It is 8:45 local time and we’re headed to Indianapolis for the “500.” I’ve been going to the race since 1988, the year that Emmerson Fittipaldi put Al Unser Jr. into the turn 3 wall during the last 5 laps of the race. Bastard.
I can’t remember being this excited on raceday morning since ’88. Race analysts and racing legends like Mario Andretti and Rick Mears say that 12-14 cars have a legitimate shot to win. I think the smart money is on Helio to win if someone doesn’t take him out during the race
Conditions today are hotter and more humid than the teams have faced all month. Humidity means more drag and downforce on the car, but the higher temps will produce less grip for the drivers in the turns. The experienced teams should have enough data from past years to make the right adjustments. Newer teams will struggle for the first 100 laps but should be able to recover if they didn’t choose the wrong gears in the gearbox.
My predictions:
My head says Helio Castroneves will win but I would like to see Paul Tracy Mario Moraes pull it off. Paul needs one last hurrah in his career. Mario has been running very well all month and his team, KV Racing, has been making the right changes to the car.
Milka Duno will be out before the halfway point and she will blame something on the car.
Sarah Fisher will stay on the lead lap if her pit crew doesn’t make a mistake today. She is a small team with a limited budget, but I would like to see her do well.
Danica has matured since her debut in 2005. I’m not sure that Michael Andretti calling the shots for her is a good thing or not. I guess it is better for Marco that Micheal isn’t on his pit box today.
The Target boys will be strong. I think Dario will perform better than Dixon today. Look for a Dario and Helio race toward the end.
Then we have the greatest variable of all, weather. Scattered showers are predicted during the race. Don’t remind my dad that he forgot to pack his rain poncho. He’ll just blame my mother anyway.
No matter what happens, it should be a great race day in Indianapolis.
