what ICS officials hope to be a beautiful relationship. The VERSUS network has picked up exclusive rights to most of the IndyCar Series events this year. There are still a handful of events that will be carried on ABC (including the Indianapolis 500), but for the majority of the season the change in scenery could be a wonderful thing for IndyCar fans. In the past, the races had been covered on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic as well as ABC. If an event that was scheduled before the ICS races ran long…the ICS would get bumped to another channel and race fans everywhere would lunge for the remote to catch up to the action. Now, with a dedicated channel and an impressive broadcast team, the coverage could finally be what the series’ intense racing action deserves.
The broadcast team includes; Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis and Robbie Buhl in the booth. They are joined by Jack Arute, Robbie Floyd and Lindy Thackston in pit lane. This talented and experienced team will provide an out-of-the-box enthusiasm and love for the sport that should translate well to it’s viewers.
Top 5 Drivers to Watch for 2009
With the vacancy of Helio Castroneves who is still out due to tax issues, the window for the next star of the IndyCar Series is wide open. For 2009, here is my list of drivers to watch:
1) Scott Dixon- The 2008 Indy 500 and IndyCar champion. He can never be overlooked as a possible contender for the season championship, and this year is no different.
2) Dario Franchitti- The 2007 Indy 500 and IndyCar champion is back from his year in NASCAR. Dario found the tin-tops to be a bit tougher than he envisioned. Dario belongs in open wheel racing, and he has done well there. I see no reason for that not to continue.
3) Robert Doornbos- The IndyCar “rookie” has a large amount of open wheel experience and is quite good on road courses. Watch for Robert to make an impact early. He carries experience from Formula 1, CART, Formula Ford and A1GP.
4) Dan Wheldon- With a jump to Panther Racing and the focus of a one car effort behind him, look for old Danny boy to be impressive and competitive. He re-joins Panther Racing for the first time since 2002, where he raced the final two races of the season as a teammate of one Sam Hornish Jr.? (Remember Sam? Look at the bottom 10 in NASCAR each week as he is regularly seen there)
5) Will Power- Will joins the mighty Team Penske and fills the vacant seat left by Helio’s off track issues. Will is solid on road courses and has proven he is a winner in each series he has been a part of. Put big time talent in a big time car and watch out. Will Power will be more than just a clever name by the end of the 2009 Campaign.
Even though I won’t put her in here, Danica Patrick is in a contract season and should have a solid year. Will she win any races in 2009? No. Will she be a player? Yes.
Stay tuned to MSF for more on the IndyCar series and my updates on the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
If you twitter, follow me @ejwassonmsf for late breaking and live alerts during all IndyCar events.
