Andretti Green Racing

Saturday night's Firestone 550k was one of the best races for Andretti Autosport in recent memory.

Andretti cars finished second, third, sixth, and seventh, one of their best performances as a team since the 1-2-3-4 sweep at St. Petersburg in 2005.

Even better for Andretti, Danica Patrick, the all-world marketing superstar who has been struggling for much of the year, was the lead driver in that pack, and even briefly made the racing difficult for eventual winner Ryan Briscoe.

But Texas may prove to be bittersweet for Andretti, as it may be the final race for fourth driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.

For the second consecutive year, Hunter-Reay's status as "the IZOD driver" will only take him about a third of the way through the IZOD IndyCar Series season, before he has to find another ride on his own. Andretti's already got another driver, Adam Carroll, lined up to drive for them in a few events.

Hunter-Reay has two weeks before the next race at Iowa to figure things out.

He could get lucky and, for the second year in a row, become a replacement for a driver injured in the Indianapolis 500.

Last year, he replaced Vitor Meira in A.J. Foyt's famed No. 14 car; this year, he could take over for Mike Conway at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

This is depending on whether or not the team feels strongly about retaining the services of Tomas Scheckter.  If DRR officials feel like he was at fault for the Conway wreck, in which his car was used as the launching pad for the No. 24's trip into the wall.

Regardless, Hunter-Reay's continued plight - even with the commercial weight of the series' title sponsor behind him - says a lot about the state of American drivers in open wheel racing.

Here's a driver who just won the biggest street race in the country: the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He was this close to winning the inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300. Until being involved in the Conway incident, he had a solid Indy run going.

He currently sits sixth in points and, with 11 races to make up 45 points, can make a solid run at this year's championship.

In other words, he's done almost everything right on track this year. So why does team owner Michael Andretti say that multiple sponsorship deals fell through for the budding star, even immediately after the Long Beach victory?

Why does the Sprint Prepaid Group, through its Boost and Virgin Mobile brands, decide to throw most of its weight behind the already well-sponsored Patrick and the newcomer Carroll, only kicking a little support at Indy to their best bet to actually win a race?

If I'm Hunter-Reay, I'm starting to feel a little like Rodney Dangerfield right about now. My first thought when I wake up in the morning has to be, "I don't get no respect!"

Worse, he's not the only one. So many quality American drivers currently sit on the sidelines as their foreign counterparts trash racecars, all because they don't have the same kind of sponsorship.

Ed Carpenter and Townsend Bell sit on the sidelines after strong Indy runs, but mid-pack finishes. Buddy Rice - that's 2004 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice to you - and last year's Indy Lights champion, J.R. Hildebrand, have taken their talents to sports car racing.

Meanwhile, four current IndyCar drivers have three or more DNFs in the seven races this season, and almost all of them are ride buyers of some sort. I won't name names, but you can probably figure it out easily enough.

Let's also call Paul Tracy an adopted American now that he lives in Vegas, and wonder aloud why the winningest active driver doesn't get a shot in more races, while his KV Racing teammates get involved in incidents like it's what they're paid to do.

I won't even bring up Graham Rahal with the list, though - he passed on the Boy Scouts ride with Dale Coyne Racing, and Alex Lloyd has been working wonders with it the past couple of races.

Sure, Bill Pappas is no longer the engineer at DCR, which gave him some reservations about the quality of the cars, but surely Graham could have done just as much with that equipment as Lloyd. Newman/Haas Racing may have strung him along, but the rides were there, and he was a little too picky.

It's hard to make this argument without tapping into good old-fashioned American jingoism, but wasn't the Indy Racing League originally founded to give more American drivers a chance?

Hunter-Reay is a prime example of a driver that the old IRL would have served well, a Tony Stewart-type in that he has plenty of talent but no ride in which to show it off.

Ever since losing the Ethanol sponsorship, his career has been unsteady, with plenty of uncertainty from week to week about where he'll be racing, who he'll be racing for, if he'll be racing at all.

The old IRL would have protected a driver like that. Now, not even race wins, a challenge for the championship, or, worst of all, the backing of the series' title sponsor can secure him a full-season contract.

He's got two weeks to figure out how to get behind the wheel of a race car at Iowa, and I don't think anybody can come up with a reasonable explanation as to why.

I guess it all comes down to no respect.

Read more from Christopher Leone at OpenWheelAmerica.com .

Attention readers: The previous version of the column contained a poorly worded, easily misinterpreted remark about Mike Conway. That comment has since been removed, and I sincerely apologize to anybody who took it the wrong way. We all wish Mike Conway well, and look forward to him rejoining the series upon his recovery.

Ryan Briscoe dominated the race from when he won the pole to when he crossed the finish line after lap 228.

So the Penske/Ganassi win streak continues, which shouldn't surprise many people. The big surprise of this race is the finishing order of all four Andretti Autosport cars. All four drivers finished in the top seven positions, with the biggest surprise being Danica Patrick's second place finish.

Marco Andretti drove his way to a second consecutive third place finish, coming off last week's Indianapolis 500 race. Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay weren't up front most of the night, but they were there when it counted—at the end.

After none of the Andretti Autosport drivers qualified well for the Indianapolis 500 a couple of weeks ago, they have really picked up the pace since.

Marco Andretti finished in third at the 500, Danica had a sixth place finish, and Tony Kanaan started the race in last place and was up to second at one point in the race before finishing 11th due to fuel problems.

With all four Andretti Autosport drivers finishing in the top seven in tonight's race at Texas, things are definitely looking up for the best team not named Penske or Ganassi.

With one more oval race before a long series of street/road courses, the team really needs to keep the momentum going, because their biggest threat to win any of the street/oval courses (RHR) might be finished for the season. If Ryan can get some sponsorship money to race the rest of the season, look for someone other than Penske/Ganassi to challenge for the Championship this year.

Plenty of little bits of news to get to, following a dominating performance by Dario Franchitti at the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500.  The first note is not really news to anyone who attended, but this was the hottest race recorded in history.  At 96 degrees, this race reporter was melting into his lawn chair.

But enough of what has happened, you are already likely to have read that elsewhere.  Here are a few items that are making news this week in the IZOD Indycar Series.

-Davey Hamilton, driver of the No. 21 HP car for DeFerran Dragon Motorsports will not be racing at Texas as previously planned.  The fourty-seven year old Hamilton suffered a horrific crash in 2001 at the Texas Motor Speedway that left him with broken legs and an unclear future.  Hamilton has returned for the past 3 Indianapolis 500's, but since both he and teammate Rafa Matoscrashed during Indianapolis, the team will not be able to field a car for the veteran.  This is too bad, as it was expected to be one of the top resurrection stories of the weekend, with Hamilton coming full circle nearly ten years later.

-Mike Conway suffered a compound leg fracture, as well as fracturing his back in his accident with Ryan Hunter-Reay at Indianapolis.  Conway ramped up the back of the No. 37 IZOD car on the final lap, as Hunter-Reay appeared to run out of fuel.  The horrifiic crash saw Conway's Dads Root Beer machine go up into the catch fence and break into several pieces.  Two fans were hurt by debris, but Conway took the worst, and will be out at least 3 months.

-Conway will be replaced in the No. 24 Dad's machine by veteran Tomas Scheckter.  Scheckter also drove for Dreyer and Reinbold racing at the Indianapolis 500, finishing fifteenth after being near the front for most of the second half of the race.  Currently, the assignment is only for the Texas race, but the smart move for Dreyer and Reinbold would be to keep Scheckter in the car full time.

-Ryan Hunter-Reay underwent surgery on his left hand Monday afternoon to repair damage that  occurred in the pits during the Indy 500.  It is not believed that the injury had any impact on the crash with Conway, but was simply the result of Scott Dixon contacting the Andretti driver while pulling out of his pit stall.  Hunter-Reay is expected to race with a brace on his hand after surgery to reattach the torn ligaments.  Texas is the last race that Hunter-Reay is confirmed for, but it would be difficult to imagine his season ending in the lone star state.

-Irish A1GP champion, Adam Carroll will make his debut with Andretti Autosport during the race at Watkins Glen.  Carroll's deal is not expected to impact Hunter-Reay in any way, but is expected in the fifth Andretti car that John Andretti raced during the month of May.  Carroll will feature the primary sponsor of Boost Mobile.  Virgin Mobile has also been added as a secondary sponsor for Ryan Hunter-Reay.

-IZOD Indycar Officials announced Wednesday morning that the series will officially begin a new event in 2011, running the streets of Baltimore.  A temporary street course that is expected to be 2.4 miles long, winding through the downtown harbor and around Camden Yards will feature a race the weekend of August 5th in 2011.  Event organizers signed a five year deal to carry the race, and are expecting 100,000 fans.

-The ICONIC group in charge of guiding the series with its choices for a new car in 2012 has announced the new engine specs for 2012.  The biggest news is that the series is opening the engines and attempting to receive support from multiple engine manufacturers.  Official specs call for either a V6 of in-line four cylinder engine that will be turbocharged.  The engines will have a maximum displacement of 2.4 cubic liters, and will run on ethanol fuel.  They are expected to produce between 550 and 700 horsepower to fit a diverse set of tracks.  This news also seems to signal that the league is more open to several chassis manufacturers.  If a chassis must be able to fit a V6 of in-line four cylinder engine, then many parts must be interchangeable.  A decision on the 2012 chassis is expected sometime this summer.

That wraps up the short news blips for the week.  Be sure and tune into Versus this weekend for all the action from the Texas Motor Speedway.  The Firestone 550K will be held live at 8:00pm ET on Saturday night under the lights.  Qualifications can be seen on tape delay on Friday night at 5:00.  So rest up after the Indy 500 and get ready to go deep into the heart of Texas.

Today's Indy 500 was not a very good race. A lot of crashes, a lot of yellow flags and one dominant driver.

Dario Franchitti in his Chip Ganassi/Target car was so much better than every other racing  team out there that the only question was whether he had enough fuel to make it over the finish line at the end of the race.

It was a truly well deserved win.

Franchitti wasn't the only winner today. Fifth place winner Danica Patrick was a big winner as well. And auto racing won as well.

I know a lot of people think Danica has gotten all the breaks. She's been hyped to death and she's only won one race despite having some of the best equipment in racing the last few years. 

I agree. She's had a lot of breaks. Mostly because she's an attractive young woman who gives good interview.

But Danica did not have a great month of May.

Her car didn't handle well all month, and when her complaints about the car were broadcast over the Brickyard public address system she was roundly booed by race fans at the track.

That was followed by a lackluster qualifying run, a public rebuke by well respected fellow competitor Tony Kanaan and slow start to the actual race.

Her early performance was so lackluster that ABC all but ignored her during the course of the race.

In past year's ABC's camera's practically stalked Danica as she drove around the race track much to the consternation of hardcore race fans and her fellow drivers who were actually leading the 500 and running at the front of the pack.

This year they spent more time showing Kanaan's climb from the back of the pack to the front, talking about three time champ and former Dancing With The Stars winner Helio Castroneves and current flavor of the month Marco Andretti.

She was so buried by ABC's announcer's that they sounded dumbstruck when they realized she had finished fifth overall at the end of the race.

Not only was the former "It" girl and afterthought during ABC's coverage, she wasn't even the most discussed female driver. Brazil's Ana Beatriz was fawned over several times times by the ABC announcing crew despite finishing several laps down in 21st.

It might have been the best thing that ever happened to Danica. While ABC trained their cameras on everyone but Patrick, she did what real race care drivers do.

She kept her cool. She worked with her crew to fix a bad handling car and stayed in the race right until the end. And I'm sure she won back a lot of fans.

The thing is winning any race at this level is impressive. But it's a lot easier when a team is as dominant at Franchitti's Target team was today.

What makes the great drivers so special is that they hang in their on the days when their car isn't running that great. 

Jimmy Johnson wins a lot of races it's true. But there are drivers who have won more races in a season than Jimmy Johnson during his championship years.

The reason Jimmy's the champ is because he finishes well even when he doesn't win. The reason he's the champ is he stays with it on the days he doesn't have the best car on the track. 

That's what the great ones do. As Rick Mears used to say, "To finish first, you first have to finish."

I'm not willing to say Danica Patrick is a great driver yet. But the way she hung in there today and finished strong, makes me think she has chance to be special.

That's good for Danica and it's good for the sport.  

Danica Patrick has had a difficult time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during this month of May.  After finishing third in the 2009 Greatest Spectacle in Racing, Patrick had high hopes for the 94th running of the 500.  While those hopes are not yet dashed, Patrick has struggled to get up to speed so far at the Speedway.

Patrick qualified the No. 7 Go Daddy machine twenty-third on Saturday's Pole Day at a speed of 224.217.  She was the second slowest car to make it into the field on the first day of time trials, and the fifth slowest car in the entire field.  Placing the car in the middle of row eight was not Patrick's goal, and she quickly let the fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway know it.

Following her qualifying run, Patrick was interviewed in pit lane over the track public address system.  During the interview, the IZOD Indycar Series' most popular driver blamed the poor qualifying run on the setup, essentially throwing her team under the bus.  She stated she had a "good car with a bad setup."  Several fans began booing the Andretti Autosport driver after this exchange, in a shocking sight to most race fans.

Patrick has been a fan favorite since she entered the series in 2005, but her recent journey into NASCAR and lack of results this year in Indycar has her very frustrated.  That frustration has come through often in interviews, and the fans seem tired of hearing it.

The easiest solution for Patrick is the ultimate cureall in sports... winning.  If Patrick manages to come from 23rd to win the race, she would be the first to do so in the nearly one hundred year history of the race.  Her teammates had plenty of suggestions, chiefly among them, team veteran Tony Kanaan.

Kanaan said, "we sometimes say things that we don't want to say and we regret."  Kanaan went on to recall advice he gave Danica the night before.  "You gotta learn from the tough times and the same guys that she finished fifth in the championship last year and won her first race, they're still there.  In racing, having the good setup and a good car, I believe that your attitude counts a lot."

Kanaan's weekend showed just how important team Andretti can be, as he crashed two different cars over the weekend.  Members from all five of the cars on team Andretti Autosport worked to put Kanaan's car back together on Sunday morning just in time to bump into the field and make the race. 

Patrick has always been a fiery driver however, and her passion is one of the reasons that she is both successful and her fans love her.  However, that passion must stay focused and help her to go faster instead of leading to frustration.  Patrick could take a lesson from a driver who also is very passionate and struggled greatly this year at the 500.

Paul Tracy has long been a favorite of fans of the former Champ Car series, as well as among those in the IZOD IndyCar series.  He also has not been a stranger to being booed.  Despite all this, after Tracy failed to make the race on Sunday, the fans saw a whole new side to the Canadian.

Tracy's KV Racing team had been struggling all month.  While they were fast at times, the team was often out of control, with every car hitting the wall at some point.  Tracy never hit hard, but did brush the wall a couple of times.  His car had a transmission failure during pole day, meaning his chances were relegated to bump day.  And during bump day, Tracy qualified near the rear of the field.  In the dramatic final minutes, KV and Tracy withdrew his qualified car in an attempt to post a faster time.  However, with the increased temperatures, the car did not handle well.  The time was slower, despite Tracy driving as well as he could, because the car was loose and Tracy missed his first Indianapolis 500.

Afterward, most expected Tracy to throw the world’s largest fit and destroy anything in his path.  Instead, the KV driver calmly went to a post race press conference and spoke briefly with gathered members of the press.  Tracy could have blamed his team for the loose setup, he could have blamed his team for the electrical failure in the transmission the day before, and he could have even blamed the team owner for choosing to withdraw the car and go again (his original time would have stood). 

Instead of all of those choices, Tracy walked into the room and said, "the team did everything they could.  I drove the wheels off of it.  And I don't know what to say."  His actions shocked most of the gather press, as well as fans, and he gained the respect of his peers.

Patrick could learn from Tracy.  He has been one of the most successful Indy car drivers in the past twenty years, with 31 Indy car wins.  Patrick should want to emulate his success, but must also learn from his mistakes.  Tracy has been brash and abrasive for a long time, which prevented him from landing a full time ride after the merger between the two open wheel series. 

Patrick is a talented driver and a fan favorite, but can also be brash and abrasive.  However, she is now a veteran driver and must start to act like one both with the media and with her team.  In racing, you will always win as a team and lose as a team.  Patrick should heed the words of Tracy and focus closely on the following,

"We worked as a team all week, and we made decisions as a team.  And you win and lose as a team.  So I've had a lot of wins in my career where we've made calls that were the right calls.  We've made calls that are the bad calls.  [We] put a lot of work into this and we came up short as a team."

If Patrick can learn these lessons and work with her team to improve, then she will improve her race results down the line.  And she will also ensure that the boo birds have gone away.

What went from trying to get into the Top Nine on Saturday, Tony Kanaan and the 7-Eleven team was just trying to get into the Indy 500 yesterday. Kanaan, who is one of the sport's most popular drivers in the IZOD Indy Series, was struggling to make the cut.

On Saturday, Kanaan wrecked during his qualifying run and wasn't able to attempt another run that day. Yesterday, Kanaan again wrecked early in the morning in his backup car. Kanaan was then on the brink of not qualifying for the Indy 500 for the first time.

The Andretti Autosport team rebuilt Kanaan's car using parts from other team cars like Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter Reay. The gearbox Kanaan used to get in the race was actually Reay's gearbox from the day before.

When asked about the situation, Reay responded by saying that the team has done so much for him that it was the least he could do to help Kanaan get in the race.

After the car was put together and went through tech, Kanaan went out and practiced. After a few practice runs, Kanaan felt that it was ready to go for a qualifying run.

With 30 minutes left of Bump Day qualifying, Kanaan went out for his run. After two warmup laps, Kanaan got the green flag and for four laps Kanaan was racing to get in. On his final lap he got the checkered flag, and ran a time of 224.072 mph. That time was good enough for 30th place.

Kanaan then had to sit and wait as others tried to bump their way in. However when the 6:00 gun was fired, Kanaan was 32nd fastest and was in the race. It wasn't the pole that was the goal for the 7-Eleven team, but after two crashes in less than 24 hours it felt like it.

"Obviously, it was a very emotional day for me," Kanaan said. "I'm not the type of guy—I don't cry very easily—the other Brazilian does all the time. But it was a tough day for me. Every time I came out it was very emotional." (The "other Brazilian" being Helio Castroneves.)

Tony Kanaan will be in the Indy 500 next Sunday, I think its safe to say that Kanaan won't be in 32nd place for long once the green flag drops.

I want to like Danica Patrick .  I really do.  I want her to win the Indianapolis 500 and take a huge step for women in sports everywhere.  At least win a few races other than a sole victory at the Indy Japan 300 in 2008 (which Patrick claimed based on fuel strategy). 

But with every race that passes it gets harder to believe in her as much for her conduct off the track as her lack of success on it. 

The latest incident occurred on Saturday as she blamed a poor qualifying effort for this year's Indy 500 on a poor car setup.

The bigger problem is that her comments were broadcast on the track's public address systems leading to a cascade of boos.

"I say one confident thing out there, that it's not me, and everybody boos me," Patrick said. "I don't know, maybe they were booing me before, but some of them were probably cheering for me before. I'm not a different driver than I was five years ago."

The reason for the jeers is that people are getting tired of Patrick's poor performance, but perhaps more her resulting penchant to blame everyone and everything but herself.

There was the post-race confrontation at the A.J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile in 2007 with rival Dan Wheldon where she grabbed Wheldon by the arm and shoved him.  To which Wheldon replied at the time, "She's messing with the wrong person if she wants to get feisty.  I'm a lot tougher than she is on the track."

There was a collision with Ryan Briscoe that knocked both drivers out of the Indy 500 in 2008.  A security guard prevented a raging Patrick from going after Briscoe.

There was the heated verbal confrontation with fellow female driver Mikka Duno at a practice session at the Indy Honda 200 in 2008.  Duno threw a towel at Patrick in what some of the press called a 'catfight'.  This incident combined with a WNBA brawl at the time clearly did not help the importance of women participating in professional sports.

Are there other drivers who get into confrontations all the time? Sure, but they also tend to win races because their competitive fire translates to the track.  Not so with Patrick.

Granted, being the face of your gender in a sport is not an easy cross to bear, but clearly Patrick has capitalized on it.  Her merchandise sales far outrank any other driver.  Her endorsements have certainly not suffered at all.  At this point, there might be more people who recognize Patrick as the GoDaddy.com woman rather than as a race car driver (perhaps they always did).

Herein lies the problem.  She isn't coming close to succeeding as a race car driver.  Yes, she finished fifth in points last season, but one career victory is what they call a 'fluke' in sports. 

She has a first rate team in Andretti Green Racing, yet she is just 16th in points.  Her part time foray into the NASCAR Nationwide Series has also yet to bear any significant results

So Danica I implore you, "Just shut up and win." 

Then you won't be booed.  At least not by me.

Five years ago, the sports world turned its eyes in unison at the 2.5-mile superspeedway known as Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Ind. during a historical moment at "The Brickyard."

The reason?

Of course, "The Greastest Spectacle in Sports" always gets international attention as one of the oldest and most competitive sporting events, annually held around Memorial Day weekend as a prelude to the dog days of summer.

It's one of the most heralded races known in about any part of the world, be it Caribou, ME or Metro Manila, Philippines. Racing fans know just how much the 500 means to the motorsports world in terms of prestige, history, and the absolute euphoria from winning the greatest auto race.

But this particular running of the 500 was special because of an open-wheel prospect and talent named Danica Patrick, who made her mark in racing history in a matter of 200 laps on May 29, 2005.

Sound easy?

Not exactly. Then again, with the way the 5' 2'' racer composed herself in one of the grandest stages in all of motorsports, she made the 500 look as simple as Freddie Mercury belting his high registered notes in any epic Queen song.

Patrick, who was 23-years old when the 2005 Indianapolis 500 was run, became the first woman to lead a lap at the famed track, pacing the field on lap 56. 

It would be like Maria Sharapova winning a set against Roger Federer at Wimbledon or Sheryl Swoopes scoring the game-winning shot in an NBA contest. Gender barriers were slowly torn down, as the IndyCar Series' historical event opened the doors for female racers into a sport typically dominated by men.

During a recently-held teleconference at the speedway, Patrick reflected on her Indy experience in 2005, recalling the media hype surrounding her and the team that year:

"The first year I came here, it was kind of crazy, the whole first year, how well I was doing and everything was creating just so much chaos with the media, so much stuff, so many requests coming in."

The feat was quite impressive, given her abilities behind the wheel as well as her rocketship of a car, able to hold its own with drivers like Sam Hornish Jr. and Tony Kanaan leading the way throughout the early stages of the race.

Covering that year's 500 was ABC Sports, with lead commentator Todd Harris delivering this rather polarizing statement:

"Fifty years from now, you will remember where you were when Danica Patrick made not only motorsports history, but she joined the likes of Amelia Earhardt and Sally Ride in a barrier-breaking performance."

While the moment was historical, it certainly didn't do any favors for motorsports critics and fans, who felt that the network hyped up and somewhat favored the rookie racer. Critique aside, it was one of the more memorable happenings in recent Indy 500s.

All race long, Patrick impressed the Indy faithful, piloting her No. 16 Argent Mortgage Honda entry in the top-10, putting herself into contention for an upset victory. With astue coaching from the pits, she ran a respectable race in her rookie effort, making a few errors along the way, when she stalled her car during an early pit stop.

Throughout the 500, contenders fell by the wayside, including the likes of Bruno Junqueria, Scott Dixon, and Sam Hornish Jr. Some of the misfortune that befell pre-race favorites also affected Patrick, who made a bit of a rookie mistake with 46 laps left in the race.

As the field was preparing for a restart, Patrick's car broke loose and did a half-spin in the north south chute. With nowhere to go, Tomas Enge tagged Patrick's nose, damaging both cars as well as the entries of Jeff Bucknum, Patrick Carpentier, and Jacques Lazier.

The Indy faithful held its breath, wondering if any of the drivers involved in the late-race skirmish drove their way out of the crash. Surely but slowly, Patrick drove her wounded machine back to pit road, with her Bobby Rahal/David Letterman-owned team diligently working on the Honda.

Fortunately for Patrick and her No. 16 unit, the damage was repairable, requiring a quick nosecone replacement as well as a four-tire stop and fuel service.

In a matter of three stops, the Roscoe, Ill. native found herself back in the running for the finish, within striking distance of the top-10 in 11th spot.

"There was moment of like, wow, what the heck is going on, as I'm spinning across the track and my left wing gets ripped off," Patrick said in an IMS interview upon reflection of her Indy debut. "I stall in the pits. And I mean you know (the media said) those things were like wow. But then (they said) also, wow, she took the lead."

Chipping away as the race resumed green flag conditions, Patrick hovered around the top-10 along with Bryan Herta, as both racers elected with a fuel mileage race for the rest of the 500. Daring and risky, the two drivers realized it was about their only chance at winning at Indy.

Hoping that the race would play into their hands, Patrick and Herta's strategy paid off when Roger Yasukawa's No. 24 Honda lost an engine with 30 laps left in the event.

Suddenly, the cards played into Patrick and Herta's hands, as both drivers found themselves atop the leaderboard on lap 172. In a matter of minutes and 10-15 laps of racing, both drivers went from nearly irrelevant to sudden shockers, in position to steal a crown jewel spectacle.

And for a while, it appeared as if Patrick was going to capitalize on her moment, leading the field from lap 172 to 185, relinquishing command of the race to Dan Wheldon, whose No. 26 Klein Tools Honda from Andretti Green Racing was a tortoise in qualifying trim but a sporty hare in race conditions.

Fuel mileage became a critical factor down the stretch, as Patrick's team cautioned her to conserve fuel in spite of her premium track position toward the front of the field. Gamble or not, her crew coached her to get the best finish possible while having enough fuel to make the distance, playing a pivotal role in her car losing spots in the final laps.

For a moment, it appeared as if Patrick had one more trick up her sleeve, passing Wheldon for the lead on lap 190 to the delight of the masses at the speedway. Almost like the battle between Rick Mears and Michael Andretti in 1991, Patrick pulled off a stunt that her future team owner used on the illustrious open-wheeler, shooting past the Englishman for a few laps.

Ultimately, fuel conservation was the name of the game for Patrick, whose car had to save just enough to make it to the finish. In the process, she relinquished three positions on the track, falling back to fourth spot as Wheldon led Vitor Meira and Bryan Herta to the checkered flag.

Trailing the trio of Honda-powered cars was Danica Patrick, who finished the race in the same position she started in, placing fourth in a memorable Sunday afternoon. When all was said and done, Patrick established her place in auto racing not only as a tremendous female racer, but a truly competitive driver in today's motorsports scene.

Five years later, her name is oft-mentioned, not only as one of the more appealing and congenial athletes, but an inspiration to various racing fans who witness a driver who gets to live her dreams each day in one of the most competitive forms of sports.

Returning to the scene of one of her grandest moments in her career, Patrick looks to make the 2010 edition even sweeter, with a checkered flag and the Borg Warner Trophy in hand. Perhaps this year will be the one, despite her rough start to the season.

A win at Indy will not only cement her amongst the immortals at Indy, but it may propel her stalled start into a season with great hope and optimism currently stumbling her No. 7 GoDaddy Honda team owned by Andretti Autosport.

Time will tell if she'll capitalize on her success at Indy, but what's certain is each lap she makes at the speedway is one to watch for with history and excitement attached with it.

Race fans may not be saying "Go Daddy!" when the green and black No. 7 Honda zooms by the chutes of the famed speedway, but rather "Go Danica!" as she makes her way around the track from practice sessions in mid-May to the checkered flag on Memorial Day Sunday.

With just a few short hours until Opening Day of the 2010 Indianapolis 500, there are several bits of news and notes to cover.  This May will mark the 94th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, marking the 99th year since the first running of the race.

The field will be the fullest in years going into qualifications, and there may still be a few surprises in store in terms of driver and car announcements. 

1. Graham Rahal will be running at the 500 after a series of road course races with Sarah Fisher Racing.  Rahal will be running with his father's team, Rahal Letterman Racing.  RLR has been running in the American LeMans Series for the past several years, despite only running part time in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

2. Paul Tracy is being reunited with Barry Green as his race strategist for the 2010 Indianapolis 500.  Green and Tracy were paired in 2002 when Helio Castroneves was declared the winner in a controversial finish.  Tracy was passing Castroneves when a caution came out, and Tracy has insisted he should have been the winner ever since. 

3. Fuzzy Vodka will be sponsoring the No. 20 Panther/Vision Racing car for Ed Carpenter.  Carpenter was stuck without a ride when Vision Racing lost sponsorship after the 2009 season.  Carpenter's new car will be painted midnight black, and feature the new Vodka designed by Indiana golfing legend Fuzzy Zoeller.  Carpenter will team with Dan Wheldon, who finished second last year with Panther racing.

4. Tomas Scheckter will return to the IZOD IndyCar Series, running in the 3rd Dreyer and Reinbold car, joining Justin Wilson and Mike Conway.  MonaVie will be returning as the sponsor for the attempt.  Scheckter has always been known as a talented driver, but sometimes has struggled to keep the car in one piece.  He will instantly be the most talented oval driver on the team, and will help to set up the cars for the entire month.  Scheckter will be looking for a solid finish in order to continue his stint with Dreyer and Reinbold.

5. Ana Beatrix will field the fourth entry for Dreyer and Reinbold, with whom she opened the season in her native Brazil.  Beatrix will be the fifth female driver to attempt to join the field, a new record.  This will be her first attempt at ovals in a full Indycar.  "Bia" has previously driven at the Speedway in the Indy Lights series.

6. Adam Carroll will be joining Andretti Autosport later in the season to run in the IZOD IndyCar Series.  Carroll is the 2009 A1GP champion, but could not find adequate funding to run in Formula One.  Carroll's ride is not expected to take anything away from anyone else on the team, but simply to be run in the fifth car at Andretti Autosport.

7. John Andretti will be the most senior man in the field if he can make the 94th running.  This will be his 11th Indianapolis 500, and he has plenty of momentum after finishing ninth at Kansas in the No. 43 Windows World Car.  The car is a joint venture between Andretti Autosport and Richard Petty Motorsports.  Andretti's top finish at the famed speedway was fifth in 1991 driving a Lola Chevy.

8. The pole for the race this year will be decided in a whole new way.  24 cars will make the field on the first day of qualifying.  Those cars will run from 11am to 4pm.  Starting at 4:30, the top nine drivers will then re-enter the field.  Their original times will be erased, and they will then attempt to run for the pole.  It is somewhat modeled after the Firestone Fast Six from road courses.  It should add plenty of excitement to the last 90 minutes of qualifying.  The final nine spots will be filled on bump Sunday, as well as plenty of bumping.

9. Saturday the 15th official marks opening day.  It will feature track time for both veterans and rookies, with rookies having four hours on the track to themselves to attempt to get up to speed and pass rookie orientation.  The day will also feature free live music from Stereo Deluxe and Everclear.  Practice will continue from noon to six everyday up until qualifying begins on the 22nd.

10. ZZ Top will be playing a concert on Carb Day the Friday before the race.  The legendary band has a career that started in 1969.  The concert is part of a great day that will feature final Indycar practice, the Freedom 100 for Firestone Indy Lights, the annual pit-stop competition, and vintage laps with Indycars of old.

It appears there will be plenty of news to go around during the month of May.  With 78 cars registered (including backup cars), the field could rapidly expand and new driver and team combinations could emerge. 

There is also a solid chance that full-time teams could miss out on this year's action, including its record purse.  Over $3 million will be the reward for the winning team, enough money to run the rest of the season for drivers still looking for full time sponsorship like Ryan Hunter-Reay.

If you can't be at the track this May, Versus has you covered.  In continuing their fantastic coverage of the IZOD IndyCar Series, Versus will be airing the full qualifying sessions during both days of time trials.  The network will also air tons of additional programming to get your blood running at 10,200 RPMs in preparation for the race. 

Coverage begins on the 15th with a special devoted to Helio's third Indycar win in 2009.  Fast Friday will be featured on the 21st, live at 3:30 with practice and a qualifications preview.  May 27th will feature the updated Crashes and Conflict that debuted last year.  May 28th will be a full day beginning at 1pm for Carb Day. 

The Freedom 100 will be aired live, as well as other Carb Day activies.  Following this will be a reshowing of "Danica's Decade".  On the 29th, starting at 5pm, Versus will show a 500 Festival Parade show, followed by the pre-race show "Ready to Race"  Versus coverage will culminate with a post race show following the 94th running.  Clearly enough ethanol fueled mayhem to appease any race fan.

The actual race itself will be featured on ABC, beginning at Noon eastern.  In addition to all that, ESPN Classic will be featuring past races every monday in May, with five races being show the day before the 500.  Classic will also air Sportscentury during the month focusing on some of the greatest drivers of 500's past.

Lots of news and notes, and the cars haven't even all been unloaded yet.  The haulers will continue to bring cars to the Speedway on Friday as teams prepare to set up their new homes for the month.  Plenty more is expected in the coming weeks, so stay tuned and stay excited!