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Maybe
we should just go ahead and replace
the drivers at the Indy 500 with the
lovely spokesmodels from our BetUS
swimsuit calendar.
At this point in the short history
of Indy Racing League, the open-wheel
circuit has fallen so far behind NASCAR
in the public eye that most people
would rather see Danica Patrick in
a black cocktail dress than in Rahal
Letterman Racing’s No. 16 Panoz/Honda.
But at least some people will tune
into Sunday afternoon’s Indianapolis
500 just out of curiosity.
They will probably be surprised to
find out that Patrick is actually
one of the better drivers on the IRL
circuit. |
Patrick made a big
splash at last year’s Indy
500 when she briefly took the lead on
two separate occasions before finishing
in fourth place, beating the eighth-place
finish by Janet Guthrie in 1978. Patrick
went on to grab six Top-10 finishes and
wind up 12th in the IndyCar Series Championship
standings. That was good enough to earn
2005 IRL Rookie of The Year honors, not
to mention a pile of endorsement money.
The Illinois native once again finds herself
in 12th place in the standings heading into
the Brickyard. From a pure value perspective,
Patrick has plenty to offer to handicappers
in her quest for her first IRL checkered
flag. First and foremost, because she only
weighs 100 pounds, Patrick has an immediate
physical advantage over the other drivers
– which Indy teams figure translates
to about 1 mph on the track. There is also
the prevailing (and false) stereotype about
women drivers, compounded in Patrick’s
case by her photogenic looks. Racing fans
who dismiss Patrick as an open-wheel version
of Anna Kournikova help lengthen her odds
even as she steals the spotlight.
However, Patrick might not be in as good
of a position to win this year’s Indy
500 as she was in her rookie season. Patrick
qualified in 10th place this time compared
to fourth in 2005, putting her on the fourth
row of the starting grid this Sunday. She’ll
have a difficult time keeping up with the
two Team Penske drivers on the front row:
pole-sitter Sam Hornish Jr. and IRL points
leader Helio Castroneves, the two-time Indy
500 winner and the original “Spider-Man”
of auto racing. Ganassi Racing’s Dan
Wheldon (the reigning Indy 500 champ) fills
out the front row, with teammate Scott Dixon
sitting fourth on the grid. One of those
four men is your likely winner this weekend.
Both Penske and Ganassi have benefited
from the withdrawal of Toyota from IRL –
Chevy left as well, leaving all the cars
on the circuit running Honda engines this
year. Toyota simply didn’t have enough
juice to allow Penske and Ganassi to compete
in 2005. Now the four aforementioned drivers
from the two marquee teams take up the first
four sports in the drivers standings.
If anyone can break through that Wall of
Four, it’s Tony Kanaan. The 2004 IRL
champion with Andretti Green Racing has
two Top-5 finishes after three races this
year, and is fifth on the starting grid
Sunday. Kanaan is looking for his first
Indy 500 victory. Past winners looking to
reclaim their former glory include Al Unser
Jr., Eddie Cheever and Buddy Lazier, although
all three will start from way back in the
pack. The 2004 champion, Buddy Rice, starts
on Row Five.
Betus.com
- Indianapolis 500 Betting
Danica
Patrick, who will try again to become the
first woman to wín the Indy 500.
Bet
online today on the Indy 500 At Betus.com
Online Sportsbook Poker and Casino.
Posted
by Q Friday
