Indianapolis 500 Race Preview

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has kicked off its 100th birthday celebration with the closest Indy 500 starting field in history, the largest crowd in recent memory and a vibe reminiscent of the race's heyday.

Even NASCAR's "King" Richard Petty will be trackside today as Jim Nabors sings "Back Home Again in Indiana" -- to wrap up a traditional pre-race show unlike anything in sports.

Sure, the Penske and Ganassi and Andretti Green teams are odds-on favorites to win today's Indianapolis 500. But with the reunification of the two open-wheel series last year, the grid boasts a legitimate 13-14 contenders and has finally put to rest the notion that Indy has lost its competitive edge.

Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves, a two-time 500 winner, has had a storybook month, winning the pole and the pit stop competition. And a month after being acquitted of six of seven federal tax evasion charges, he found out Friday that the lone remaining charge had been dropped. His Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe starts second and is coming off a third-place effort at Indy last year.

The Target Ganassi team boasts the unprecedented situation of having the two previous defending Indy 500 winners -- last year's champ Scott Dixon and 2007 winner Dario Franchitti, who returns to the race after a brief foray into the NASCAR ranks last year.

Andretti Green has been more dominant during qualifying and practice in past years. But lead driver Tony Kanaan has done everything but win the 500. He has never started farther back than the second row -- he starts sixth today -- and has led laps in all seven of his Indy starts, including a race-high 83 in 2007.


His teammate, third-generation driver Marco Andretti has had similar efforts here, with top-three finishes in two of his three starts. His runner-up finish as a rookie is easily part of one of the most dramatic endings in Indy history when Sam Hornish Jr. passed him on the final straightaway for the 2006 win.

Their teammate Danica Patrick -- one of three women in the field -- rolls off 10th and has finished eighth or better in three of her four starts here. She made history in 2005 as the first woman to lead the race (three times for 19 laps) and her fourth-place finish that day is the best ever for a woman. She has top-five finishes in the season's two races before Indy.

"Everyone asks about Helio or Danica, and every now and then you get a question about Graham Rahal,'' said 1998 Indy winner Eddie Cheever, who will work the broadcast booth for ABC's 45th telecast of the 500. "But there are 31 other drivers and a lot of them who know Sunday is their chance to be a part of the Helio and Danica show. The open hunting Penske and Ganassi had with the Champ Car teams is going to come to end.

"I think this will be an explosive race.''

Rahal, son of 1986 winner Bobby Rahal, is one of the drivers hoping to break through this weekend. The 20-year old Newman-Haas Racing driver could be one of three starters who would be the youngest Indy 500 winner, should he take the checkered -- joining Andretti, 22, and a popular dark horse pick, Mario Moraes, 20, who starts seventh and has been very quick all month.

Moraes' teammate at KV Racing, Paul Tracy -- a former Champ Car champion -- is also someone to keep an eye and is returning to the Speedway for the first time since a runner-up effort in 2002. To this day, Tracy still insists he won that race, however the Indy Racing League ruled he passed eventual winner Castroneves during a caution period.

And perhaps one of the most compelling stories of the afternoon is Penske's third driver, Will Power. He drove Castroneves' car until the Brazilian's tax evasion trial ended in April. Penske rewarded Power with a drive at Indianapolis and the young Australian has been very fast here. He won the pole and finished second at Long Beach this season in the third car.

"I believe this is the most competitive year of IndyCar in a long time,'' Kanaan said. "I could not give you a pick of one person to win this. I'm superstitious so I never pick myself, but maybe Paul Tracy is someone I'd say watch.

"The question is will he raise two fingers in victory lane, or one?'' Kanaan added with a grin.