Andretti Green Racing

In most other sports, having the most popular team/player winning on the sport's biggest stage would be great. For the IndyCar Series, it could mean trouble.

Every driver dreams of taking the checkered flag at Indianapolis. Over 700 of them have had the opportunity to race in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, with only 67 of them going on to win. With all eyes on the 100th anniversary of the first race in 1911, what would it mean for the sport if Danica Patrick were able to break through and drink the milk this year?

It has been well documented that Danica is in the final year of her contract with Andretti Autosport. Her intentions are to head to NASCAR full-time after this season, whether it is the right move or not. Being competitive and winning is one thing, but the marketing and endorsement dollars in NASCAR make it almost impossible for her to stay in IndyCar.

Normally I try to stay away from the Danica Patrick saga, but this has more to do with the Series itself, once she is gone. She has obviously attracted many eye balls to the sport since she burst onto the scene.

But will those eyes follow her to NASCAR, or will they stay with the IndyCar Series? She has opened the door to some new fans, and if they decide they no longer wish to watch the sport without her, the series could suffer.

It's hard to say that where she finishes and how she does in this race alone will dictate her future, but there are a couple of interesting scenarios that could possibly play out.

The most obvious would be her departure after winning the race. If she wins the only thing that has really kept her in the series, why would she want to continue? A championship isn't as important as winning the Indy 500, and every driver will tell you the same thing.

There is a popular phrase in racing that goes something like "If you aren't first, you're last". Basically, if Danica finishes in sixth place, or 30th place, it likely won't be a significant difference to her. To her, you either win, or you don't.

While it is important to get as many points as possible, most teams and drivers will more than likely take the gamble if it means they have a chance at winning this: the biggest race in the world.

Now we have to put her in a much more interesting scenario. What if she were to get passed on the last lap of the race and finish second?

Her teammate Marco Andretti knows the feeling all too well, as he lost the race in the final hundred yards to Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006. If she finished in third just seconds behind the winner, would that eat at her for a long time?

When you come so close to reaching your lifelong goal, it should leave you with an itch that you can't scratch. Would it actually get to her so bad that she would decide to stay in the series?

Of course with the start time of the "500" being pushed up to noon, there is the option to try the double; something that has never been done. Tony Stewart was one of the most notable drivers to try this feat, but never really came close to the ultimate prize.

She wouldn't care too much about the NASCAR race in Charlotte, but the fact that she would be able to come in as a part-time driver and win the thing seems almost impossible.

For the sake of the series, they need her fans; more importantly, their wallets. There is no doubt that she demands a lot of attention because of her fan base, and marketing companies would love to partner with her because of that. To say that the sport is better off without her would be wrong, and that is not up for debate.

Sure, she only has that one gas-mileage win in Japan, but her importance to the series goes way beyond that. She has brought in so many sponsors, companies, fans, dollars, and excitement to the sport. It would be virtually impossible for another single driver to do those same things, no matter how many wins.

A win for Danica pretty much guarantees that she will be gone after the year, but maybe a second or third place finish could bring her back. She may already have her mind made up, which would be bad news for IndyCar.

The coverage around her this year may be even more extensive than ever, which is really saying something. I plan on spending the majority of my time during the coming days in the garages of other drivers, getting different perspectives about the field, the double-file restarts, and the 100th anniversary of the race.

While those things are all much more interesting than just focusing on Danica's last race, it is important to note that losing her will hurt the series in many different ways.

In just another week or two, speculation will begin to grow about the future of Danica Patrick. Will she make the move everyone expects her to and switch to NASCAR full-time next year, or will she shock us all and stay with IndyCar?

There have been many drivers who have made the transition from Open Wheel racing to NASCAR, but only a few have actually had success.

Most of the drivers who made the transition already had major success in Open Wheel racing. Danica has one win to her name in the series, which came in Japan when the leaders had to pit for fuel.

The most notable drivers to cross over include legendary names like AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Foyt was the Richard Petty of IndyCar, but also had great success in stock cars. He has seven Cup wins to his credit, including the 1972 Daytona 500. He is the only driver to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Mario Andretti was a four-time CART Champion, a Formula One champion and a three-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring. In addition to winning the Indianapolis 500, Andretti also won the 1967 Daytona 500.

In terms of today's generation, Tony Stewart may be one of the most notable, when it comes to NASCAR success. In 1997, Stewart won the IndyCar Series Championship.

In the Cup Series in NASCAR, he has won two Championships, and a total of 39 races. Stewart has finished in the top 10 in the standings nine of his 10 seasons of full-time competition.

Juan Pablo Montoya has been making a slow but steady transition to NASCAR, with some success. Montoya spent two seasons in CART, winning 10 races in 1999, including the series Championship.

He won the 2000 Indianapolis 500, then moved to Formula One, where he finished sixth or better in each of his five seasons. In 2003, he won the Monaco Grand Prix and six other series races.

As of today, both Stewart (12th) and Montoya (ninth) are in the top 12 in points for the NASCAR Spring Cup Series.

Other successful Open Wheel drivers to have some success in NASCAR include Dan Gurney, Robby Gordon, Johnny Rutherford, John Andretti, Parnelli Jones, and Tim Richmond. AJ Allmendinger is also currently trying to prove himself.

While these drivers saw much different competition than today's drivers, it is still worth mentioning that the cars and tracks have also changed dramatically.

Tony Stewart's teammate, Ryan Newman, was one driver that many fans in Indiana hoped to see reach the IndyCar Series and have success.

Instead, he chose to jump the series entirely, going straight to NASCAR. Newman was the poster boy of Open Wheel racing fans in his early days of midgets and Champ cars.

In an interview last year, the Indiana native shared his feelings at the time; “I was always a big Rick Mears and A.J. Foyt fan, but I just never really wanted to do those type of cars. I just like stock cars.

"I only wanted to do that if that was what it took to get to NASCAR. Besides, the IndyCar owners were all going after those foreign drivers back then."

For Danica Patrick to make the transition, she is going to have to have success in NASCAR, unless she wants to be compared to the other drivers who couldn't make it.

Scott Speed, Sam Hornish Jr., Jacques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier were all very successful in IndyCar, but were unable to make it work in NASCAR.

The problem for Danica is, it will be hard for her to come back to IndyCar if it doesn't work out.

Former Champion Dario Franchitti wasn't having success, and came back to IndyCar where he went on to win many more races, including the Indy 500 (again) and the past two series Championships.

Hornish continues to struggle, and lost his full-time ride in the Cup Series. He now runs a part-time schedule in the Nationwide series, and is virtually invisible to most fans. Danica could decide to try to come back, but with virtually no previous success at this point, why would she do that?

Danica will be faced with many challenges during this transition. Other drivers have talked about why it will be difficult for any Open Wheel driver to come over to the Cup Series.

It is very different because you can't be that aggressive, and you have to be patient. NASCAR races are not two-hour races like the IndyCar Series drivers are used to. You can't go for the throat and run as hard as you can the entire race.

You have to focus on conserving tires, staying awake, making many pit stops, all while not making contact with the wall or another car. Demanding more from the car than it is capable of giving can be one of many challenges to Open Wheel drivers.

The main argument is, if she can't beat any of the drivers in the IndyCar Series after all these years, how does she expect to beat Cup veterans like Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards?

The fact is, she is probably just going there for the money and attention, which nobody can blame her for. It appears she isn't going to be winning a championship in either series, so why not go to the one that will give you more money and coverage?

Sadly, many fans look at Danica as the leader of the pack for women drivers. There are so many other talented drivers out there like Simona DeSilvestro, Catherine Legge, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Pippa Mann, Johanna Long and Ana Beatriz. These drivers may not get the same attention as Danica, but they have the talent.

While the media will be all over Danica in the coming months, they should realize the crop of talent in the IndyCar Series is growing, and has brought a lot more competition and excitement to the sport.

The streets of Long Beach have always played a big part in the Andretti family, and today was no different. It was an up-and-down day for the team, but in the end, team owner Michael Andretti left with a win.

With about 25 laps remaining in today's IndyCar race at Long Beach, the race was relatively calm. Things changed dramatically in the next 10 laps. Once again, it involved the new double-file restart, which actually didn't even pan out the way it was supposed to.

Making his 25th career start in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Mike Conway had only led in one race; last year's Indianapolis 500 that almost took his life. Today he restarted in fifth place with about 20 laps to go and quickly made his way to the front.

It all started when Helios Castroneves took out his own Penske teammate Will Power going into Turn 1. They were battling for second position, when he locked up his brakes and slid into the left-rear of Power. Conway was able to make it through that and get into third.

Conway's Andretti Autosport teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay then had mechanical problems, which moved him up to second. He then made a great move in Turn 6 on Ryan Briscoe, out-breaking him and taking the lead with 13 laps to go. He was not challenged the rest of the way and went on to victory lane. Briscoe finished in second, and Dario Franchitti came home third.

A pair of Canadian drivers rounded out the top five. Making just his second start in the series, rookie James Hinchcliffe finished fourth, and Alex Tagliani came home in fifth.

The rest of the top 10 finishers were Oriol Servia, Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Vitor Meira and Will Power. Helio Castroneves finished in 12th, and Scott Dixon finished 18th. He was running in sixth place when he suffered some damage to his right-front in the Penske teammate crash.

Car owner Michael Andretti lost a great veteran driver in Tony Kanaan, but getting a talent like Mike Conway for the future is something he can hang his hat on. "We had a lot of high hopes for Mike and he's not letting us down," said Andretti after the race.

Conway came over to AA from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and has had some bad luck early. He was looking great in the season opening race in St. Pete, only to be taken out in that first lap crash. He had a decent run going last week at Barber before he ran into more problems with the car. Today, though, things finally seemed to go his way.

The strangle hold that Penske and Ganassi have had over the past few seasons finally seems to be evening out—a little. Power and Helio took each other out, as all three drivers were in the top five during the incident. Franchitti still got a podium finish, and Dixon was running in sixth when he suffered damage in the same wreck.

Still, this race once again featured many different teams in the top 10. The top five finishers were all from different teams.

This was the first win for Andretti Autosport since last year's win by Tony Kanaan at Iowa. Danica Patrick managed to bring her car home in seventh place, improving 13 spots. She managed to get away from EJ Viso when he came down on her, making contact. Fortunately for Danica, he was the only one to suffer damage, as he bounced off of her and into a very familiar place: the wall.

While Conway got his first career win, and Danica Patrick finished in seventh place after starting in 20th, things weren't all that good for the team's other two drivers.

Ryan Hunter-Reay had a car that could have won the race, but had something break in the car with about 14 laps to go. Marco Andretti made a mistake early leaving pit lane, collecting Sebastien Bourdais on the way out. They both were out of the race early.

Paul Tracy made his return to Long Beach, where he has had well-documented success. In his first race of the season, he drove his car to a 16th place finish for Dragon Racing.

Dario Franchitti moved into the points lead, taking a seven-point advantage over Will Power.

The series will take next weekend off, as teams prepare for the next race: the Sao Paulo Indy 300 in Brazil. This race, which will be run on May 1st, will be the final race before the world famous Indianapolis 500.

Last year's race in Brazil was the season-opener, and it was filled with a little bit of everything. The inaugural race was won by Will Power, with Ryan Hunter-Reay and Vitor Meira finishing behind him. It was an action-packed race that included a first-lap crash, seven lead changes and a rainstorm.

There is a popular poem out there that talks about a fork in the road, and which path should be taken. Many everyday people find themselves in this situation a lot, and the drivers and teams in the IZOD INDYCAR Series are no different. One particular team will be faced with a new challenge this year, that can either take them on the path to destruction, or on the road to victory —literally.

All four teams within Andretti Autosport will be presented with an opportunity to do something that they haven't been able to do yet in their careers —become the leader for this team. For the past seven years, that leader has been veteran driver Tony Kanaan. With TK now gone to race with KV Racing, the chance to break out and fill his long-time role as leader of this team is up for grabs. The question remains who, if anyone, will be ready to step up and take that role?

Luckily for Andretti Autosport, they have four very worthy and capable drivers in their stable. The only thing that they lack is a winning mentality, which is understandable with such a young team. Marco Andretti, Danica Patrick, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Mike Conway don't have the years under their belt that guys like Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon or Dario Franchitti have. What they do have is talent, and cars that are capable of winning races in this series.

The spotlight will continue to shine on Danica this season, as her future in racing will likely be questioned at every single event. Would she be able to finally break out and become the leader of this team? Doing so would require her to run up front more consistently, but that is something she has proven she can do. Last season, she had some top five five finishes, and some quality top ten finishes.

I think most people are thinking that Ryan Hunter-Reay is going to become the new leader of this team. He has had some really good finishes, but like Danica, hasn't shown the consistency to become a major threat to win a championship yet. I think he will have a much better season this year than what we saw from him last year, so the prediction of him taking over this role isn't a bad one.

He no longer has to worry about the sponsorship troubles that plagued him last year. He is going to race the full season, and not only will he be relieved of that, but I strongly believe that he will be motivated to prove to everyone that he is the real deal.

The sentimental pick for this team has to be young Marco Andretti. It's always tough being the child of someone that is famous, let alone a having a grandfather that is even more famous. Then trying to walk in their same shoes is next to impossible, because people are always going to compare him to Michael and Mario.

Despite still being very young, we have seen dramatic improvement from Marco in the last couple of years. His confidence is up, and he is racing smarter, which we saw at many of the road/street races last season. He might be another year or two away, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Marco lead the charge for this team even this year.

The fourth, and newest member of the drivers for Andretti is young Mike Conway. Most people outside of the sport only know his name because of the horrible accident at the end of last year's Indianapolis 500. What they don't know is that this kid has as much talent as anyone out there. Coming over this season from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Conway is looking to get settled into his new ride. He hasn't raced since that crash in Indy last season, but his road to recovery is almost complete.

His main focus this season should be to get comfortable, and get some solid top-10 finishes. Anything more than that would come as a surprise to me. It's not that I don't think he has the talent, it would just surprise me that he would be that far ahead with his new team. I think Mike has a lot of talent that will be seen this year, and long into the future.

If I had to rank them in order right now, I honestly don't know if I could do it and feel completely at ease with my list. I think the spot is wide open among all four drivers, which is what lead me to write this piece. Obviously it is going to take some time before we get an idea of who will eventually succeed Tony Kanaan as the leader. We won't really know anything more after this weekend's season-opening race at St. Petersburg, but we could be provided with some clues.

When we compare the drivers on the ovals and road or street courses, the picture isn't as clear as it may seem. Although Danica is clearly more comfortable on the ovals, she has come a long way on the road courses since she came into the series. When you look at Marco and Ryan, they seem to be similar in that they can both run up front at either type of track, but how long can they stay there?

Ryan is probably a little better on the road courses, but Marco looked really god on a few of them last year. He has definitely improved there, and the best part is he still has room for improvement.

Conway doesn't appear to be particular to one or the other, but he can give you the same result no matter what venue you are racing. That type of reliability is something the team has that some others may not.

For example, Justin Wilson is going to be a contender on most, if not all road or street courses. That being said, how confident are you as a team owner when you head to one of the oval tracks? Michael can rest easy knowing that all four of his drivers are capable of winning on any type of track. They may not be at the level of Penske and Ganassi yet, but they are nipping at their heels.

We should have a good idea of who is going to become the next leader for this team by the time the "500" rolls around. Those working closely with the series should be able to get a feel for who it is. Most of the knowledgeable fans should be able to pick up on it as well by that time. It will be interesting to see how these drivers will work together on the track, and how they will share information off of it.

Last year at Indianapolis, Tony Kanaan took all four Andretti Autosport cars out for practice runs in a single day. I don't know that any of these drivers are going to be able to do that, but they should all be able to help each other in different ways.

Team Penske will have three drivers gunning for the championship in Helio, Briscoe and Power. Chip Ganassi will now have three legitimate championship contenders of his own with Franchitti, Dixon and now Graham Rahal. I think the same can be said for Andretti's team. While they might not have the odds that those other six may have, they are still four very good drivers in this series that are capable of winning and being up front in the end.

The theory in football is if you have two quarterbacks, you really don't even have one. That philosophy does not apply here though, as any one of these four drivers is capable of stringing together some wins, and ultimately, a championship for Andretti Autosport.

At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last May, Mike Conway had the scariest moment of his career in the closing laps of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

This coming May, he will look to contend for the win.

It has just been announced the Conway has signed on as the fourth driver for Andretti Autosport for the upcoming 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series season.

While he has spent his career entirely with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Conway will now move on to a team that will contend for wins all season long. That is not a knock on D & R, but more a compliment to the history and expectations of Andretti Autosport.

Conway will be the fourth driver, along with Marco Andretti, Danica Patrick and Ryan Hunter-Reay. It looks like an exciting young group of drivers that could be the future of this sport.

Although Penske has the strongest three-car team and Chip Ganassi just added two more to his stable to bring his count to four, the debate can begin for who has the best four-car team in the Series.

It's tough to ignore the Series Champions, Franchitti and Dixon, but Graham Rahal has a ways to go before he reaches their level. Also, Charlie Kimball is a fresh face in the Series. The talent at the top may not be as high as what Ganassi has, but they have a lot of depth on their team.

All four of these drivers for Andretti have the potential to be really good drivers for a long time, but they will have to prove themselves this year. If any team has a chance to end the reign of Ganassi and Penske, it will likely be a driver from this team.

There are other guys out there that can win some races, but when it comes to the Championship, it will be a tough challenge.

With the addition of Conway comes the realization that Dan Wheldon will not be going back to Andretti's team. Many people thought that after J.R. Hildebrand was named the driver for Panther Racing's National Guard machine that Wheldon would be headed back to Andretti.

As more drivers seats are filled, it seems we are left with more questions surrounding Wheldon and where he will end up. He has refuted reports that he will share a part-time ride with anyone.

A title sponsor has yet to be announced for Conway, but it appears they will have plenty of financial backing to bring him in.

Like Will Power making a desperate last-lap pass, the IZOD INDYCAR Series is making some great moves this offseason. The latest changes were announced this week in Indianapolis with the majority of the drivers present.

The first change may have been subtle if you haven't caught it yet. The Series has begun to transition from the "Izod IndyCar Series" to the "IZOD INDYCAR SERIES". Not sure if this is a permanent change, but it was announced earlier this week, and has been featured on the new logos surrounding all of the sport's public appearances. This change is also notable on the website, INDYCAR.com.

By now I am sure you have heard of this next change. The oval races this season will now have double-file restarts, much like NASCAR does. The rules will be different when considering the placement of cars that are not on the lead lap, but they believe this will add more excitement to the restarts. The drivers have not had a lot of positive things to say about this change.

Helio Castroneves believes that it could be exciting, but it will increase the risk of more accidents. He also said that he believes they should hold off on using this at the Indianapolis 500, and begin the change at the next oval event. There is no oval race before the Indy 500 this year.

The Edmonton race is back on the schedule, and while it may not be one of the favorites among drivers, teams, and fans, it's always a good thing to have another event on the schedule.

The Indy 500 Centennial Tour has kicked off, as a number of drivers and former greats like Mario Andretti took flight overseas to Germany. There are video documentaries being updated during each day. The INDYCAR SERIES has also put out a new music video featuring the State of INDYCAR. You can see that video here.

There are a number of new sponsors and teams for the upcoming year, and the competition should be even greater across the board.

The first race of the season at St. Petersburg is just 70 days away. The 100th year anniversary of the running of the Indianapolis 500 is 133 days away, which is exactly 19 weeks.

Veteran Izod IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan will race for de Ferran Dragon Racing next season. For the first time since 2001, Tony Kanaan will not drive the 7-Eleven machine for Michael Andretti.

Kanaan, who just turned 35, was released from the final three years of his contract with Andretti Autosport when the team was unable to replace sponsor 7-Eleven.

Kanaan won the IndyCar Championship for Michael Andretti's team in 2004 and has a total of 14 wins in 132 starts. He has finished in the top six of the standings in each of his eight full seasons.

Hewlett Packard will provide primary sponsorship for the team's car.

Both sides are extremely excited at the opportunity that has been presented to them, and coming right before Christmas is the ultimate present.

"I don't want to call Gil Santa, but this is really a great Christmas present for me," Kanaan said. "I am really excited to be working with de Ferran Dragon Racing."

Kanaan's move to de Ferran Dragon Racing is one of many moves that have already been made this off-season.

Dan Wheldon has been replaced by J.R. Hildebrand in the National Guard machine, while Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball were both added to the Chip Ganassi team, strengthening their count to four cars.

Dixon and Franchitti will remain in their current positions, while Rahal will drive the No. 38 car, and Kimball the No. 83 car.

Helio Castroneves will also be driving a special schemed car at this year's Indy 500, and all of Team Penske will have Pennzoil as a main sponsor for most of the season. They have added several sponsors for all three cars.

As the driver changes continue to unfold, the vehicle manufacturing changes will also add more excitement and buzz around the sport for years to come.

Most people love the idea of having a white Christmas. The folks with ties to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are no different.

This year, the area had plenty of snow, and IMS was all dressed in white for Christmas day. With a visit from Santa himself on Christmas Eve, there were many things to see at the world famous venue. Santa made a trip up to the Pagoda tower, and even dusted off some snow at the start/finish line in order to kiss the bricks with a couple of his elfs.

Normally when people see the track on TV, it is always shown with one of two things; Either some type of race car, or an empty track due to rain. Nobody likes to see rain during the month of May, as everyone has to sit around when they could be out doing laps.

Not many people really get to see the famous track covered in snow. The pictures are very interesting, and give a totally different perspective of the speedway. Could you imagine if it looked like this during the month of May? It would take an incredible amount of time to get the speedway cleared.

The countdown to Christmas is over, and now most of us have started the countdown to the Indianapolis 500. For those who are keeping track, at the time this article was written, there are 153 days until the big day. The inaugural Indianapolis 500 took place 100 years ago this May. Ray Harroun won that historic race in the Marmon "Wasp."

While these images are nice to look at, and give a rare view of the historic speedway under a blanket of snow, there is nothing I would rather see than this snow melt away, and IndyCars make their way out on the track.

May can not come soon enough.

You can see more pictures of the snow-covered IMS here.

Martin Plowman wins the Firestone Indy Lights Race, after leading from the green flag to the checkered flag.  He was pressured by James Hinchcliffe until late in the race when Hinchcliffe went off track, and Plowman drove away.  Dan Clarke finished second, while Charlie Kimball rounded out the podium for the Mid-Ohio 100.

This was the first win for Plowman in the Indy Lights Series, as well as the first laps he has led all year.  He now has nine top 10 finishes, the most in the series.  Plowman races for AFS Racing and Andretti Autosport, who are also sponsoring Adam Carroll in today’s IZOD IndyCar Race.

The 22-year-old Plowman is from Tamworth, England and competing in his second season in Indy Lights, after competing as a rookie with Panther Racing. Clarke, a fellow Englishman, records his second silver finish of the season, after also finishing second in Toronto.  Kimball, who was also born in England but to American parents, records his fourth podium finish on the year with his third place finish.

JK Vernay had a disappointing finish in eighth, but maintains his overall series lead by 53 points.  Plowman and Hinchcliffe are now tied for second place in the overall series championship with just four events to go.

Plowman noted all the great memories he has had at Mid-Ohio, saying, “This has been a great place for me.  My first pole, my first win, I even met my girlfriend here last year.”  He was excited to have his first win, noting that it was one of his goals that he is now able to check off for the rest of the year.

“I nearly threw it away early with my wheel lock, but I gathered it back together and was fortunate.”  Noted Plowman, “I knew I had to drive 40 perfect laps with Hinch behind me, and when he went off, it made me more nervous.  The championship is far from over, and I am just going to concentrate on getting wins until I am mathematically eliminated.”

Plowman and Kimball both drive for Andretti Autosport, and both credit team owner Michael Andretti for their success.  They consider Andretti Autosport to be a family style team effort, all the way up and down the organization.  The drivers are able to talk with the more senior Andretti as well as the other team drivers to get a better feel for how they should perform.

Clarke felt very positive about his performance, the former Champ Car driver noted, “I am coming to tracks I have never driven and competing against guys who are in their second years.  I feel very good about second place after first driving at Mid Ohio on Friday.”

Clarke pointed out that he missed the long races and 800 HP of Champ Car, but is getting used to Indy Lights and hopes to be in the “big cars” by next year.  “In Indy Lights the races are all about qualifying because they are short races.  We are working hard on our qualifying.”  Clarke is working with Walker Racing, and hopes to have a large enough sponsorship package put together to race in the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2011.

The drivers of the Firestone Indy Lights series will continue their season in two weeks in the rolling hills of Sonoma, California at Infineon Raceway before finishing the season with three straight ovals.

The IZOD Indycar Series returns to road and street course action over the holiday weekend. The drivers will take on the challenge of the Watkins Glen International Raceway.

This weekend will mark the start of the second half of the road and street portion of the 2010 season, as the IZOD Indycar Series will have five more road and street courses before declaring a champion for the twistie portion of the schedule.

The name of the road and street course trophy will be announced this weekend after it was previously announced the oval champion trophy was named after Indycar legend AJ Foyt.

Last year, Watkins Glen featured the only victory of the season for a non-Penske or Ganassi car. Justin Wilson scored the first victory in the nearly 25-year career for Dale Coyne Racing.

Wilson held off Ryan Briscoe by over 4 seconds in 2009. Wilson has since switched to Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, where he will attempt to gather the team's first win since the 2000 season at the Walt Disney World Speedway. Joining Wilson this weekend will be open wheel veteran Paul Tracy, who will be running in place of the injured Mike Conway. Tracy will be sponsored by Honda Indy Toronto and Motegi Racing.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was granted a stay of execution, as Andretti Autosport announced he will run at the Glen. No sponsorship has been announced, but Hunter-Reay is currently seventh in the standings with great experience on the road and street courses. Hunter-Reay drove to victory at the Glen in 2008 for Rahal Letterman Racing in his first season in the IZOD Indycar Series.

An additional Andretti Autosport car will be participating to round out the field at twenty five for the weekend. Irish A1GP champion Adam Carroll will be joining the team for the first time this season, driving the No. 27 car sponsored by Boost Mobile. Carroll raced with Marco Andretti in A1GP, where team owner Michael Andretti saw immediate potential in the young man.

Watkins Glen is a 3.4 mile, 11 turn road course that has been in place for over 50 years. The Glen saw Formula 1 cars run at the complex during the 60's and 70's. The IZOD Indycar Series began racing at the track in 2005. Scott Dixon won the first three races, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson last year.

The course is built with long corners where the drivers will carry speed instead of the sharp braking zones famous at some courses. There are two main passing areas however. AJ Foyt and ABC Supply racer Vitor Meira describes the best places to pass, "Definately turn 1, no doubt about it.  It's the only hard braking area after a long straight.  Turn 8, which is the second gear hairpin turn--those are the best places." Watkins Glen also features passing throughout the track, as drivers are able to pass coming out of turns instead of heading into them.

The race will be broadcast live on ABC national television at 3:30 pm on Independence Day, July 4th. The drivers hope to provide plenty of fireworks on the track before American's head to the fields and streets to light off their own. With Canadian Paul Tracy in the mix, fireworks are sure to happen at some point on the weekend.

So without much futher ado... this weeks Writer's Picks!

Chad Smith:

First to Crash : Mario Moraes
Just a hunch, it’s hard to call these for road/street races; anything can happen.

Dark Horse : Marco Andretti
Marco has finished 5th the last three years in a row here. He has never started worse than 8th, and he will continue to ride this momentum wave with Andretti Autosport.

3rd Place : Justin Wilson
Last year’s winner will once again be up front most of the day, hopefully out of harm’s way. He has started in second in both races here, and we expect him to perform at one of his better tracks on the schedule.

2nd Place : Scott Dixon
Check these stats out; in the last five races here, Scott has three wins, a third place finish, and has never started worse than fourth in those five years. He will be up front for the most of the day.

Race Winner : Ryan Briscoe
He has finished second and third here, and has had the pole the last two years. Look for Briscoe to be up front early and often, and he will be there in the end.

Christopher Leone:  Chris will be live at the Glen this weekend, be sure to follow his reports on Bleacher Report, openwheelamerica.blogspot.com, and follow him on twitter @christopherlion

Victory : Will Power. Despite missing this event last year, he’s been the series’ best road course driver. Penske cars have started up front all five times this race has been held, why break that streak now?

2nd : Scott Dixon. He won the first three events here, and it’s about time he snags a road course victory this season.

3rd : Justin Wilson. He’ll be strong in defense of his 2009 victory, but sometimes you just need the perfect combination to pull it off. DRR has been better overall, but the magic isn’t quite the same, I don’t think.

Dark horse : Ryan Hunter-Reay, if only because we don’t know that he’ll be as strong as usual with an underfunded Andretti car. Will RHR take a backseat to Adam Carroll this weekend?

First to crash : Paul Tracy. Just a hunch.

Ryan Worden

Victory:   The Iceman cometh. Ok, I'm a big Scott Dixon fan, and 3 out of the 5 wins at Watkins has gotta make him some kind of favorite. He is certainly my favorite this weekend to get Chip Ganassi back into victory lane.

2nd : Ryan Briscoe. Briscoe has had an up and down year to this point, but he is still in the hunt. He was my pick at the beginning of the year to win the championship, so this is a very selfish pick on my part.

3rd: Ryan Hunter-Reay. Another selfish pick for me this week. I am on vacation, so I might be thinking more with my toes in the sand brain than my ethanol fueled one. Hunter-Reay is my favorite in the series, and his program is running on fumes at the moment. Another big weekend for him will hopefully attract some more sponsorship and allow him to run the full season.

Dark Horse : Rafa Matos. Matos has had some bad luck and commited some bad driving this season. He is always fast, though. I am looking for Matos to put that together this weekend and bring home a top five finish.

First to Crash : I would usually pick Milka, but she'll be parked long before she crashes, if race control even allows her to run her ceremonial parade laps before getting in the way of other cars. So, my real pick will basically be a shot in the dark and I will go with EJ Viso. Main reason? KV Racing wrecks at least two cars every race. I don't know where they are even getting parts at this point because their equipment is torn up. Good luck to them, but I'm guessing this trend does not end.

Control Pick: Serving as Control this weekend... my mom... last Indycar race she saw... 1995 Indy 500 qualifying.  When Little Al didn't make it, she swore off of Indycar and I gained a seat at the 500.

First: Paul Tracy. His name is the only one that was racing last I watched this.

Second: Helio Castroneves. I saw him on Dancing with the Stars and watched his tax trial. Twinkletoes can move.

Third: Danica Patrick. I saw her in NASCAR last week. If she is doing that bad in NASCAR, she has to be suceeding in Indycar, right?

Dark Horse : Adam Carroll. He's a good Irish bloke... I'll take it.

First to Crash : Marco Andretti. I was an Unser fan, which means I am anti-Andretti.