Despite being handed his walking papers from Hendrick Motorsports when the team announced at the end of June that Casey Mears would no longer be the driver of the no. 5 car in 2009, it’s not exactly the end of world for Mears. Really, if it had to happen, it couldn’t have happened in a better year with seats still remaining open at Richard Childress Racing, Penske Racing, and technically, even Stewart-Haas Racing for next season.

With Roger Penske and Ryan Newman recently announcing their split at the end of the year, the no. 12 ride at Penske has now become one of the more highly touted rides available for ‘09. Though early signs have indicated that the team may opt take the easy and less negotiable route by signing their current Sprint Cup test driver, David Stremme, to drive the car, one has to wonder if it doesn’t actually just make too much sense for Roger and company to head in another direction and start focusing on a potential deal that would land Mears in that car next season.

For starters, Casey’s uncle - 4-time Indy 500 winner, Rick Mears - spent more than 15 years driving for Penske in the open wheel ranks, and still works as a consultant for the organization. Casey’s father, Roger Mears, also competed in 4 Indy 500’s running a Penske chassis, so there’s definitely some family ties between Penske and the Mears family.

Additionally, upon his retirement from the Penske organization and racing altogether in 2005, the legendary Rusty Wallace petitioned for Roger to look at Casey as a candidate to fill his shoes in the famed no. 2 “Blue Deuce”, though the team ultimately decided to go with 2004 Cup champion, Kurt Busch.

At that time, Mears was still racing for Chip Ganassi Racing, which also runs out of the Dodge Racing camp - the same manufacturer of choice as Penske. Casey failed to put together a winning effort while running for Ganassi as he didn’t reach that pinnacle until 2007 with Hendrick, but he did experience his best points season with them in ‘06 when he finished 14th overall in the points standings.

Mears could arguably be the most established driver on the free agent market available to Penske, pending a fallout in the ongoing negotiations between Martin Truex Jr. and DEI, though the rumor mill there has Truex potentially joining the ranks of RCR should he happen to leave.

I would like to thank John Beamer, one of the writers for F1 Pitlane, for contacting me recently to do an interview over at the site … to which, of course, I happily obliged. John is a great guy and they do a fantastic job over there, so I encourage you all to go give it a look and while you’re there, take a look at the interview.

A Stateside Perspective - NASCAR and F1

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway (aka: the Brickyard) is home of the Indianapolis 500 and is highly regarded as one of the most prestigious tracks in all of motorsports. After taking a week off, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will now return to the Brickyard for the fifteenth time in a race whose prestige to NASCAR regulars is rivaled only by the season opening Daytona 500. In the previous 14 trips to the track, Indianapolis has produced only three multiple winners in NASCAR, and only two of them will be in the field on Sunday - Jeff Gordon (4 wins) and Tony Stewart (2 wins), with Dale Jarrett being the other. With the garage area finally being able to weed their way through much of the notorious Silly Season and a week of R&R in the rearview, the drivers will hit the track on Sunday more focused than ever as the countdown to the Chase begins to wind down.

Recent Winners:
2007 - Tony Stewart
2006 - Jimmie Johnson
2005 - Tony Stewart

Recent Polesitters:
2007 - Reed Sorenson
2006 - Jeff Burton
2005 - Elliott Sadler

the Usual Suspects:
As previously mentioned, Jeff Gordon has four wins at Indianapolis, which is tops amongst all drivers in NASCAR. Equally impressive, though, is that he also has 7 top-five’s and 10 top-ten’s through 14 races at the track, both of which are also the best in the Sprint Cup garage area. His 16th place run here in 2006 was his worst since he finished 33rd back in 2000, but he was able to rebound with a 3rd place effort last season. Though he is still without a win 19 races into the 2008 campaign, Gordon’s quietly been creeping his way up through the points standings, and the no. 24 team is beginning to show signs of life again - which could mean very bad things for the other 42 cars out on the track.

Tony Stewart seems to be getting back to enjoying life once again, and there are few places he likes to visit better than the Brickyard, as he has proven with wins here in 2005 and 2007. He’s going to need some strong showings to secure his place in the Chase, as I’m sure he’d love nothing more than to give the Coach one more championship before departing at the end of the season.

Indianapolis has yet to be conquered by the driving prowess of Kyle Busch, but then again, there were a lot of places Kyle had never won at prior to this season. He’s gradually improved each year he’s been here, though, going from 10th to 7th, and finally cracking the top-five with a 4th place finish last year ….. Kevin Harvick had his opportunity to kiss the bricks with his win here back in 2003, and another opportunity to do that would really straighten his season out as he continues to recover from his mid-season slump. He’s finished 11th or better in six of his seven races at Indy ….. Matt Kenseth has never won at the Brickyard before, but he’s been very consistent. In 8 races here, he’s cracked the top-five on four occasions, which includes a pair of runner-up finishes, and he’s finished 16th or better in each of his last six Indy races.

the Unusual Suspects:
Juan Pablo Montoya has run very well in a stock car at almost any track that they also race in the open wheel circuits, and Indianapolis was no exception last year as he finished 2nd in that race. With Pocono and Watkins Glen up next on the schedule, JPM could be looking at a pretty good stretch ahead ….. Brian Vickers has finished 21st or better in three of his four Indy races, which includes a 3rd place finish back in 2005. He’s been running much better this season and could be staring at a potential berth in the Chase field. He ran well at Pocono earlier in the season, a track that many feel shares similar characteristics to the Brickyard ….. Reed Sorenson has come to Indy only twice. The first trip resulted in a dismal 30th place finish, but last year’s visit was much brighter as Reed won the pole and then went onto finish 5th in the race itself.

the Unusual Slackers:
In three races at Indianapolis, Martin Truex Jr. has never finished better than 12th and holds an average finish of just 24.3. This is not a good place for Martin to be right now, either, considering that his team was just handed a 150 point penalty by NASCAR, and he’s going to need plenty of good runs if he plans on having any shot at making the Chase this year ….. Hometown crowd or not, Indy has not been kind to Ryan Newman thus far in his career. Seven times Newman has come home to Indiana with high expectations, but 2002 was the only one that resulted in a top-ten finish, when he finished 4th. He has only two top-15’s here since then ….. Despite winning the race here in 2006, Jimmie Johnson has experienced some unusual struggles here. The results haven’t typically been very indicative of how he’s run, but nonetheless, he’s got three finishes outside of the top-35 in only six tries. His other finishes were a win, a 9th, and an 18th ….. Greg Biffle has seen his share of struggles at Indy as well. In five races here, he’s finished in the top-ten only once, and only twice in the top-15. His overall average finish at the track is 19.2.

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Tony Stewart - 121.4
2. Juan Pablo Montoya - 120.7
3. Kevin Harvick - 108.7
4. Matt Kenseth - 106.1
5. Mark Martin - 102.9

Best Average Finish (from racingone.com):
1. Juan Pablo Montoya - 2.0
2. Kyle Busch - 7.0
3. Tony Stewart - 7.6
4. Jeff Gordon - 7.6
5. Kevin Harvick - 7.7

Indianapolis Facts:
- 3rd is the only starting position to produce more than one winner at Indy. Three drivers have driven to victory from the third spot. The 1st and 2nd starting positions have produced one winner each.
- Four drivers have driven six different car numbers at Indianapolis: Bill Elliott, Joe Nemecheck, Jeff Green, Kenny Wallace.
- Dave Blaney is the only driver to have driven five different car makes at Indy. He has driven Pontiac, Ford, Dodge, and Chevy twice each here, and has also driven a Toyota once.
- Only four drivers have finished in the top-ten in each of the last three years: Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Mark Martin.
- Jeff Burton has led more laps at Indianapolis than at any other track that he has not won at.
- The second NASCAR race held here, back in 1995, saw only one caution flag during the race. In 2004, there were 13 cautions.
- Chevrolet has won 9 of the 14 Cup races held at Indy.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner - Jeff Gordon
2nd Place - Kyle Busch
3rd Place - Mark Martin
4th Place - Tony Stewart
5th Place - Matt Kenseth
6th Place - Clint Bowyer

Lock of the Week - Tony Stewart
Sleeper Pick - Juan Pablo Montoya
Steer Clear of - Greg Biffle

Video Footage of the 2007 Allstate 400:

Ryan Briscoe earned his second IndyCar Series victory of the season for Penske Racing on Sunday, but the real story of the weekend was the controversy between Danica Patrick and Milka Duno. The previous day during practice, Danica tried on several occassions to get past Milka, whom had fallen off the pace, but Milka was apparently putting a block on her. Though Danica was finally able to get around her, the altercation on the track spurred another altercation off-the track as Danica visited Milka’s pit area following the practice session. Here’s some video footage of what took place:

Image details: 2007 ESPY Awards - Arrivals served by picapp.com

The annual 2008 ESPY Awards will air live on ESPN on Sunday, July 20th at 9 pm est / 8 pm cst, and keeping with their tradition of including outdoor sports and motorsports within their equation, NASCAR will be represented with nominees in three separate categories this year.

Every year, the ESPY’s select from a pool of nominees for their racing-specific athlete category for “Best Driver“. A NASCAR driver has won this award in 9 of the 15 years, and 4 of the last 5. The most recent winners of this award were Jeff Gordon in 2007 and Tony Stewart in 2006. Representing NASCAR this year are 2006 and 2007 Sprint Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson (whom has never won the award), current Sprint Cup points leader, Kyle Busch, and Dario Franchitti (though Franchitti was nominated for his win in the 2007 Indianapolis 500 and for winning the IndyCar Series championship last season). They will compete against Lewis Hamilton, Tony Schumacher, and Scott Dixon.

Kyle Busch’s surge to 7 wins this season in the Sprint Cup Series and 14 altogether in NASCAR’s top-three series has also earned him a nomination as the “Breakthrough Athlete of the Year“, but he’s going to be looking at some pretty stout competition in this category, particularly as he goes against Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. Also nominated for this award are Stephen Curry (basketball) and Ana Ivanovic (tennis). Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears won the award last year.

Much to his own surprise, Jamie McMurray is up for an award himself. He’s been nominated for the “Best Finish” award for his 0.05 second victory over Kyle Busch in the 2007 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He will be up against Western Kentucky’s 3-point buzzer shot to advance over Drake University in the NCAA Tournament; the San Antonio Spurs’ victory over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals in double overtime; and the Pittsburgh Penguins triple overtime win against the Detroit Redwings in Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

Additionally, IRL star, Danica Patrick, is nominated for the awards of “Best Moment” and “Best Female Athlete.”

Go here for a complete list of the 2008 ESPY Nominees and go to ESPN.com for listing information on the event itself.

Image details: Daytona 500 served by picapp.com

This week, NASCAR returns to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400, one of the biggest races of the year on the Sprint Cup schedule. With Daytona being one of NASCAR’s two restrictor plate courses, the track has fallen under quite a bit of scrutiny over the years. While it’s still loved by many, there are still those that feel as though things tend to get a bit overhyped whenever the series heads down to Florida. But, whether you love it or you hate it, one thing cannot be denied, and that is that the 50th running of the Daytona 500 held here this past February was one that brought plenty of excitement. In fact, some believe that race was actually one of the Car of Tomorrow’s shining moments to date.

Recent Winners:
2008 - Ryan Newman
2007 - Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick
2006 - Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson
2005 - Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon

Recent Pole Winners:
2008 - Jimmie Johnson
2007 - “Cancelled Qualifying”, David Gilliland
2006 - Boris Said, Jeff Burton
2005 - Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett

the Usual Suspects:
Despite the fact that he hasn’t won a Cup race all season long and that he’s been under the microscope this season in regards to his contract situation, Tony Stewart remains one of the favorites to win this Saturday. Along with boasting the highest driver rating over the last 7 races at the track, Tony has also won this race twice before (’05 & ‘06), and also holds the track record for most laps led in a 400-mile race when he led 151 circuits back in 2005. Additionally, Smoke leads all active drivers in the series with wins between June through August since 2003 with 12 of them to his credit. He also led the most laps at this year’s 500, only to lose the lead on the final lap of the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is certainly considered the fan favorite to win the race this weekend, and rightfully so. Dale owns two Cup victories at Daytona himself, and has recorded 10 top-ten finishes over 17 starts. He ran very well during the Daytona 500 in February and at times appeared as though he might grab a victory in his very first start with Hendrick Motorsports, but eventually faded away near the end. Now that he’s finally broken his winless streak by taking the checkered flag at Michigan, perhaps the no. 88 team’s been able to relieve themselves of enough pressure to regain Jr’s status as the master of restrictor plate racing.

Both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have seen their share of dominant days at Daytona. Gordon leads all active drivers with 6 wins here, and Johnson had a stretch of five consecutive Daytona races with a finish of 6th or better, which also included a win at the 2006 Daytona 500. Since that win, however, Johnson has recorded only one top-ten finish in the four races since, and he finished 27th here in February. Gordon’s last Daytona victory came at the 500 the year before.

Amongst the other favorites to win this weekend is Kevin Harvick, winner of the 2007 Daytona 500. Harvick has struggled at the track since then, finishing 34th last July and 14th earlier this year. He’s also had his struggles over the last few weeks of the season, but also known as one of the best night racers in the series, a return to Daytona could be just what the doctor ordered … Kyle Busch’s over all numbers at Daytona seem to be about middle of the road, but you can pretty much chalk that up to a few bad runs earlier on in his career. He’s finished inside the top-five in 3 of the last 4 trips to Daytona, to include a pair of runner-up finishes, and he finally picked up his first restrictor plate win earlier this year at Talladega … Kurt Busch may have gotten the monkey off his back with his win last weekend at New Hampshire, and it could’ve come at just the right time. With the number 2 time finding themselves in a much deeper hole than they could’ve ever expected to have to climb out of this late in the season, there might not be a track they’d rather visit more than Daytona. He has still yet to add a Daytona victory to his championship resume’, but he’s always considered a favorite here with 7 top-five finishes over 15 races. He has finished as the runner-up here on three occassions.

the Unusual Suspects:
When you start to think about sleeper picks at Daytona, probably the first name that jumps out to you is the guy that beat Kyle Busch to the line in this race last year, Jamie McMurray. The 2007 victory was only Jamie’s second top-five finish at the track in his career, but don’t let the numbers fool you. McMurray’s been a solid performer here ever since he started running full-time in the Cup Series, but as has been the case so many times throughout his career, he has been the unfortunate victim of bad luck more often than not.

Elliott Sadler has run well here at times, especially as of late. He has finished 6th in three of the last four Daytona races, and also scored a pair of top-five’s here back in 2001 … Brian Vickers has had a great run for his Red Bull Racing team over the past couple of months, and Vickers is especially known for his restrictor plate prowess. Though he typically runs stronger at Talladega, he does have a pair of top-ten’s at Daytona, and finished 12th here in February … Robby Gordon typically isn’t associated with many tracks other than road course races, but you may be surprised to learn that he is currently working on a string of five consecutive top-15 finishes at Daytona.

the Unusual Slackers:
It’s not very often that folks will make it a point to drop Denny Hamlin from there fantasy rosters for an upcoming race, but a trip to Daytona could call for such action. Not only has Denny failed to record a single top-15 finish in his five trips to Daytona, but his average finish of 27.0 actually matches that of JJ Yeley … Carl Edwards has been one of the top performers of the season, and is heavily considered to be amongst the true championship contenders this year. That does not mean, however, that he’s necessarily solid at every track on the schedule. Carl has only one top-ten finish in 7 Daytona races, which was a 4th place run here last July. He was unable to use that for any kind of momentum, however, as he then finished 19th here in February … Carl’s teammate, Matt Kenseth, hasn’t had much better luck taming Daytona, either. With only one top-five to his credit and an average finish here of 22.9 over 17 races, Daytona ranks amongst Matt’s worst tracks … Martin Truex Jr. is in dire need of a good run if he wants to return to the Chase for the Cup field this year, but if you ask him, Daytona’s not the best place to be given the current situation. Martin’s 13th place run here last July ranks as his best finish over six races at Daytona.

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Tony Stewart - 108.1
2. Ryan Newman - 98.6
3. Jimmie Johnson - 95.5
4. Kyle Busch - 95.3
5. Kurt Busch - 93.0

Best Average Finishes (from racingone.com):
1. Clint Bowyer - 13.0
2. Jimmie Johnson - 13.2
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 13.8
4. Sam Hornish Jr. - 15.0
5. David Gilliland - 15.7 

Daytona Facts:
- A Cup race at Daytona has gone without any lead changes on two different occassions, the last of which came back in 1963.
- The race has gone caution-free 12 times, most recently the Daytona 500 in 1971.
- The most drivers to ever finish on the lead lap at Daytona is 33. Eight races have seen only one driver finish on the lead lap, most recently in 1976.
- In 122 Cup Series races at Daytona, only 10 times has the winner come from outside of a top-15 starting position. 55% of the races have been won from the top-five, and 23 winners have started from the pole.
- Only four drivers have ever won both the Daytona 500 and the July race at Daytona in the same year: Fireball Roberts, Cale Yarbrough, LeRoy Yarbrough, and most recently, Bobby Allison in 1982. Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500 this year, giving Penske Racing their first-ever restrictor plate victory. 

Storylines for the Weekend:
Hendrick Motorsports has recently announced the release of Casey Mears from the no. 5 car next season. They’re expected to make an announcement on Friday in regards to whom will fill the seat in 2009, and heavy speculation at this point is that the announcement will involve the legendary Mark Martin … Though he is not on this weekend’s driver entry list, DEI has named the young Aric Almirola as the full-time driver of their no. 8 car in ‘09 … In a surprise move, Chip Ganassi Racing announced earlier in the week that they would be forced to shut down operations on their no. 40 car, which until then had been driven by 2007 Indy 500 winner, Dario Franchitti, due to a lack of sponsorship opportunities … This weekend’s Cup entry list includes Boris Said (making his 2nd start of the season) and Sterling Marlin (making his 6th start). Marlin leads all drivers on the entry list with 589 laps led at Daytona - 57 more laps than Tony Stewart, and 78 more than Jeff Gordon … Kerry Earnhardt will run the no. 8 entry in the Nationwide Series this weekend, marking his first official start in a DEI car in a NASCAR event.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner - Tony Stewart
2nd Place - Jimmie Johnson
3rd Place - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4th Place - Kurt Busch
5th Place - Kyle Busch
6th Place - Greg Biffle

Lock of the Week - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Sleeper Pick - Brian Vickers
Steer Clear of - Martin Truex Jr.

Video - Jamie McMurray wins the 2007 Pepsi 400

If you ask any driver or any team owner, they’ll be the first to tell you that every race is a big deal, and nobody can deny that. But, as I take a look at the starting grid for the Toyota Save/Mart 350 and then look at the points standings, when I combine that with everything that I know has already taken place in this crazy season, I can’t help but think that it especially holds true this weekend at Infineon Raceway, and it all starts right there at the top of the field.

Kasey Kahne has been on a helluva roll ever since he won the All-Star Race in Charlotte about a month ago. Of the four points races that have taken place since then, he’s won two of them and finished 2nd in another, with his only hiccup coming when he got caught up in the big pileup at Dover. Yet, the typical race fan would be quick to discount Kahne as a legitimate threat to win the championship this year, and would chalk it up as nothing more than a hot streak. Kasey must be privvy to these statements, though, because he didn’t let the fact that he’s never scored higher than 23rd at Infineon stop him from pacing the field during Friday’s qualifying runs and taking the pole for Sunday’s race. Now, with all of the momentum going in his favor, a win - or, even a top-five - could and probably would establish Kahne as the real deal … for this season at least.

The most disappointing team in 2008 has without a doubt been Penske Racing, where Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch are currently 17th and 19th in the points standings. Since pulling off their dramatic 1-2 finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, the duo has combined for only one more top-five and five more top-ten finishes. Looking to turn their seasons around, a stop at Infineon could be just what the doctor ordered. Both Newman and Busch rank amongst the series’ top-ten full-time active drivers at Infineon in terms of best average finishes, and both will be starting Sunday’s event from top-ten starting positions.

Perhaps the buzz of the town this weekend surrounds Marcos Ambrose, who will make his Sprint Cup debut when the green flag drops in Sonoma. Stepping inside of the no. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers this weekend, Ambrose will be looking to use his road course expertise to turn a few heads at Sonoma in hopes of landing a ride in the series next year. He qualified 7th and led the final practice speeds, though he did lose control of the car about halfway through the practice session and ran into the tire barriers. There was a bit of damage sustained to the left side of the car, but the crew was able to repair the car, and there seems to be little concern over the mishap for Sunday.

And, of course every team owner in the garage will be expecting top results from their former open-wheel stars that have since joined the ranks of NASCAR full-time. Afterall, if these guys are unable to get the job on the road courses - the one place they’re expected to do well - then what kind of results should they really expect from their drivers on a weekly basis going forward? Just ask Dario Franchitti how secure he feels his job is now after the 2007 IndyCar Series champion failed to qualify for Sonoma. With that in mind, you can bet that fellow Ganassi teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, will be looking to rebound from his 21st starting position and recapture some of the glory that helped him win this race last year. But, at least he doesn’t have it near as bad as Patrick Carpentier, whom has been rumored to be on the chopping block over at Gillette-Evernham Motorsports. Carpentier, a former IRL driver himself, will start Sunday’s race from the 37th position.

Road course racing has been on the receiving end of more than its chare of criticism from NASCAR fans over the years, and often finds itself on the losing end of such debates. Whether you’re a fan or not, though, one thing cannot be denied, and that’s the fact that this drama-filled season is sure to play a part at Sonoma.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

As you tune into TNT this Sunday afternoon to watch NASCAR’s Cup race, your first inclination may very well be that you mistakenly tuned into the IndyCar Series race … but, wait … why are they driving stock cars, right? Well, don’t try to adjust the set or flip the channel, because that, my friend, is indeed the Sprint Cup Series, and that’s what we call road racin’.

See, for as long as I can remember, twice a year team owners go out and fetch themselves an experienced road course racer in an effort to tame the mountains in Sonoma, CA or the hills at Watkins Glen, NY, replacing their less-than-adequate Cup drivers that have never driven anything other than a stock car since the day they graduated from go-karts and late models.

Scrolling through this year’s entry list for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, though, at first glance it doesn’t really seem that bad. Of the 47 entries, all 7 of them are fairly familiar names to viewers that follow the Cup Series exclusively, but this year is unique in that there are also four drivers entered for the race that are full-time Cup drivers, yet they actually have more open-wheel and road course racing experience than they do driving the ovals (Patrick Carpentier, Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr), not to mention two more drivers that also have their share of experience in the open wheel ranks (Robby Gordon, AJ Allmendinger).

The most notable of the changes taking place amongst the teams this year is no doubt within the ranks of Chip Ganassi Racing, where Reed Sorenson - in his second season of Cup racing - has been replaced by one of the most famous road course ringers of all, Scott Pruett. Pruett has driven in 11 road course races in the Cup Series that have resulted in 3 top-five’s and 5 top-ten finishes, and also finished 3rd earlier this year in the Corona Mexico 200 in the Nationwide Series. He does not currently compete full-time in any of racing’s premier series, and is frequently used as a hired gun of sorts, often by Ganassi. Pruett’s also won three Daytona Prototype races this year alone, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

My gripe on this one doesn’t necessarily lie so much with the addition of Pruett to the team for the road course race, but moreso with the seclusion of Sorenson. I’m a huge advocate of the theory that if you hired a guy to be your driver, then for Pete’s sake, let him drive! It may seem like an unlikely scenario at this point in Sorenson’s career, but what happens if the day comes that Sorenson is competing to make the coveted Chase field? You can’t pull him from the race at that point, but with minimal road course experience under his belt, you’re hurting his chances of salvaging a decent finish and moving onward to stay competitive for the Chase. Granted, that’s far from the case this season as Reed currently sits 32nd in points, but to me it’s a clear cut case of Ganassi being near-sighted … meaning that he’s only looking at the here and now, wanting to increase his odds for a win on Sunday. But, whatever happened to planning for the future? Of course, they’re doing the exact same thing over at DEI where they’re replacing young Regan Smith this weekend with the likes of Ron Fellows. Different team, but I hold the same opinion.

One driver that I’m very particularly interested to see this weekend, however, is Marcos Ambrose who will be making his Sprint Cup Series debut behind the wheel of the no. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Early in his career, Ambrose had driven in the open-wheel circuit, garnering the Formula Ford Euro Cup championship in 1998 and two V8 Supercar Championship titles in ‘03 and ‘04. He broke into the ranks of NASCAR through the Craftsman Truck Series in 2006 and then progressed to the Nationwide Series last year, where he finished 8th in points.  This year he currently sits in 13th with only 3 top-ten finishes through 16 races, but there have been several occassions where he’s looked promising, including his near-victory at the Corona Mexico 200 road course race where he finished 2nd.

And, of course, we cannot mention road course ringers without including the beloved Boris Said. Boris’ last attempt to compete in a Cup race came at the beginning of the year when he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, but he did compete in the Nationwide Series race in Mexico, and as some of you may recall, Marcos Ambrose’s road to second traveled through the Boris’ back bumper. If you don’t remember what I’m talking about, go back and read “Ambrose is the Latest Said Head.” With no points on the line, if these two happen to cross paths at some point during the race, well, let’s just say things could get exciting really fast.

Other road course ringers on the entry list for this weekend’s race include Brian Simo, Max Papis, and Brandon Ash.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Image details: 92nd Indianapolis 500 served by picapp.com

Making her fourth Indianapolis 500 appearance this past Sunday, Danica Patrick started the race from the fifth position, but was taken out of contention on lap 171 of the 200 lap event when the no. 6 Team Penske car of Ryan Briscoe got into her as they attempted to exit pit road. The damage that the incident left on Danica’s car was too extensive for her to continue on, and she was left with a 22nd place finish after running up around the top-ten for most of the day.

Following the accident, Danica stormed out of her wrecked race car and immediately went looking for Briscoe’s pit as she proceeded to remove her gloves. The confrontation was stopped short by track security, and eventually cooler heads prevailed before it could progress any further.

“I was ready to take it all off, my helmet and everything, because it’s hard to talk through the helmet,” she said following the race. “It’s probably a better idea that I didn’t make it all the way down there anyway because, well, as you guys know, I’m a little emotional.”

After watching the replays on video, Briscoe remains adament that he left Danica plent of room, and was unwilling to offer up any sort of an apology. This could be a feud to keep an eye on as the series heads to the Milwuakee Mile on June 1st. After four attempts now, Danica’s best Indianapolis finish remains to be her fourth place run in her rookie season back in 2005.

Recommended Reads:
- Wrapping the Weekend That Was (Full Throttle)

Image details: Bridgestone Indy 300 served by picapp.com

Several rumors have been floating around the internet this week ever since the Los Angeles Times printed an article that two-time winner of the Indy 500 and the recent subject of Dancing With the Stars, Helio Castroneves, stated this past Monday that he had indeed thought about one day trying his hand at the realm of the stock car world, and that he and car owner, Roger Penske, would talk after this weekend’s Indianapolis 500.

On Wednesday, Castroneves refuted the allegations, claiming that the LA Times took his comments out of context, and that even if he were to ever one day make the jump over to NASCAR, that day wouldn’t be today … or tomorrow … or any day on the 2009 calendar.

“Every driver is thinking about NASCAR or new challenges, let’s put it this way. But, it depends on the opportunity, and my opportunity right now is great being here in IndyCar, especially with the merger.” He later added, “The future, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But, right now, the only thing I can say is I’m very much committed to my team. I love where I’m at, and hopefully we can continue.”

When asked about his comments that he and Roger Penske would talk after Indy, Helio responded, “That’s the way we always do it with this team. It doesn’t mean I’m going to go anywhere.”

I think it be great to see Castroneves competing in NASCAR one day, but at the same time, I don’t really see a need to push the envelope and rushing things. NASCAR isn’t exactly hurting for a lack of former open wheel stars these days.