(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.

93rd Indianapolis 500 – Race Results
Rank	Car No.	Driver	Car Name	Laps/Retired	Grid	Laps Led	Points
1	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	200	1	66	51
2	4	Dan Wheldon	National Guard Panther Racing	200	18	0	40
3	7	Danica Patrick	Boost Mobile/Motorola (Andretti Green Racing)	200	10	0	35
4	8	Townsend Bell	Herbalife–KV Racing Technology	200	24	0	32
5	12	Will Power	Verizon Wireless (Team Penske)	200	9	0	30
6	9	Scott Dixon	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	200	5	73	30
7	10	Dario Franchitti	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	200	3	50	26
8	20	Ed Carpenter	Menards/Vision Racing	200	17	0	24
9	15	Paul Tracy	GEICO/KV Racing Technology	200	13	0	22
10	27	Hideki Mutoh	Formula Dream (Andretti Green Racing)	200	16	0	20
11	36	Alex Tagliani (R)	(All Sport) Conquest Racing	200	33	0	19
12	19	Tomas Scheckter	Mona Vie (Dale Coyne Racing)	200	26	0	18
13	99	Alex Lloyd	HER CGR/SSM Racing	200	11	0	17
14	16	Scott Sharp	Tequila Patrón Panther Racing	200	20	0	16
15	6	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	200	2	11	15
16	41	A.J. Foyt IV	ABC Supply/Foyt-Greer Racing	200	19	0	14
17	67	Sarah Fisher	Dollar General/Sarah Fisher Racing	200	21	0	13
18	24	Mike Conway (R)	(Purex) Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	200	27	0	12
19	43	John Andretti	Window World (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Richard Petty Motorsports)	200	28	0	12
20	23	Milka Duno	CITGO/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	199	30	0	12
21	14	Vitor Meira	ABC Supply Co. A.J. Foyt Racing	173 (Contact)	14	0	12
22	2	Raphael Matos (R)	US Air Force Luczo Dragon	173 (Contact)	12	0	12
23	18	Justin Wilson	Z-Line Designs (Dale Coyne Racing)	160 (Contact)	15	0	12
24	13	E.J. Viso	PDVSA HVM Racing	139 (Steering)[39]	29	0	12
25	00	Nelson Philippe (R)	i drive green HVM Racing	130 (Contact)	31	0	10
26	17	Oriol Servia	The Rahal Letterman DAFCA Special	98 (Fuel Pump)[40]	25	0	10
27	11	Tony Kanaan	Team 7-Eleven (Andretti Green Racing)	97 (Contact)	6	0	10
28	06	Robert Doornbos (R)	(Hole in the Wall Camps) Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing	85 (Contact)	23	0	10
29	44	Davey Hamilton	Hewlett Packard (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Kingdom Racing)	79 (Contact)	22	0	10
30	26	Marco Andretti	Team Venom Energy (Andretti Green Racing)	56 (Handling)	8	0	10
31	02	Graham Rahal	McDonald’s Racing Team (Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing)	55 (Contact)	4	0	10
32	21	Ryan Hunter-Reay	IZOD/William Rast/Vision Racing	19 (Contact)	32	0	10
33	5	Mario Moraes	Azul Tequila–Votorantim–KV Racing Technology	0 (Contact)	7	0	10
Race average speed: 150.318 mph (241.913 km/h)

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 followed 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.

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.

Pos. 5

Scott Dixon

Car # 9
D/H/F
Speed/Time: 223.867/2:40.8098

The 2008 Indy 500 winner and IndyCar series champion will find himself in a familiar place come race day. Rolling off from the 5th spot in the grid, this New Zealander will be a contender on race day and should definitely be one to watch. Scott Dixon has NEVER raced in a series where hasn’t wont the championship. When the pressure is on, this guy is the one you want behind the wheel. Starting from the middle of Row 2 he should have a clear view of Turn 1 on Lap 1. Barring any first turn disasters, keep your eye on the #9 Target entry piloted by Scott Dixon. He will more than likely be among the leaders all day.

——————–

Pos. 3

Dario Franchitti

Car # 10
D/H/F
Speed/Time: 224.010/2:40.7068

Dario Franchitti comes to his 6th Indy 500, back from his single season running in NASCAR. His previous 500 starts have been with the Andretti Green organization, but it didn’t take the former Champion long to get comfortable to his new seat. He rolls off the grid on Sunday from the front row on the outside in P3. When he won the race in 2007, it was called by rain and was less than the 500 miles. Would he have been there at the end of those 500 miles? We will never know. Will he be there at the end of this years 500 miles? I don’t think so. Look for a strong start from the former champion but a pit issue or contact to keep him from taking his second 500 crown. Why? Because, Ashley Judd annoys me to death and I don’t want to see her talking on the monitors anymore than we have to.

——————–

Pos. 1

Helio Castroneves

Car # 3
D/H/F
Speed/Time: 224.864/2:40.0967

The past six months have been absolute hell for the two-time Indy 500 winner. He spent months agonizing over a squabble with the IRS regarding a tax issue. It was resolved with a not guilty verdict, and he now finds himself back where he belongs. Helio won the 500 in 2001 and 2002 and has been in the top 5 for 5 of his 8 previous starts. He has been among the quickest all month long and was certainly the fastest on Pole Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With the drama behind him of the courtroom, and no one in front of him as he starts this years 500, look for a strong showing from the two time winner. How strong? Look for a three time champion come Sunday afternoon. Helio Castroneves is my pick for the 2009 race. Helio, go get ‘em!

——————–

Stay tuned to MidwestSportsFans.com as we continue our in depth look into the starting field for the 93rd Indianapolis 500. Next we will take a look at the women in the 500. Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher, and Milka Duno will be carrying the banner for female motor sports fans everywhere come race day. Check back soon for what to watch for from the three women who are the female faces of the 500.

Dateline: Indy 500 INDIANAPOLIS

You like drama? Last second, hair raising, edge-of-your-seat drama? Then you had to love the action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the first weekend of qualifications for the 93rd Indianapolis 500.

On an overcast windy day in the month of May, a Brazilian race car driver, who just weeks ago was waiting to hear from a Federal jury regarding his incarceration or his freedom, stood the test of time and was known as the fastest in the land. Helio Castroneves, the two time Indy 500 winner and winner of 2007’s Dancing With the Stars, proved that he was too fast. Driving a four lap average of 224.864mph, Helio took his car to the top of the pole. In doing so, he edged his Team Penske team mate Ryan Briscoe and slid the #6 car into P2.

Shortly before the gun to end the first day of qualifications, Ryan Briscoe withdrew his P2 entry and went back out to re-qualify the #6. It was a gutsy move, but it showed once again the meaning of this race to the entire Penske Organization. For any other race, a one-two qualifying order is pristine…but at the 500, it’s a whole new level. Briscoe ended up P2 after the 2nd attempt. It was a gamble, but it didn’t hurt them at all after it was all said and done.

Justin Wilson, who had taken the first qualification attempt of the day, only to be bumped later in the day went out for the final run of the afternoon. As the gun sounded, Wilson didn’t have the speed to qualify on day one. The first 11 had qualified.

SUNDAY: DAY 2 of Qualifications

Another day of drama waited for the next 11 to qualify. There were several moments of drama and a lot of bumping as the fastest 11 of the 2nd day tried to get into the show. There were two moments, I will never forget about the 2nd day of qualifications this year.

Paul Tracy in the 2nd KVRT entry had qualified at 222.7 earlier in the day. Due to concerns in staying withing the teams budget for the month, they had intended to go out, qualify for the show and save tires for close to race day for practice and tuning. A few hours before the 6pm ending to the day, the GEICO team of Paul Tracy sent a text message to the CEO of Geico telling him they know they could do a better lap and push themselves further up the grid. The text message came back and said something to the effect of, “Go get ‘em”. This was a risky move for the Canadian who had already solidly qualified for the race, in a car where he was running on a shoestring budget. If he had put the Geico machine into the wall, who knows what could have happened for the rest of the month. But being risky, is what Paul Tracy has come to be known for. They KV Racing team withdrew Paul’s qualifying time of 222.7 and sent him back out. He ran four solid laps and did in factpush his spot up further into the grid. At 223.111mph he drove the second quickest qualification time of the 2nd day and move up 4 spots from where he had previously qualified. For GEICO, andthe CEO who authorized the second attempt, it was a brilliant move. These teams pay a lot of money for sponsorship, andto let a thousand dollars ( about a set of new Firestone Firehawk Indy tires) keep your 220mph billboard in the garage would have been a shame. Instead that red, white, and blue GEICO machine rolled through the 2.5 mile oval and placed himself solidly in the Indianapolis 500. Money well spent, if even a few people switch to Geico.

The second moment I will remember came just before the end of the day. With just minutes remaining, Scott Sharp and the PATRON machine rolled into the qualification line. There were two cars ahead of him, and time wasn’t on his side. Scott Sharp is also a full time driver in the American Le Mans Series andthey have a race next weekend…he needed to get in now. EJ Viso, who was in line in front of Paul Tracy had already qualified and could have gone out to try to re-qualify and kept Scott off the grid. However, great sportsmanship ensued, and as the gun was being cocked, Scott Sharp rolled out onto the famed speedway. With a four lap average of 222.162, Scott Sharp secured his spot in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, and will be able to continue with his commitments to the ALMS. My hat goes off to EJ Viso and HVM racing for a move that was 100% class.

It was a great weekend of qualifications and now there are 22 qualifiers in the show. They are:

Row 1
Pos. 1 Helio Castroneves Car # 3 D/H/F Speed/Time: 224.864/2:40.0967	Pos. 2 Ryan Briscoe Car # 6 D/H/F Speed/Time: 224.083/2:40.6546	Pos. 3 Dario Franchitti Car # 10 D/H/F Speed/Time: 224.010/2:40.7068
Row 2
Pos. 4 Graham Rahal Car # 02 D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.954/2:40.7470	Pos. 5 Scott Dixon Car # 9 D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.867/2:40.8098	Pos. 6 Tony Kanaan Car # 11T D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.612/2:40.9934
Row 3
Pos. 7 Mario Moraes Car # 5 D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.331/2:41.1958	Pos. 8 Marco Andretti Car # 26 D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.114/2:41.3522	Pos. 9 Will Power Car # 12 D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.028/2:41.4146
Row 4
Pos. 10 Danica Patrick Car # 7 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.882/2:41.5205	Pos. 11 Alex Lloyd Car # 99 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.622/2:41.7093	Pos. 12 Raphael Matos Car # 2 D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.429/2:41.1252
Row 5
Pos. 13 Paul Tracy Car # 15 D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.111/2:41.3545	Pos. 14 Vitor Meira Car # 14 D/H/F Speed/Time: 223.054/2:41.3958	Pos. 15 Justin Wilson Car # 18 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.903/2:41.5051
Row 6
Pos. 16 Hideki Mutoh Car # 27 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.805/2:41.5764	Pos. 17 Ed Carpenter Car # 20 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.780/2:41.5942	Pos. 18 Dan Wheldon Car # 4 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.777/2:41.5969
Row 7
Pos. 19 AJ Foyt IV Car # 41 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.586/2:41.7355	Pos. 20 Scott Sharp Car # 16 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.162/2:42.0441	Pos. 21 Sarah Fisher Car # 67 D/H/F Speed/Time: 222.082/2:42.1022
Row 8
Pos. 22 Davey Hamilton Car # 44 D/H/F Speed/Time: 221.956/2:42.1942

So, with 22 of the 33 drivers filled in here is the schedule for the 2nd week of Qualifications.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – NO TRACK ACTIVITY

Thursday, Friday – PRACTICE from 12-6pm

Saturday – Day 3 of Qualifications. The next 11 qualify to fill the field.

Sunday – Day 4 of Qualifications. BUMP DAY! For the drivers who haven’t yet found the speed to make the show, this is their last chance.

Check back next Monday for the Indy 500 Preview and follow me on Twitter for any breaking news or updates pertaining to the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500.

The 2007 Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion is back where he belongs. After his one year hiatus to the world of slow cars and four fenders, or as it also known NASCAR, Dario Franchitti made his presence felt. Dario took the #10 Target Chip Ganassi entry to the front for his first win under the TCG banner. Dario ran a great race and used some solid pit strategy to work his way to the front, and held on for a relatively easy win Sunday. Using an off-sequence pit stop, and saving fuel all along the way, he was able to be where he needed to be in the final laps. When he was given the green light to run full rich he pulled out nearly a 4 second lead over Will Power and the rest of the IndyCar field.

After Dario and Will; Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Dan Wheldon, Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Raphael Matos, Robert Doornbos and Alex Tagliani rounded out the top ten.

The IndyCar Series has now completed two races for the 2009 season and as of right now here is your top five in points:

Dario Franchitti – 84

Will Power – 69

Ryan Briscoe – 67

Tony Kanaan – 65

Ryan Hunter-Reay – 59

Helio Back in the Saddle:

Helio Castroneves, fresh out of his acquittal on 6 counts of tax evasion, was in the racecar this weekend in the #3 Team Penske machine. He finished 7th in Long Beach and looked very happy to be back on the track. Given the stressful situations he has faced the past 6 weeks or so, I would look for him to look like the Helio of old this weekend. I will not be surprised with a top three finish as the IndyCar series heads for Kansas this coming weekend. The Kansas race will be the first oval of the 2009 season, and the last race before the month long pause that is the Indianapolis 500 during the month of May.

Out of Power:

Will Power, who was a formidable fill-in for Helio while he was out facing his legal issues, will get an undeserved rest this week. Will Power currently sits 2nd in the championship, but his position is likely to slip this weekend. The #12 machine is being parked until Indy. Verizon, who sponsored the #12 at Long Beach, will be back with Team Penske and supporting Will Power during the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at the Brickyard come May. The reason for Power being parked is strictly financial. Will has proven his weight so far this year and I expect him to be a player at Indianapolis. He will be driving for sponsorship for the rest of the season.

The Indy 500 Entry List released:

40 entries of drivers and machines have been released for the Indianapolis 500 to be ran on May 24th, 2009. As of this post, there are 28 drivers named and many more to be named in the coming weeks as teams try to gain enough sponsorship to fill the field. Some notable entries this year are the return of Davey Hamilton, John Andretti, Sarah Fisher and Paul Tracy.

Paul Tracy hasn’t raced in the Indianapolis 500 since 2002 when he lost a controversial call regarding the timing of a yellow flag and rode behind Helio Castroneves to finish 2nd. Paul Tracy ran a one off race last year for Vision Racing and finished 4th at Edmonton. Look for Paul Tracy to make waves all month long. There is no doubt he wants to be back in a racecar, and for much longer than just the month of May.

There are 4 previous winners as well as 4 rookies on the books so far. We’ll keep an eye on those numbers as the TBA on the entry list turn into actual drivers. The car count looks great and there should be no rumors about the Indy 500 NOT having it’s traditional 33 cars. Remember boys and girls, the Indianapolis 500 is still the worlds largest one day sporting event.

Keep an eye herefor continuing updates on IndyCar news, and look back here at Midwest Sports Fans for our Kansas preview later this week.

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.

However, all is not rosy with the outcome for the Castroneves siblings. The charge of conspiracy was deadlocked by the jurors and leaves open the possibility of a retrial on that count. But for now, this painful episode is in the rear view mirror.

What does this mean for the #3 machine at the Grand Prix of Long Beach?

It means that HELIO WILL RACE!!! Breaking news shows that he will be the pilot of the #3 Team Penske entry for the weekend. As of this entry, there is no word on where that leaves Will Power who had been the fill in. Will Power will be in the #12 car since the regular driver of the #3 is back in business.

I will post again later this evening with a look ahead to the 35th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach as well as any more information I have on this developing story.

Give em’ HELL HELIO!

also follow me @ejwassonmsf on twitter for updates as well.

Team Penske will announce today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that it has signed Australian driver Will Power to fill in for the troubled brazillian star. Whether Power will actually drive a car for Penske in an IndyCar Series race is left up to the Federal Court system. If Helio isn’t able to answer the bell due to his court case, then the reigns of the #3 will be handed over to the Aussie.

Will Power has a successful record on road courses, and was a rising star in the now defunct Champ Car World Series. He was with PKV racing last year and found himself with no seat heading into 2009. This is a bit of gamble for Will Power, considering he may not even get to race in a Team Penske car, but I think it sets clear the state of the economy. Why would he take a gamble on being used as a test driver, while Helio fights his battles? Because there is nothing else out there.

It does make the mind wonder what the end game will be. Will Penske bring over enough sponsorship to adopt a third car in the 2009 season? Is Will Power going to be used for a few weeks in testing the 2009 car, then thrown off the team when HCN comes back?

Or is this maybe the clearest sign yet, that Helio Castroneves is in a world of trouble, and there is very little chance of him escaping the wrath of our Government.

Stay tuned, its gonna be an incredible year in the IndyCar Series… Bring on the warm weather…and lets go racing!

This presents several challenges for Helio Castroneves, as well as his current employer, Penske Racing. Helio’s contract stipulates that he must be able to participate in each of the IndyCar Series events. The first race of the 2009 season is just one month after the start of the trial. The likelihood of a Federal tax evasion case being opened and closed within one month is unknown, but historically these can take several weeks, if not months, to come to a conclusion. If the verdict goes against the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, appeals can lengthen the process even more.

Helio Castroneves and Penske Racing officials had requested the trial be delayed until November of 2009 to allow Helio to compete in the 2009 campaign. As of now, that is very much in question.

Publicly, Roger Penske has said he is behind their driver, but as the months get closer to the opening race the activity to replace the long-time Penske driver will have to begin. As one of IndyCar’s most successful racing teams, they will want to have a qualified candidate ready to roll off as the season begins if Helio Castroneves is not ready to be behind the wheel.

(Editor’s note: In related news, the Dancing With the Stars co-contestant of Helio Castroneves, Mark Cuban, has recently found himself in his own water. Cuban was recently charged with insider trading by the SEC.)

[tags]helio castroneves, tax evasion, dancing with the stars, indycar[/tags]

I am now offering a reward of $1,000.00 for the first person to get a picture of Jimmie Johnson in full Native American get-up doing the rain dance. Go Nuts.

Here is the top ten for the Pep Boys Auto 500 that is scheduled for 1:00pm Sunday on ABC.

Row 1

Jimmie Johnson

Greg Biffle

Row 2

Jeff Burton

Carl Edwards

Row 3

Clint Bowyer

Kervin Harvick

Row 4

Jeff Gordon

Tony Stewart

Row 5

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Matt Kenseth

And now, in other continents:

IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon is NOT on the pole for this weekend’s ICS race at Surfer’s Paradise. He is however, on the front row. The pole winner is none other than the Australian, Will Power. Besides having the coolest name in racing, he actually knows how to drive a racecar and proved it by finishing the road course with an average speed of 105.977 mph.

Here is the top ten for the Nikon Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise in Australia. The race, broadcast tonight on ESPN Classic at 10:30pm.

Row 1

Will Power

Scott Dixon

Row 2

Ryan Briscoe

Dario Franchitti

Row 3

Ryan Hunter-Reay

Helio Castroneves

Row 4

Alex Tagliani

Tony Kanaan

Row 5

Justin Wilson

E.J. Viso

Stay tuned for our post race resets and commentary right here at Midwest Sports Fans.

If Jimmie Johnson plays it nice and tight and focuses on top tens for the duration of the 2008 season, he will be the second back-to-back-to-back champion in NASCAR history. Qualifying is Friday evening and the race is Sunday at 1pm on ABC.

Here are the standings going into the weekend:

INDYCAR DOWN UNDER!

The IndyCar Series is back on track this weekend. It has to be one of the most bizzare situations caused from the merger of CART and the ICS at the start of this season. The Australian race was originally a CART event, and when the two series merged earlier this year, the ICS was left with a contract that was quite expensive to break. So down under they go…

The IndyCar series ended its season officially weeks ago at Chicago. That race was won by Helio Castroneves by just inches, and the championship went to Scott Dixon. Dixon, who also won the Indy 500 in 2008, had one of the most dominating IndyCar series runs in recent memory. It was a great season for the Target Chip Ganassi racing driver.

So, if the season is over…why are they racing? And what are they racing for?

For competition sake only. Why should you watch? There is no championship on the line, but an IndyCar win is still a win…so watch out for younger drivers to flex their muscles and try to make passes that they normally wouldn’t attempt. It could be a very expensive race for some teams.

Why else? Dan Wheldon, Vitor Meira and Dario Franchitti are in the race this weekend. Wheldon and Meira are on new teams, Dario (2007 Indy 500 and ICS Champion) is back from his stint in NASCAR. Franchitti took Wheldons seat when Dan went to Panther. Vitor was kicked out of Panther and picked up by Foyt. This race is the first time they will competitively run with their new team colors.

Why else? Helio Castroneves was allowed by a Federal Court to attend the event to race this weekend. HCN has a lot to prove to his team owner and his fans. When the outcome of his court case will be known is anyones guess, but I assure you that Helio wants to win this thing. In fact, he wants to win everything. (See Dancing with the Stars in 2007)

Here is the Fast Five from Practice Session 2 on Friday:

Will Power

Helio Castroneves

Dario Franchitti

Oriol Servia

Graham Rahal

The race is broadcast on ESPN Classic Saturday night at 10:30pm EDT. Tune in!

Check back on Monday for our weekend recap, and our forward look into the conclusion of the Formula 1 World Championship.

Two time Indianapolis 500 winner, Helio Castroneves is facing some tough competition. Unfortunately for him, this competition isn’t in a sleek IndyCar racing into turn one. This is a battle against the big boys. The Internal Revenue Service has indicted him on 6 counts of financial wrongdoing. The Brazilian star was allegedly using off-shore bank accounts and shell corporations to hide his millions. The end of the story is long to be written, but in the short term there are many questions left unanswered. Here’s two of them:

1) Will The Captain, Roger Penske, allow a driver in his stable with a tarnished name? Roger Penske has longed for and only hired the cleanest cut drivers. I find it hard for him to continue Castroneves’ employment if he ends up a Federally Convicted criminal.

2) Is Helio Castroneves really a criminal? I have followed his career since the CART days and there has never been one minute of it where he came across as anything other than legendary; a personality big enough to match the talent. Now, I definitely believe he has made some very bad choices. I think the first bad choice is those who were giving him advice on what to do with his money. We may never truly know to what extent he was involved, but I know there are thousands of HC fans hoping this is a case of bad advice.

If he was doing something wrong, he will be punished. The system has to work that way regardless of who you are. It’s what keeps the scales of justice as even as possible. Let’s just all hope that Helio comes through this having paid his penalty, but relatively unscathed. I find it awfully difficult to believe that he was the mastermind behind this situation. I just hope I am proven right.

And for Helio’s sake…so does he.

[tags]helio castroneves, IndyCar, auto racing, IRS, tax fraud, sports[/tags]