INDY RACING IN ABOUT 25.6666.... HOURS !
As previously reported on this Blog, tomorrow marks the first race of the 2009 Indianapolis Racing League season, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida. The event will be broadast live on the Versus Channel, beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Later today, from 4:00 PM until 5:00 PM, Versus will broadcast a "qualifying show," presumably with highlights from qualifying activities on Friday. Here is a list of entrants to the race.
http://www.indycar.com/news/2009/stpete/2009_stpete_ics_entrylist.pdf
http://www.indycar.com/news/2009/stpete/2009_stpete_ics_entrylist.pdf
Here is a summary of various drivers' performance in this race from 2005-2008.
Graham Rahal of the USA (born in Columbus, Ohio) won the 2008 event, and media reports suggest he is poised for another good run, having clocked the fastest lap in Friday practice. He is the son of Bobbby Rahal, who won the 1988 Indianapolis 500.
At the same time, the Canadian Press reports that Scott Dixon of New Zealand is favored to win the overall IRL series this year, repeating last year's feat. The photo posted above is of Dixon practicing before the 2007 Indianapolis 500, which this author attended. The Photo is courtesy of cmakin, who makes it available pursuant to a Creative Commons License. Thank you! Here is a link to the photo and other similar one. http://www.flickr.com/photos/73643373@N00/507966235
Here is the Canadian Press story predicting a Dixon repeat. I suspect he will face stiff competition from Dario Franchitti, who returns to IRL this year after a less than stellar year on the NASCAR circuit.
